You're Engaged! What's Next? 5 Tips to Start Your Wedding Planning
Congratulations, you’re engaged!
Engagement season is once again upon us! Many couples around the world have recently said yes to spending the rest of their lives with someone they truly love and are envisioning their perfect wedding day! Once the whirlwind of the proposal winds down, it can often feel overwhelming to start the wedding planning process— I know I felt that way after my husband proposed to me!
Here are 5 steps to jump-start the wedding planning process!
***Please note, I am only speaking from my very own experiences and knowledge that I’ve personally learned within the wedding industry! All brides, grooms, and families are different!***
Enjoy the celebration!
Becoming engaged is such an exciting time! When I first got engaged, I remember getting butterflies every time I looked down at my ring and remembering the proposal. I absolutely loved showing off my engagement ring and talking to friends and family about our date and our wedding plans! I highly recommend taking time to celebrate this memorable time with friends and family— go out for dinner to celebrate or have a get-together at home with close family!
I also highly recommend planning your wedding date to be at least a year out from the engagement. This may be a personal preference of mine, but I really loved having time to plan without being rushed. Wedding planning can be a really fun experience, especially if you get your friends and family involved. There are so many memories to be made, not just on the wedding day, and making time to have those moments is really special! I’ll always remember dress shopping with my mom and best friend, planning with my family, asking my best friend for ideas, and crafting some diy decor with my family as well. I’m very grateful to have those moments with close ones!
2. Time to brainstorm!
Once you’ve caught your breath from the excitement, it’s time to brainstorm! I recommend sitting down with your fiance and talking about what you both envision for your wedding day. Ask each other questions like:
What date do you want to aim for?
What kind of venue or location?
Are you wanting a huge wedding or something more intimate?
What style or theme do you want for your day?
What colors are for your decor and bridal party?
What aspects of the wedding are most important for you?
What’s your budget for the wedding?
Where do you want to spend most of your money?
When my husband and I were newly engaged, we sat down to talk about locations. We are both beach lovers and kind of jokingly said to each other, “What if we get married at the beach?” We definitely doubted it was even possible at the moment. It wasn’t until my best friend said, “If you build it, they will come,” and we started talking to our families seriously about having a destination wedding at the beach.
I know that it might also be a bit cliche, but Pinterest is another tool that can help keep all of your ideas for your wedding in one place. There are so many pins and boards full of wedding inspiration from color schemes, floral ideas, arch ideas, decor ideas, diy decor ideas, and so much more. Photographers often share images and blog posts from recent weddings so that other couples can find them for inspiration! Feel free to check out my Pinterest page and browse the boards: Katy Sergent Photography's Pinterest Page
3. Research venues and book a date!
Once you and your fiance know which direction you’d like to go, it’s time to start researching and contacting venues or locations to secure a date. I recommend booking the venue first so that you have an exact date and THEN reaching out to a photographer once you have your date secured. Many venues book their dates a year or more in advance (especially since Covid and the wedding boom), so if you’re really wanting a specific date or specific venue, I recommend hopping on it quickly before another couple books it!
4. Ask around for vendor recommendations!
Once you have a date secured, you can start booking your other vendors! Like I mentioned previously, I’d start with the venue, then grab your photographer and videographer. After that, you can book florist, catering, dj, bakery, etc. Once you get the big things secured and out of the way, the little things should fall into place!
There are many places that you can go to to search for vendors— Google (of course), Instagram, Facebook, and even the Knot and Wedding Wire. Even though those are great resources, I also recommend asking people you trust, and seeing if they have any recommendations! You may have friends who are recently married that can recommend vendors they loved working with.
Another avenue to consider is asking your venue and photographer if they have a list of recommended vendors that they’ve already previously worked with and trust. I, personally, have a list that I love sharing with my couples full of vendors that I’ve worked with and know have done great work. I also love tagging them on my blogs and social media posts to help future couples who may be planning a wedding at the same venue or location. This is especially helpful if you’re planning a destination wedding where it can often be tougher to find vendors since you’re not in the area for tastings and things of that nature.
5. Have an engagement session and send Save-The-Dates.
Engagement sessions might feel or seem a bit “extra” or cheesy, but I honestly love them! I think they’re not only a great way to celebrate your engagement and share the excitement with friends and family, but also a great way to get to know your photographer and get comfortable with being in front of the camera! Also, what’s not to love about having more photos of you and your fiance? You can also use them for Save-The-Dates to notify your guests of the date you’ve chosen (so they can start making plans).
The Knot recommends sending out Save-the-Dates 6-8 months in advance of your wedding date. I found an article online about Save-the-Date etiquette and they said:
“As a general rule, it's best to start spreading the news around six to eight months prior to the ceremony (send them earlier for a faraway destination or holiday weekend). This gives wedding guests plenty of time to book their travel, save money and ask for days off work. Any later than that and they won't have enough lead time to do those things. After all, the only pieces of information you need on them are your names, wedding date (or dates, if it's a weekend) and location—just the city is fine, so you don't even need to have your venue booked yet. Including your wedding website is ideal, but not necessary.” — The Knot, Critical Save the Date Etiquette Tips & Mistakes Not to Make, (updated Jan 29th, 2021)
They also recommend to avoid sending them too early (like a year in advance), because people are then bound to set the envelope aside and think, “We have plenty of time to plan,” and may forget about the Save-the-Date. Just something to keep in mind!
I hope these tips were helpful to you and your fiance as you go through the wedding planning process and hopefully eases any stress or the feeling of being overwhelmed! Wishing all of the newly engaged couples an amazing year and beautiful upcoming wedding!