Engaged? 5 Things You Need To Do First!
What are you suppose to do after getting engaged? You can buy two or five bridal magazines, you can scroll through Instagram for hours looking for inspiration, you can send out mass text messages to every one of your friends who’s been married and gone through the process of planning for a wedding. Or… you and your fiance can just keep reading to find out the top 5 things you need to do first (after you’ve celebrated and posted a selfie, of course).
Set a Budget
We know you'd rather skip this step and go straight to trying on dresses and tasting cake, but creating (and sticking to) your budget is arguably the most important part of planning a wedding. I know it can be a tough conversation to have, but your budget needs to be discussed and decided on before anything else. You need to figure out who will be contributing, how much they are contributing and what your total budget will be. Once that is established you can move on to deciding your “must haves” and “wants.” Agreeing on your priorities is very important to managing your budget and creating a stress-free wedding planning experience. All the number add up quick, did you know that you have to pay for chairs? like per chair! The average cost of a wedding in the US for 100 guests is $33,000.
Choose 2 to 3 Possible Dates
Just to be safe, choose 2-3 possible dates to have your wedding. Think of the time of year you like, what you imagine the weather to be like, your work schedule/vacation time, holidays, birthdays, and yes, even major football (or whatever sport your fiance is crazy about) schedule. Then number your dates 1-3, 1 being your preferred date. I’m going to let you know now that venues do not wait around for you to get engaged and decide on your perfect wedding date. Many venues book as far as 2 year in advance! Having options going into your venue walkthrough definitely helps.
Start Your Guest List
This one can be super difficult because you want EVERYONE and their mom to be there to celebrate with you. And believe me, you’re going to name every single person you know and I mean everyone, friends, family, friends you haven’t seen in 8 years, all the friends that you still “know” thanks to Facebook, co-workers you don’t even like, and I’m sure mom’s going to want her Friend Sally to be on the list too. But the reality is, the more guests on the list the more you’re going to spend. That is why you set your budget first.
. Example: Say you want to have 200 guests and your budget is $20,000. The average cost for food is $35 per person. 35x200=$7,000 just on food! Now you have to incorporate the venue, the floral, your amazing dress, your photographer, and all the other vendors and details that make your dream wedding come to life.
So deciding on your guest list and knowing your estimated count early on is imperative. Your head count determines how many invitations, chairs, tables, favors, and cake slices you’re going to purchase. So when creating your list, start with your absolute musts, your immediate family and closest friends (sometimes those two combined create a list with over 100 names). Trust me, you WANT your closest friends dancing right next to you on your wedding day. Once you have that list, consider if you’re going to allow “plus ones”. Always keeping your budget in mind will help you make those decisions. If the budget allows, then move onto the next tier of guests, childhood friends, distant relatives, co-workers and people you havnt seen in over a year.
Decide On Your Wedding Style:
Do you imagine a wedding that is vintage, modern, classic, eclectic, punk, rustic… there are SO many style, shoot you can even make one up yourself, it’s YOUR wedding day! Knowing the general “gist” of the style that you have in mind will help you choose the type of venue.
Decide On Your Venue:
So all the previous 4 steps can all be done in one sitting. Pretty easy right? Once you have set the foundation for your wedding you can start researching and touring venues. YAY! When you finally come across one that you’ve researched and come to like, I recommend emailing or calling and asking if they have any possible dates available. If they have any dates available, I would go ahead and schedule a meeting to tour the venue. Set aside a few weeks (1 to 3 weeks max) to tour all your possibilities (all depending on how far ahead your wedding is), crunch numbers, envision and dream how the day would unfold, and then pull the trigger on your venue! Once you have your venue booked (deposit has been made) and your date is secured…. well woo hoo! You are getting MARRIED! Now, you can go ahead and book that band you’ve been dying to have.
Once you have completed all of these steps, you’re all set for at least a couple of weeks. Now you have a date set and can move onto all the fun and exciting parts of planning a wedding like trying on dresses and food + cake tastings, engagement photos, and lets not forget about planning the honeymooon!! Just take it one task at a time. Enjoy the process!