The first things to do after getting engaged…

So did it happen? Are you now a fiancé?! A big congratulations from me! You now may be wondering how on earth you start planning a wedding. Well, here are a few tips and tricks for where to begin…

Celebrate your engagement
Before you get stuck into the wonderful world of weddings, take some time to soak up being engaged. Firstly, just the two of you, shortly followed by your nearest and dearest. After then announce your engagement via a printed announcement card (I can help with that!), or on social media. Then if you fancy it, throw an engagement party!

The wedding of your dreams
When you’re ready and you’ve finished lapping up your engagement celebrations, start dreaming about what you’d both like your wedding to be like. A large celebration, or an intimate gathering? A city, coastal or countryside wedding? A traditional or modern wedding? A destination or local wedding? It may be helpful to start a moodboard at this stage to create a style for your wedding (Pinterest is great for this). Both you and your suppliers/vendors can refer to this throughout your planning in order to stay on brand for your wedding.

Once you have an idea on what you’d like your wedding to be like you can continue planning yourself, or hire a wedding planner. Here are a couple of my favourite wedding planners in the UK; Emma Reeve Weddings and The W Studio, and in the US you’ll be in safe hands with Rachael Ellen Events and Always Yours Events. If you’re thinking of an Italian wedding, I urge you to speak to Wiskow & White.

Set a wedding budget
Now is the time to consider a budget, before you get your hearts set on any specifics. Figure out what you have or will be able to save, as well as any possible family contributions. I personally found it helpful to have a wedding planning spreadsheet which listed a budget for each part of the wedding. Double check all the sums work correctly – a piece of advice I really needed during my planning!!

Create your wedding guest list
The guest list; this will either be the easiest or hardest part of your planning! Again, I’d recommend a trusty spreadsheet to assist you. You’ll need to do this early on as your number of guests will determine which kind of venue and suppliers you can opt for. When you’re deciding who to invite, consider if you’d invite them over to your house for dinner. If not, delete!

Find your dream wedding venue
Once you have a guest list in hand, it’s time to find your dream venue! Make sure you visit several types of venues before deciding on ‘The One’. You may know as soon as you walk through the door, but it’s good to get a feel for the options out there. Once you’ve found it, check their availability and set your date!

One of my favourite go to’s for the venue hunt is Coco Wedding Venues. You can filter by location, capacity, type, style and features. What more could you wish for!

Save the date!
Now you’ll want your guests to keep your wedding date free! Send save the dates so they know when and where your wedding will be. Your main invitations will hold all of the ins and outs of your wedding at a later date, so at this point only the key details are needed. Include your names, date and the venue or the town that your venue is in.

Remember you only need to send one save the date per household or couple, rather than per person. This will help with the budget too!

A top tip is to start collecting your guest addresses early (or as soon as your guest list is finalised)! This is always such an unexpectedly lengthy task, which you won’t want to delay posting your save the dates.

Your save the dates will be your guest’s first little introduction to your wedding so it’s key that they are in alignment with your moodboard in order to set the tone of your day perfectly. When searching for a wedding stationer, ensure their style is in keeping with your vision. You can see my wedding stationery collections here!

Secure your wedding suppliers
So now that you have your date set, at your dream venue, and your guests have saved the date, it’s now time to plan the ins and outs of your wedding day. You will probably have already heard that suppliers and vendors in the wedding industry get booked up incredibly early, so it’s best to plan in advance!

So there you have it, my advice for the initial few weeks of your wedding planning journey. If you have any questions about wedding planning and in particular about wedding stationery, I’m just at the other end of an email and always happy to help.

Congratulations again, and happy planning!

Photography by Megan VanDoran Photography and Gable & Grain.