Engaged!! Now what?? | 5 Steps to Start Planning a Wedding

Tis the season for all the holidays, which also means all of the holiday engagements. I know everyone’s feeds have been flooded with high school & college friends engagement announcements (MINE TOO haha).
So I feel like since I work in the wedding industry I have all this wedding knowledge. I thought I would share some thoughts on next steps after you get engaged so that you don’t have to freak out about planning a wedding!

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STEP ONE

Personally, I think the best step one is to take a breath. Everyone & their mother is going to have an opinion about what kind of wedding, what kind of engagement, what kind of elopement, whatever that you are “supposed” to have. So I would really encourage you to just take a breath. Take a minute to freakin celebrate. Let the realness set in.

STEP TWO

After truly celebrating your engagement, the next step might be the most important…getting on the same page with your fiancé(e) + whoever else may be helping pay for your wedding (because they get an opinion…). Get on the same page as far as what your budget looks like, what kind of event you want. Because that’s going to make EVERYONE’S life easier. 

Because if you get engaged, get excited & start reaching out to vendors before you know what you need/when you need it/what you can pay for it…vendors won’t know how to help you because you won’t even know what you’re looking for yet! So as much as you can, try to narrow those things down.

Which I know is hard if you don’t work in the wedding industry! Like how are you supposed to know what’s reasonable to pay a vendor or where to even start looking for vendors? Which brings me to….

STEP THREE

Make a list of vendors you know you’ll need. For instance, you know you need a venue if you’re having a traditional wedding. Like if you’re not eloping off in the mountains, ya gotta get married somewhere else? A wedding venue, backyard, beach, somewhere! But you’ll need a venue of some kind! And a caterer…photographer…officiant….and the list goes on… So make a list of the kinds of vendors you’ll need. 

And if you need help with this step: HIRE A PLANNER FIRST. Because, trust me, they are going to have ALL the knowledge. Like I work in the wedding industry so I have some knowledge. But a planner has freakin ALL the knowledge. Here are some vendors I think are kickass:

• Tapestry Event Co
• Cake and Lace
• LCM Weddings & Events

STEP THREE (continuation/tangent….?)

And I just want to be clear, because I know everyone has different expectations for weddings. Every wedding is a little bit different, because (duh) these two people haven’t planned a wedding together & gotten married before so it’s a new thing thats happening. So when you’re looking for vendors or when you start that process, don’t feel like you have to look for someone or have the same expectations as your friend or your family member. Because your wedding is different.

If you vibe with someone, whether that means you really click with their work or you click with their personality or you really click with their prices & their expectations regarding business, those are all 100% viable reasons to hire them. And you don’t have to think that just because your sister or your bff or whoever likes so&so vendor, that you also have to like them & hire them. Because your sister’s wedding, your bff’s wedding, & your wedding are all different! You all have different needs & expectations!

Don’t get me wrong, that might be a really great place to start; with vendors your friends & family recommend. Obviously, trust the people that the people you trust trust….(wow, did anyone follow that?) BUT if you don’t connect with that vendor, don’t hire them just because someone recommended them. Again, it’s not their wedding. It’s yours & you should be able to do what you want! 

STEP FOUR

Kind of a no-brainer but after you’ve made your list of vendors, you go through the list & hit up your favorite vendors in each category. And this is where you have to start deciding what you actually want & who to hire. (And liiiiiiike shameless plug, if you’re looking for wedding photo + video, I’m sitting right here, anxiously awaiting your email. But I’m only ready AFTER you’ve taken the time to enjoy & celebrate your engagement. Like this doesn’t happen everyday guys. It’s a big deal. Or if it does happen to you everyday we need to talk ASAP)!

STEP FIVE

Not to over simplify planning a wedding at all, but after you’ve hired your amazing vendors, then you trust them. And things should roll smoothly after that, especially if you hire a kickass planner. And I know not everyone can afford a kickass planner. But even if you are your own planner, trust yourself! Make lists, get shit done. Remember it doesn’t all have to be done right away! And trust the vendors that you do hire! And ASK YOUR VENDORS QUESTIONS!

Because honestly I spend so much time thinking about weddings & talking about weddings & going to weddings that I probably have answers to questions that I don’t even know until someone asks. So ask!!

If you’ve never planned a wedding or worked in the wedding industry, you may have questions that are difficult for you to figure out/know. But like it might be a super simple answer that someone who lives & breathes weddings will know. 

I’m serious. Like even if you don’t hire me, ask me questions anyway. Because I genuinely rather you go into your wedding planning process with confidence because you know what you’re looking for or what to expect, than for you to feel stressed out over your wedding planning & not enjoy this process at all. Because this should be a fun, happy time filled with love & new beginnings. And like really, what else am I going to do with all this wedding knowledge guys?

Wrapping it up…

Um, ok. I think that’s about it. Just want to encourage you newly engaged couples out there because I know that planning an entire wedding can feel very daunting & overwhelming. But it doesn’t have to be. It can be fun; it can be easy…legit scared to say that. I’m worried people are going to get mad at me for saying that. BUT it can be a good experience & at the end of the day you get to marry the love of your life so reallllly, it’s a win no matter what.

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