Navigating The First Steps Of Wedding Planning
Congratulations on your engagement! This is a thrilling time filled with love and excitement. As you embark on this new journey together, you might be wondering, “What comes next?” Don’t worry – we’re here to guide you through the initial stages of wedding planning, ensuring your path to the altar is as joyful as your proposal.
Celebrate Your Engagement
Before diving into planning, take a moment to celebrate your engagement! Do something special and savor the moment – whether it’s an intimate dinner for two, to an engagement party with friends and family. It’s also the perfect opportunity for families to get to know each other and plans to start being formulated for the big day.
Dream Up Your Perfect Day
Start envisioning your wedding day. Discuss with your partner what you both want. Do you prefer a grand celebration or an intimate gathering? An urban chic affair or a countryside romance? This is the time to dream big and outline the broad strokes of your ideal wedding. There should be no pressure at this point, just daydreaming.
Set A Preliminary Budget And Priorities
One of the very first steps should be establishing a general budget and list of priorities in what is important to you in getting married. See our Budgeting post for crucial information!
Draft A Guest List
Begin drafting a guest list to get an idea of how many people you might be hosting. This doesn’t have to be final, but having a ballpark figure is essential for choosing the right venue and catering options. Every venue you inquire with should ask you how many guests you expect to host. Don’t forget about including the little ones in the total. This allows them to suggest the best space(s) for your group and give you an estimated invoice total.
Pick The Timeframe You Would Like To Get Married
Rather than getting hung up on a specific date that your dream venue may or may not have, try to focus on what year and months you are interested in. This will help you in narrowing down your wedding date, but also being flexible and working with the venues you are interested in. If you must have specific dates (for example, using the Vedic calendar), try to choose at least three so that you still maintain flexibility. Hint: winter dates tend to have lower pricing and more availability of vendors.
Choose Your Venue
Start researching venues, and when you find ones you like, schedule visits. Your venue choice will influence your wedding’s atmosphere, style, and even the choice of vendors.
Begin Researching Other Vendors
Begin looking into other essential vendors like photographers, caterers, florists, and entertainers. It’s never too early to start researching and reaching out to professionals whose work you admire. Excellent vendors get snapped up fast so booking any vendor who you’ve dreamed of working with as soon as you can is a priority to not lose out on their availability.
Start A Wedding Folder, Binder, Pinterest Board, Or Bookmark System
It helps to stay ultra-organized when planning a wedding. Keep research, quotes, and receipts in one place. Organize your ideas in the same place or digitally using a service such as Pinterest or Raindrop.
Enjoy Every Moment
Lastly, remember to enjoy the process. Wedding planning can be stressful, but it’s also an extraordinary time in your life. Cherish these moments of anticipation and excitement.
Remember, your engagement is the start of a beautiful journey towards marrying the love of your life. Take it one step at a time, and before you know it, you’ll be walking down the aisle on your dream day.