Engagement season has arrived. If you’re one of those lucky people who has recently been proposed to, then the thoughts of wedding planning are probably starting to creep in. At first, these thoughts can be exciting. However, it can start getting overwhelming as the excitement fades and you’re hit with all of the things that you have to do before you walk down the aisle or decide to Elope in Las Vegas.
The amount a bride knows about planning a wedding varies greatly. This might be your first time ever encountering wedding festivities. This might be just one wedding in a string of them that you’ve been involved in planning. No matter your experience, the worry will come.
When this anxiety and worry hits, you want to focus on the tasks that must get done first. Tackle them in groups. Below are the first five things you’ll want to get done first to ease any wedding worries you’re feeling.
1. Make the announcement. You obviously want to tell your parents, family members, and close friends the big news in person. If those special people in your life live in another state or far away from you, let them know in a special call. After you’ve told everyone you feel absolutely needs to know, start planning the crafting of your announcements. Keep you announcements simple. You’ve just gotten engaged, and you may not know the theme you want just yet. When you keep it as simple as possible, you’re keeping yourself open as far as planning the theme.
2. Delve into dreams. It’s always assumed that the woman in the relationship has all these dreams about what her wedding will one day look like. That may or may not be the case for you, but, no matter if it is or isn’t, you should take the time to discuss what kind of wedding you want with your fiancé. They might have dreams of their own about what type of wedding they want.
Use this time to figure out what you both want. Start chatting about the style or theme, venue ideas, finding a photographer, etc. In this conversation, you don’t have to talk about money or even plan everything out. It’s just to get an idea of what you both want.
3. Talk about money. Now that you do have your dream wedding planned out, you have to take a look at reality. You don’t want to plan this whole wedding out just to realize halfway through the planning process that you don’t have the money for it. Discuss with your fiancé how you’re going to pay for the big day. It’s very rare nowadays that the bride’s family pays for the whole thing, so decide how or if you’re going to split the bill. At this point, you may also want to begin to prioritize different elements of the wedding. Perhaps you know you won’t enjoy the day without one of the best wedding bands uk playing you into the wee small hours, while your fiancé wants to keep some money aside for a unique honeymoon after the big day. By prioritizing whatever it is that you want early on in the planning process, you can ensure that your budget will be big enough to help you fulfill your wedding day dreams!
4. Get a rough outline on the timeframe. You don’t have to set a firm date right out the gate. However, it’s a smart move to have a rough idea of when you’d like to get married. Pick out at least a month or season. That will give you a rough estimate of how much time you have to throw this thing together.
5. Make a guest list. It may seem like a silly thing to do so early on, but a guest list can really help your entire planning process. Your wedding size determines so many things. It helps you pick the best venue. It helps you determine how much you’re going to spend. It helps determine how much, if any, travel will be involved. Make a list yourself then have your fiancé and both sets of parents make one too. This will ensure no one is missing but gives you room to cut and expand when need be.
The Bottom Line
Your wedding day is supposed to be the happiest day of your life. It makes no sense to have the time leading up to it be stressful and overwhelming. Go slow with the process if you need to, and don’t be afraid to ask for a little help. A friend or wedding planner can give that objective opinion that can really make the whole process a lot easier.
Zoey says
I definitely have a few people in my life who could benefit from this list!
Rosie says
I’d say before you start making decisions, find out how much things cost, as you may have a rude awakening about prices for services, etc, that would only add to the stress!