When cuffing season turns to engagement season, my ears perk up. Unlike so many of my friends, I love seeing happy people posting with their shiny new rings and excited for all the wonderful things to come over the next year. When the excitement wears off, most brides are left saying, “where do I begin?”
My best advice is to get organized! When my Husband and I first got engaged, he asked if we could wait a month before starting any serious wedding planning. When he first asked me this I said “do you even know who you want to marry?”. He wanted to wait and avoid being shot out of a cannon the day after the proposal, which I can’t blame him for. After a few days of just sitting around with my new sparkle on my finger, I settled down. Darn if he wasn’t right, waiting was a great idea.
Waiting to start planning made me think and get mentally organized about what I wanted to do first. Waiting made me read more wedding blogs and checklists to make sure my ideas were on target with the real wedding world. Waiting most of all, gave us an opportunity to just be engaged for a moment. Sure there would be other times over the next year when we had down time and weren’t planning 24/7, but there is no time like the first few weeks of being engaged.
If you know you are going to have a year or more for your engagement, I suggest taking a moment to soak it all in. Once that time is over though it can still be incredibly over whelming on where to start, who to email and what to ask for. Whenever I find myself puzzled on where to begin, I usually work backwards from a particular step.
I have noticed a lot of Brides starting this process by picking a date. I can tell you one thing, a date means nothing if there is no venue on that day. A venue controls the date of your wedding. Finances control the venue, multiple people can control finances. Starting with a healthy conversation about what your budget is is the best place to begin if you ask me. While your parents, uncles and grandma might contribute or end up taking the final bill, I always urge brides and grooms to be realistic with what they could afford on their own. Just because you have always thought your parents or her parents would foot the bill for the wedding, you never know what will happen when push comes to shove. After all, you know what they say about assuming…
When discussing your budget, you will find a variety of topics that need an estimated amount next to them, catering, venue, Dj or band, guest list etc. It is very challenging to estimate what these will be I’ll be honest. Every town, wedding and location can play into these factors. Determining the money you are comfortable spending can be easier to determine.
So while this time may seem like a blurry and a to do list that never ends. You will be just fine. If things seem like they are getting too much for you, shoot me an email at Thedirtyblondestylist@gmail.com.
-MB
The Dirty Blonde Stylist 