5 Steps to Take After You Say "YES!"
Congratulations!
You are engaged!!!!
This is such an exciting, thrilling, and somewhat overwhelming time. As soon as you say “Yes!”, friends and family bombard you with questions…. Have you set a date? What kind of invitations do you like? What are your colors? Have you started your Pinterest board? When do you want to go dress shopping? I could go on and on. Over the past 10 years of working in the wedding industry, wedding styles and trends have changed, but the stress that brides experience has not. This is one of the reasons that Engaged Wedding Library was born: to give brides a clear path to planning a wedding with as little stress as possible. In this article, I am going to share with you 5 steps to jumpstart your planning.
How cute is our adorable "Engaged Bride" Marissa??!! This is an actual photo from when she got engaged!
STEP 1: GET A VISION
Celebrate this wonderful occasion! Take time to reflect on the life-changing decision you just made. Stare at your ring. Thank God. Dream about the adventures that you and your life-partner will experience together. Now, take a day (or 2 or 3 or 10) to visualize you and your finance’s perfect wedding. Think of the things that matter the most to you. What do you want your guests to remember about your wedding? What style wedding do you think is reflective of you and your groom?
STEP 2: ESTIMATE THE GUEST LIST
Decide how many guests you would like to have at your wedding. Do you want a small, intimate group of family and friends or a Birmingham wedding bash with 500 people? The guest count will determine your next steps including the venue and the budget.
STEP 3: DETERMINE THE BUDGET
Work on a budget. Who is helping pay for the wedding? Is it your parents? His parents? You and your groom? A grandparent? In a lot of cases, it is a combination of all these. You need a good estimate of how much money you will spend on your wedding before you book your venue.
STEP 4: BOOK YOUR DATE AND VENUE(S)
Book a date or a venue, whichever is more important to you. Some brides must have a specific date because of school, work, football (yes, football), or sentimental reasons. Some brides have their heart set on a specific venue and will be flexible with the date. Remember, your venue choice must accommodate your guest list. After you book your date and venue, everything builds from here.
STEP 5: START MEETING WITH VENDORS
Now you are ready to research and meet with wedding vendors. The order in which you book vendors is very important. Here is a quick summary (this topic needs its own blog post):
First, book vendors that can do ONE wedding on a wedding day. (wedding planner, photographer, videographer, hair and make-up, etc)
Second, book vendors that require 6+ months’ notice to serve you well. (honeymoon, wedding dress, florist, caterer, etc)
Third, book vendors that can do multiple weddings on a date but need a few months’ notice. (wedding cake, rentals, grooms attire, etc)
Last, shop for last minute details. (favors, gifts, guestbook, etc)
I hope this helps you! The best advice I can give you is to set up a meeting with us, the Engaged Girls. During your appointment, we will help you start your planning and get you on the right track. Also, you can join the library to get your Engaged Handbook and Library Card. The Engaged Handbook is the perfect tool to help you walk through the steps listed above. It includes lots of beautiful & local inspiration, a budget spreadsheet, a detailed planning timeline, note pages, insider tips, and wedding checklists. The Library Card was created to help you save money. It’s amazing… CHECK OUT THE PERKS HERE.
XO,
Steph