What to do After you get Engaged

You just got engaged and you are excitedly telling all your friends and family than they start asking questions: “When is the wedding” “Omg you have to have the wedding *insert some venue*” “Are you inviting Aunt Mildred?!”

If you are wThe first few weeks of an engagement are exciting, celebratory and can get a bit overwhelming. Here is what I think you should do first.

1. Celebrate –

Share with loved ones and anytime someone asks for specifics tell them “We are in celebration mode right now! I’ll share details with you once we have them!”

Pro-tip: Make a list of all the people you need to tell individually before posting on social media! Tell those folks first

 

2. Go on a date, imagine the end of your wedding –

I find it helpful to backward plan. Go on a date and spend the date talking about how you want to feel at the end of your wedding day.  How do you want to feel at the end of the night? Do you want to feel restful and surrounded by a chosen few? Do you want to be amped up because you just threw the best party of your lives? do you won’t feel like you made your family proud? Think about how you would like to feel at the end of the night (there are no wrong answers here) and write this down on paper. THIS IS IMPORTANT. Get your vision down on paper and use that to guide your decisions moving forward.

 

3. Find local wedding hashtags and start stalking potential vendors

Your vendor team is going to make your day. They are the people who will bring your dreams to life. I recommend you start searching hashtags like #yourcityweddingphotographer #yourcityweddingplanner (For New Orleans #NewOrleansWedding #NewOrleansWeddingPhotographer #NewOrleansWeddingPlanner etc) and when a post pops up you connect with, follow that account. Spend a month not stressing about booking anyone but just sitting back and seeing whos vibe you love. Remember, your vendors will be will you all day! So start to stalk the ones who you think would match your energy.

 

4. Decide what time of year you want to have your wedding

Figure out what time of year fits the wedding vibe you are looking for. Do you want something in the summer, or do you hate the heat and want a January wedding? Or maybe your 10 anniversary is in 8 months on a Saturday and you must get married on that date. Your wedding date is going to drive all other vendors and decisions, I recommend having a window of 3-4 weeks for your wedding and not getting too attached to a date until you have a venue!

 

See this full gallery here – Cat + Fray Garden District Engagement Photos

5. Figure out a budget

Money is only weird if you make it. Talking about money is going to make planning feel less scary and daunting if you have some numbers in mind already. If you were anything like me planning my own wedding (I got married a few years before I started working in the wedding industry) you know nothing about what a wedding cost. A great place to start is looking up your zip code on Wedding Reports to get baseline figures, and then wedding wire does a huge annual report that is also helpful! Keep in mind these reports are AVERAGES. Individual cost per vendor varies greatly from these averages.

 

BONUS: 6.) Get a wedding planning checklist to start to figure out the next steps

And I have you covered here. You can click here to get my FREE wedding planning checklist. It’s inclusive, non-pink and will help keep you sane.