Did you just say “yes!” to the most important question you’ll ever be asked? Congrats! We couldn’t be happier for you at De Luxe Banquet Hall. We love helping brides plan their dream weddings with every detail accounted for, but before you can begin the fun planning part, you need to do these things first.
Tell Everyone!
In the day and age of instant communication and social media, you need to announce your engagement as soon as you accept the ring. But remember: you need to tell your close family members and friends first in private before you post anything on social media. And we mean anything! Otherwise, feelings are bound to get hurt if you don’t prioritize your announcement.
Schedule Your Engagement Party
Chances are, your parents will be dying to throw you and your fiancé an engagement party to show you off to all your close family and friends. And as soon as you announce your engagement is the time to start planning the celebratory party. Don’t forget to invite any colleagues, workout buddies, and dates of your friends that you know would love to come. Try your best to pick a date shortly after your engagement so people feel like they’re involved from the start rather than allowing the initial excitement to die down.
Set a Budget
Setting the detail of finances will set the tone for the entire wedding and will be what you base your expectations off of from the start. Not setting a budget right away and allowing yourself to start planning, only to get hit with a brick wall when you realize you can’t afford your “must-haves” will definitely damage the entire experience of wedding planning. Keep it fun and realistic by nailing down this important detail from the start: Who’s paying for the wedding—is it the bride’s parents, both parents, just you two, or a combination?
Start Creating the Guest List
Your budget will help you determine the ballpark of guests you can invite since the number of people attending is the primary driving force of your bottom line. Getting started on the guest list will also help you as you look into all the other aspects of the wedding, like how much food you’ll need, the type of food you can afford, where you can splurge, and where you’ll need to cut back. For example, if you have a gorgeous venue picked out that you just have to get married in, renting it may mean that you need to limit your guest list to close family and friends, rather than inviting every single person you know. But if the guests are the most important factor, then you may be more willing to look for less expensive vendors.
Look into Hiring a Wedding Planner
As a busy, young professional, you’ll appreciate all the help you can get with wedding planning. After all, you probably already have a job! Looking into hiring a wedding planner to help you out from square one will be totally worth it. Wedding planners are experts in everything to do with planning your dream wedding that fits into your budget. They can help you stay on track, tell you when it’s time to book certain vendors, and can make necessary phone calls and emails for you. They also have the insider scoop on the best vendors in your area, and can introduce you to vendors that you may not have known about otherwise, but that you end up falling totally in love with. Think of a wedding planner as your wedding fairy godmother, cheerleader, uncomfortable-situation mediator, and etiquette coach. When it comes to your dream wedding, what else can you ask for?
Choose a Venue
If you already have a dream location in mind where you want to get married, great. It’s now time to contact the venue’s representatives and look into pricing and availability. If not, your wedding planner will be able to take the reigns on this one and guide you on your journey by showing you a number of venues based off of your personal taste, dream wedding style, budget, and other wants. If you will be planning your wedding on your own, you’ll want to do plenty of research into the venues in your area to get a feel for what’s available, in your budget, and to figure out what you truly love. Schedule in-person visits to see all of the venues for yourself and don’t hold back on any questions you have, including any rules and limitations they have.
Set the Date
You will typically want to set your date after you’ve booked your venue. This way, you are certain your dream location is available on the date you want. If it isn’t, you can then adjust the date to accommodate the venue. Once this is all set, it’s time to send your save-the-dates to everyone you want to invite to the big day. But first, you may want to schedule an engagement photo shoot with a photographer and incorporate a photo or two into the save-the-date card.
Start a Registry
You should be excited about this one! The thought of walking through a favorite store and scanning every single (okay, maybe not every) item you love is enough to make anyone anxious. Although starting your registry isn’t necessarily an important to-do to get done right away, you may want to have it started by the time the engagement party rolls around so guests can give you something they know you love. This head start will give you plenty of time to really think about what you and your fiancé want most so you don’t forget anything on the registry.
Whew! What a whirlwind! Now that you’re engaged, get started on each of these to-dos so you can begin the really fun parts as soon as possible. We wish you all the best and hope you consider us for your dream venue.
