Congratulations, you're engaged! Once you've had time to scream, cry, laugh, hug, kiss... whatever reaction came naturally to you, it's time to start wedding planning! There's a LOT that goes into planning a wedding, so it can be hard to know exactly where you should begin.
WhereBridesGo.com has a list of 9 things that should be taken care of early in the planning stages to get you started. Once you get these tasks out of the way, you'll be ready to handle the next wave of decisions.
Enjoy the Moment!
You don't have to start your planning immediately after he pops the question. Take some time, from a few hours to a few days, to enjoy some private time together excited about this new chapter in your life. (Unless, of course, he asked in front of all of your family and friends. In that case, you've already got these first 2 items crossed off the list!)
Share the Excitement
Don't go blasting the news on social media right away. You should let the people that are nearest and dearest to you in on the surprise first. Tell them in person if you can, or set up a video chat to break the news. If you aren't able to do either of those, a phone call works wonderfully too. As soon as your immediate family and friends know your happy secret, go ahead and share it with the world.
Head to the Nail Salon
Your finger donning that gorgeous new engagement ring will be the center of attention while everyone is finding out about the great news. A good manicure will make sure that none of the focus is taken from your engagement ring by beat up nails.
Get a Wedding Planner
We highly suggest hiring a wedding coordinator to guide you through all of the things that need to be done before the wedding, as well as take care of all of the wedding day details so you can relax and simply enjoy yourself. If you cannot find it in your budget to hire someone, then come up with a good organization system to keep everything running smoothly. WhereBridesGo.com has two adorable wedding planners for sale that will keep your contact information, appointments, and additional wedding details all in one place.
Consider Ring Insurance
More than likely nothing bad will ever happen to your new ring, but it's always better to be safe than sorry. If a stone becomes loose or the ring somehow gets misplaced, you will be very happy that you thought ahead to get insurance. The jewelry store where the ring was purchased will often appraise it for free, which must be done before it can be insured.
Draft the Guest List
Your master wedding guest list will very likely go through a few changes over the next couple of months, but you need to have a general idea of the number of people that you will be inviting. This will be a very important factor for making many other wedding decisions, including where the ceremony and reception will take place.
Decide on a Wedding Budget
Discuss how much you are comfortable spending on the wedding and vow to stick to that budget. The cost of odds and ends start adding up quickly during wedding planning. You don't want to ruin the memory of your special day with tons of bills due once it is over. Decide what the most important wedding items are to you - food, music, entertainment, etc... - and use your money for those first. If something is not that important to you, that's something that you can simplify to spend less on or possibly get rid of altogether.
What's More Important - Venue or Date?
One of these can greatly affect the other. If you have your heart set on a specific wedding venue, then your wedding date will need to be one that they have available. On the other hand, if it's important that you tie the knot on a particular date, then this will immediately knock some venues off of your list if they are already booked.
Schedule Engagement Photos
It's good to get these done early if possible. Once you have the photos, you can start using them for fun wedding stuff like the wedding website, engagement announcements, and save-the-dates. Do wait until you have chosen a wedding photographer, though, because many of them have packages that include the engagement photos.
Once you've tackled those tasks, it's time to really get down to business and tackle the "big" list. Still, just getting those first 9 out of the way will give you the confidence to take on the rest. Our online wedding store is an excellent resource for many of the items you will need for your wedding. One-stop-shopping at WhereBridesGo.com helps to make lots of the other tasks much easier for you!
~ The WhereBridesGo.com Team
Post by Deanna Powell, Certified Bridal Consultant