You're Engaged, What Do You Do Next?
You have said yes to the most joyful engagement and are full of love and emotions, but what do you do next?
The minutes, hours, days, and weeks that follow your proposal will undoubtedly be manic– there are numerous things to consider, countless people to get in touch with, and endless tasks to complete whilst panning the perfect wedding.
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed at this point as you will be eager to tell your friends and get started on the wedding preparations right away.
​
To help you start out your planning journey of the right foot, we've complied some top tips to help ease the stresses of wedding planning.
9 Tips For Smooth Wedding Planning
-
Your Vision
-
Your Budget
-
Your Guest Count
-
Choosing Your Wedding Venue
-
Booking Your Wedding Photographer & Videographer
-
Booking Your Wedding Florist and Any Other Suppliers
-
Ensure You Gel With The Wedding Suppliers
-
Create An Email Just For Wedmin!
-
Have Fun!
Know Your Vision
Now is the perfect time to start researching. Get on Pinterest, discover various wedding styles and see which ideas you gravitate towards. Prioritise what’s most important to you, whether it’s food or decor.
Think about who you are as a couple. If you value travel, maybe you’d prefer a destination wedding. If you’re an extroverted couple, you might want a larger wedding, especially for the evening function, filled with your family and friends. Maybe you’re both big foodies so the focus will be on having food available throughout the day.
The overall style could be anything from minimalist to eclectic so think about what theme would best reflect you as a couple.
Your Budget
Many people have regretted spending so much on their wedding day, despite it being the best day of their lives. It’s important to know that you can still have a great day without splashing the cash.
Of course, venue hire and catering will be your top spend (usually around 50%) but you can definitely reduce costs in other areas.
Wedding outfits are next on the list, as both bride and groom deserve to look and feel their best. Investing in a professional wedding photographer will also ensure you capture the big day forever so these three areas will be the largest part of your budget, around 70%!
Working out your budget beforehand and thoroughly researching multiple options for each category will ensure you stay on budget.
Many venues offer a full wedding package, including decor and entertainment, so this could be an option you prefer.
It can take the stresses away knowing you don’t have to plan as much!
Your Guest Count
Whilst we’re sure you’d love to invite every single person in your life, the higher the number of guests, the higher the costs. There are usually three groups of weddings: small (under 50 guests), medium (50 to 175 guests) and large (175+ guests).
The best way to start is to list everyone you think you’d like to invite with your partner. Start with immediate family, close family members and friends. The general rule of thumb is you must have met this person, seen them recently, and enjoyed their company.
Try to even out the number of invites between both of you; however, it’s up to the two of you if one has a larger extended family and the other is an only child.
This is when you should also make a rule about children. Discuss this as a couple and be firm with your decision, certainly if you want an adult-only occasion.
Booking Your Wedding Venue
Booking your wedding venue should be next on your wedding planning checklist.
The venue you pick will determine the number of guests you can invite, so you need to know the capacity and size of the wedding venue. Most venues offer a range of capacities so it could be worth checking the difference between each package.
Your other wedding suppliers will appreciate knowing what venue you have chosen so they can make sure the style and theme appropriately tie in with the venue.
Most importantly, the wedding date should be confirmed first, so once you have secured a venue, you can give a secure date to all the other vendors you’ll be hiring.
Book Your Wedding Photographer & Videography
Wedding photography is crucial because it will document your special day, capture your memories, and tell your own story.
There are so many moments, emotions and details to capture during your wedding day– the details and textures of your wedding gown, the tear running down your grandmother's cheek as you read your vows and when the sun goes down and everyone starts to party.
We can capture the laughter and the best dance moves on video, whilst we capture the candid, in-the-moment shots on camera– for a true experience of your day.
Choosing a wedding photographer and videographer who matches your vision is crucial. A photographer who feels like a friend at your wedding and someone who can create artful, authentic images that reflect your day in a way you appreciate.
When you’ve chosen a photographer and videographer that fits your style, schedule a call, virtual or in-person, to discuss plans and what to expect.
With us, every wedding is personal. We want to get to know you as a couple as well as you get to know us. By finding out what’s most important to you, we can help to capture those elements on your wedding day, as well as the lead-up, in all its essence.
Book Your Wedding Florist and Any Other Suppliers
A respectable florist will book up fast and wedding flowers tie everything together with the theme. Indulge in flowers to complement your colour palette which may serve as an inspiration for anything from bridesmaid dresses and wedding décor to cake designs and invites.
Following this, choosing your cake supplier, food supplier, dress supplier and so on should come after, based on your wedding venue and the flowers you have chosen. Then, your other suppliers can truly help you to create a vision that coincides with them effortlessly.
Ensure You Gel With The Wedding Suppliers
For a smooth wedding planning process ensure that you are on the same page with the supplier before booking them. If it feels natural and you both work well together then chances are you won’t have any issues. Ensure you read the agreements thoroughly and that their communication is strong.
Do their values align with yours? Do they understand your vision? And, can they help you create your vision?
You can guarantee that everything relevant to your wedding ends up in one place by creating a separate wedding planning email account. It keeps everything in one place and makes responding much smoother.
This ensures you can easily look and find previous messages, contracts and key information without having to sift through your inbox.
Create An Email Just For Wedmin!
Have Fun! Enjoy the planning process.
Enjoy the process as this is most likely the day you have visioned all your life. Create your Pinterest board or write down your notes, and enjoy every little moment of it, as you will only do it once.
Time to Start Wedding Planning
Now you’re engaged and you know what to do next, the process will be much more smoother and stress-free! Make it a day to remember.