So you’ve gotten engaged. Congratulations! You finally found the person of your dreams and agreed to spend the rest of your life with him or her. But before marriage comes the wedding, and before the wedding comes the planning. Oh boy.
No need to panic, though. Birkat Elyon is here to help you get a handle on the first stage of wedding planning thanks to some tips from the wedding pros over at The Knot. There’s much to do, but you can’t do it all at once. Settle down and focus on the items below first and foremost. Most of all, don’t forget to have fun – it’s your wedding!
Pick a Date Range
If you’ve been engaged for more than, oh about 10 seconds, then you’ve probably already gotten this question from at least a few people: when is the big day? The longer you’re engaged the more you’re going to get this question. Realistically you can’t possibly pick the exact date shortly after getting engaged. You need to figure out where you’re getting married and a host of other decisions like costs before nailing down the precise date.
You can, however, pick a date range. Engagements typically last anywhere from six months to two years – though that doesn’t necessarily have to be the case for you – so think first about what season you’d most like to get married during that time period; what major family events might be coming up down the road; and how long you think you need to plan. That should help you narrow it down from “eventually” to within a few months of the date, at least.
Budget It Out
Weddings can range from dirt cheap to absurdly expensive. Most likely yours will fall somewhere in between those two extremes. Get your fiancé and family together to figure out who is going to contribute what, because until you have the budget figured out you can’t really plan much else. It’s going to be a difficult thing to hammer out, for sure, but doing so will let you think seriously about everything from the venue to the guest list to the food being served to the shoes you wear.
Protect Your Engagement Ring
Can you imagine what would happen if your engagement ring was lost or damaged? You probably don’t want to, and that’s understandable, but it could happen. Think about having your ring insured through an extension of your renter’s or homeowner’s policy or through a company specializing in jewelry insurance.
Another smart move is to buy an affordable cubic zirconia engagement ring to wear when traveling so you can keep your real ring safe and sound back home or in a lockbox.
Assemble Your Guest List
Do you want to be able to spend significant time with each of your guests on your big day? If so you’re going to want to keep the list on the shorter side. If it’s more important to you that (almost) everyone you’ve ever met in your life gets to attend a huge party even if they only get to catch a quick glimpse of you, then you’ll obviously want to go with a larger list. But you’ll also have to look back at your budget range and think about how many people you can reasonably have attend without going over.
Pick a Place and Style
Put down the sample slice of cake and get away from the dressing room – you’re not ready for those decisions until you’ve chosen a theme/style and location. Will it be fancy? Casual? Indoors? Outdoors? Modern? Vintage? These are just a few of the dozens of questions you could and probably should ask yourself. Once you’ve answered them, you’ll have a good idea of what your wedding should be like, and then you can go about location hunting for someplace that will accommodate you.
Register
No, this isn’t putting the cart before the horse. Look, everyone knows they’re expected to get you a gift for your wedding. This isn’t a secret. Some may want to get you engagement party or bridal shower gifts too. And it’s a safe bet that some of your friends and family like taking care of things ahead of time, so help them do it by registering early.
Consider Hiring a Consultant
Are you super busy? It seems like everyone is these days, so maybe it’s more appropriate to ask if you’re super-duper busy. If your job or other responsibilities give you little time for planning and/or if you’re dreaming of a big and complicated wedding, hire some help. A full-time wedding planner has the experience to make sure nothing gets missed and everything gets done to your precise specification.
Hire In-Demand Vendors
Have your heart set on a particular photographer, band, florist, etc.? You’re probably not the only one. Don’t wait for someone else to snatch them up if there’s a vendor you just have to have. Book them early so you don’t have to worry about making compromises later.