I'm engaged! But where do I start? Here are some tips to help you with your wedding planning journey!
- Enjoy the moment! Soak up this feeling and cherish this brand new commitment you’ve made to each other. I have friends that jumped immediately into wedding planning, but I personally wanted to take the time to enjoy this new chapter of being engaged. You’re only fiancés for a short period of time and there’s something to be said for enjoying the current moment and stage of life you’re in. Wedding planning can feel stressful at times, so I highly recommend taking a moment to appreciate this truly special feeling before diving in to planning.
2. Sit down with your partner and discuss your vision. It’s so easy to get caught up in wedding planning because of Pinterest, Instagram, and friends getting married. Remember your marriage is about the two of you, your commitment to each other, and what YOU want. Whether that’s a big wedding with all your friends and family, an intimate elopement, a destination wedding - this is your celebration to create in whichever way is going to bring you both the most joy. Your wedding doesn’t need to be like something you saw on Pinterest - it needs to feel like the two of you and fit the vision you collectively have.
3. Come up with your top 3 priorities for your wedding day. I recommend doing this in terms of budgeting and hiring vendors. For instance if your top 3 priorities are florals, music, and photography - these 3 items are going to make the day what you’re envisioning. Do your research on vendors, pricing, and allocate a certain amount of your budget to these 3 items. By doing this, you can better envision what you should be splurging on and what you should be saving on. My husband and I decided our top 3 priorities were photography, videography, and an amazing cocktail bar - these were the first 3 vendors we hired (after our venue was secured). Although we were on a budget and couldn’t splurge, splurge on these items the way we maybe wish we could have - we did the most research on these vendors, found the most valuable people in terms of what we wanted while working on a budget, and made sure to book these very important vendors first.
4. Talk to other recently married couples. Some of the best advice I got were from friends who were recently married! Some good questions to ask - What do you remember most from your wedding day? Is there anything you would’ve done differently? What were your favorite moments? What vendors made the biggest impact on your day? What items are you happy you splurged on or wish you didn’t? Some of the best pieces of advice I got when talking with friends were - Pause to take in the moments and snapshots of your day, it goes by quickly! // You’ve done all the planning and worked so hard to create this day - but when the day comes, let it all go. Don’t stress about any little details. Remember what this day is all about.
5. Understand what you don’t want. It’s easy to get caught up in the wedding planning process and what you “should” do. Remember, your wedding can be whatever you want it to be. For instance, I didn’t care for the idea of a bouquet toss or garter toss so we didn’t include them in our day. Those traditions didn’t have any meaning to me and I knew there were other ways I’d rather spend our time.
6. Book an engagement shoot. I love our engagement photos because it reminds me of such an exciting time in our lives and a beautiful new chapter we were so happy to be in! An engagement shoot is also a great time to try out the wedding photographer you’re most interested in. It’s so important to vibe with your photographer because you spend so much of your wedding day with them. Having the opportunity to spend time with them and create a relationship with them is huge! If they make you feel good, you have fun with them, and they create images you love - you’ve got your wedding photographer. Your engagement shoot is also a perfect time to try out your wedding day hair and make-up! Make sure to take advantage of your trial appointment with your hair and make-up artists. This can be your engagement shoot, engagement party, bridal shower, boudoir shoot - whatever it is, I highly recommend planning it on a day you’d want your hair and make-up done!
This time in your life is so incredibly special! Remember to soak it all in, don’t get caught up in what everyone else is doing, and make the most of this wedding planning journey!
Photo Credits: Marcus Silva, Anastasia Shuraeva
Author: Haley Irene