Recently Engaged... Where do I Start?
Congratulations on your engagement!! This is such an exciting time for you and your partner! Not only is this an exciting time, but also a very confusing time... You will have so many thoughts running through your head wondering what to do and where to begin. Never fear! Here is a simple outline of how and where to begin... Remember to keep cool, take a big breath and enjoy the ride!
First Thing’s First...
Time to share your joy! Let everyone know of your engagement including your parents, his parents, both your siblings and your fiancée’s (that’s right, your FIANCEE!) and all of your remaining family and friends. The best way to do this is by phone, email, newspaper announcement or a combination of all three.
Sit down with your partner and discuss the formalities of your nuptials. Before you begin any sort of planning there are a few details which need to be sorted out first...
1. Set the Date – This is SO important as wedding related things book up a long time in advance! Keep in mind that your dream date may be taken, so try to be flexible if need be.
2. Discuss the type of wedding you want, and how roughly how many people you are going to invite. This is important for the next step!
3. Set a realistic budget! Whether you are paying for the wedding by yourselves or you are getting help from parents, the budget is one of the most important things! Beware – budgets are broken more often than not, so make it very realistic and give yourself some leeway. i.e. Budget set at $x... can afford to go over by $y, but to not go over $xy as a total!
4. Ask yourselves if you want to have an engagement party? If you do, then factor that into your wedding budget too...
5. Choose the theme you want to have for your wedding
6. With your theme in mind, start looking for venues for the wedding. You may need to be a little flexible with your wedding date to fit in with your dream venue.
7. BOOK your venue!
8. The next big thing to find is a good wedding photographer... Go meet as many as you can and book your favourite for the day.
9. Try on wedding dresses. If you are having one custom made book it now. If you are buying off the rack, start paying it off as soon as you can.
10. Find and book the smaller things which need less time in advance. i.e. cake, flowers, decorations, cars etc.
The rest of the planning should start to fall into place after you have done these things. You will find that having a check list will be very helpful in the planning of your wedding and help you keep organised and on top of things.
The most important thing is to try to stay as calm as possible... breathe and relax! Things will go wrong, but you will always surprise yourself with great alternatives! Good Luck!
First Thing’s First...
Time to share your joy! Let everyone know of your engagement including your parents, his parents, both your siblings and your fiancée’s (that’s right, your FIANCEE!) and all of your remaining family and friends. The best way to do this is by phone, email, newspaper announcement or a combination of all three.
Sit down with your partner and discuss the formalities of your nuptials. Before you begin any sort of planning there are a few details which need to be sorted out first...
1. Set the Date – This is SO important as wedding related things book up a long time in advance! Keep in mind that your dream date may be taken, so try to be flexible if need be.
2. Discuss the type of wedding you want, and how roughly how many people you are going to invite. This is important for the next step!
3. Set a realistic budget! Whether you are paying for the wedding by yourselves or you are getting help from parents, the budget is one of the most important things! Beware – budgets are broken more often than not, so make it very realistic and give yourself some leeway. i.e. Budget set at $x... can afford to go over by $y, but to not go over $xy as a total!
4. Ask yourselves if you want to have an engagement party? If you do, then factor that into your wedding budget too...
5. Choose the theme you want to have for your wedding
6. With your theme in mind, start looking for venues for the wedding. You may need to be a little flexible with your wedding date to fit in with your dream venue.
7. BOOK your venue!
8. The next big thing to find is a good wedding photographer... Go meet as many as you can and book your favourite for the day.
9. Try on wedding dresses. If you are having one custom made book it now. If you are buying off the rack, start paying it off as soon as you can.
10. Find and book the smaller things which need less time in advance. i.e. cake, flowers, decorations, cars etc.
The rest of the planning should start to fall into place after you have done these things. You will find that having a check list will be very helpful in the planning of your wedding and help you keep organised and on top of things.
The most important thing is to try to stay as calm as possible... breathe and relax! Things will go wrong, but you will always surprise yourself with great alternatives! Good Luck!