Congratulations for your engagement!!
Time after engagement and before the wedding is the most fun, exciting and loved-up time ever. After your engagement is over you will find that there are so many things to think about, so many people to contact and so much to get done. Well, you don’t need to overwhelm. Understand, you have plenty of time in hand to plan the rest of your lives after your engagement. But right now you’ll be itching to share the news with all your friends and dive into the actual wedding planning part headfirst, as most people do that.
Undoubtedly, there will be a lot of preparation to be done, a lot of things to be taken care of. You will start getting advice from different people the moment you get engaged, some of them really helpful, some of them, not so much. An average engagement lasts a year to a year-and-a-half, and there are certain things you’ll want to get done, from informing your parents to finally enjoying the current status from single to engage!!
But the question is where to start? Well, there is no hard and fast order to be followed, if you know how to tackle the immediate to-dos. Though things seem easier at the onset, but committing the rest of your life to your significant other has all sort of mixed emotions, sometimes scary and other times amazing and also, stress is another part which needs to be dealt.However, it’s a major, major turning point and takes a lot of effort. But before that there are certain DO’s & DON’Ts, which you need to know. Let’s start with DO’s. Here we go…
Call Your Parents
First things first, calling your parents is the first step just after your engagement. Also, call your siblings and BFFs too if you don’t want to keep it hidden for a while. Telling all your loved ones personally will leave a great impact on your relationship with them, and they will appreciate you for that. That’s a great sign of great bond. Your parents may already be knowing and perhaps waiting by the phone to know the good news.
Go for a Manicure
After your engagement the most important part of your body which will be in the spotlight for the next couple of weeks is your hands. So, it becomes a sort of crucial to get a manicure done, so that the diamond which you want to flaunt looks beautiful on your hands. Or even if you are not going for the manicure, then at least get your nails cleaned and shaped. Otherwise, everybody will focus on your chipped nail paint than your gorgeous diamond. Not a nice idea……
Get your ring sized
Yeah, this is crucial if the ring doesn’t fit at all. It is better to take your over-sized ring to your jeweler stat to get it sized. Don’t wait another day to get it done, especially if it’s falling off your finger. Of course, that won’t be a great idea to bear such a big loss after saying yes.
Post a picture with your ring
If you think you are ready to share your engagement news with the world, then the best way is to take a selfie of the ring or a picture of you and your partner and post it across social media platforms. If you want you can even post a video (if the proposal is caught on video). Just take to your Instagram and Facebook and make it official!
It’s time to celebrate
Well, the news is as great as your proposal, so it’s time to celebrate the same with your besties. Take some time off from your routine and round up some of your best friends and family members and go out for dinner, or celebratory drink, or if you want you can even celebrate a solo special date night. But having some of your favorite people to share your happiness will be worth. After all, you’re engaged, and that’s totally worth toasting together.
It’s time to get your ring insured
Well, it may sound weird to you but the truth is that costly diamond needs to be insured. Of course, it’s expensive and the most exciting thing in the world, and you need to end up saving your butt in the long run. Better combine it with your homeowner or renter’s insurance policy, it will cost you less!!
Take a break
That’s okay that you have got engaged and you have several wedding related things to look after, still you don’t need to jump into wedding planning immediately after your engagement! Take a break for a week or two to let the news really register within. Meanwhile, you can just savor the moment. Believe you me, later you are going to have immense pressure until the D-day.
Think about a wedding date
If you are planning to get married in a year or half you need to think of a wedding date well in advance. Because it’s not just you who is planning a wedding. Remember, the most desirable wedding dates and wedding venues get booked far in advance.Therefore, it’s a wise idea to think of your wedding dates now. Also, sit with your family and your partner and partner’s family to decide the best suitable dates.
Decide your wedding size
Now it is crucial to determine your wedding size as well. Once you have the size of the wedding in your hand, deciding on budget will be easy. Whether you want to host a big fat wedding or planning to have an intimate celebration with just a few guests, but deciding the size is important. Also, take your family’s advice on the matter. Sit with your partner, and your families to decide the size of the wedding, as your families will also have some plans related to your wedding.
Decide your wedding budget
Believe it or not, but money matters a lot. Whether you like to talk about money or not, whether you find the money matters awkward, but you need to decide your wedding budget. Whether you plan a big size wedding or an intimate affair, budget is needed. Before moving ahead with your wedding planning the first and foremost thing which you need to plan is to decide your wedding budget as it is very important to know the budget in the beginning itself.
Your budget will be the driving factor for almost all the wedding-related decisions, so this is the first thing you need to have clarity with for the subtle functioning. While setting your budget, do speak to family members and close relatives too, they might also have planned some gift for you, talk to them and know how much they are planning to spend. This way you will save on money which you might otherwise spend on something which is already in your uncle’s mind to gift you on your wedding day. Remember that weddings are pricey affairs and you need to be vigilant while spending. Also, whatever budget you have decided stick to it religiously.
Research wedding venues
Now it is the time to research wedding venue. Of course, your wedding venue will be the first place for your wedding guests to celebrate your special day. You cannot simply book a date until you have your dream venue! So, make sure you do online research online, or maybe recommendation from your friends or family, or if you already have some places in mind. You can call out all these places and get detailed information on pricing and availability. Also, it is crucial that you don’t just book the first venue you visit.
Choose two-three wedding venues, visit all of them, get the details, and check their services. Also, read reviews online. Only when you find it a comfortable place from all the aspects to host your great event there, you can book it. Be it a destination wedding or a wedding in your own town.
List out everything related to your wedding
Now that you have decided the budget and wedding size, it’s time to see where and how to spend the money. You need to list out things in order of their priority. Sit down with your family and figure out everything from food to photography, Music to booze, venue to décor, as these are the most important aspects of your wedding. Listing things out will help you to stick to your budget and spend within your budget.
Don’t hurry your decisions
You may find it a lot of tasks to complete, or you might be enticed to book all the vendors immediately after your engagement is over. But that is not what is needed to host a great wedding. You need to be very patient while you decide anything about your wedding. You will come across a myriad of options because you have time, just compare all the options and then accordingly decide the final one.
Build your wedding website
Now it is the time to build your wedding website. Online you may find many options or wedding website templates to create your own. Or if you are ready to do everything on your own then you can decide something of your own choice. Otherwise, you can easily personalize your wedding website. Just see the pros and cons of the templates, and then pick the best one for yourself.
Start gathering inspirations
We live in the era of technology and getting inspiration has never been this easier. Now you have wonderful online platforms from where you can get some inspiration to decide on your wedding décor, wedding outfit. All you need to do is to create a Pinterest board, or Google Doc, or save photos on Instagram, or at least create a folder on your computer to collate images of your favorite wedding elements. Use your organizational skills and keep it to yourself. Or you can share with your wedding planner, your mother, friends, fiance, and your siblings, whoever you want to share with.
Start your beauty regime early
As you know that your wedding is a once in a lifetime occasion, you must know this also that you must look the best in your big day which is only possible when you will make time for your beauty regime. Visit a parlor just a month before your wedding will not help you at all, if you think it does, then you are mistaken. Just imagine the level of stress, pressure, exertion, you have to go through all these months while preparing for your wedding. In order to get that bridal glow you have to follow a beauty regime which should start after your engagement, especially when there is less time in your wedding. So, look beautiful and be beautiful… Your wedding is no ordinary event.
Start recruiting members for help
You can’t do all the wedding related procedures all alone, so it is good to recruit or take help from someone who you trust completely. Also, the one who you know, who is able to handle all that is asked, align with your choices and needs. Also, you can take help from your spouse to be, as its equal for both of you, it will be fun to plan together and be a part of the journey to cherish throughout your life the golden moment which you both will spend in doing things for your own wedding.
Decide bride and groom team
It is also important to decide your team members well in advance. Choose how many bridesmaids or groomsmen do each of you want. See whether you want to go with odd numbers or is an even number that’s what you are looking for. Would you want to have a maid of honor and your partner the best man, who will be those team members? Whatever, but you need to discuss these things before finally talking to your friends.
Interview professional wedding planners and/or vendors
If you’re considering bringing a professional planner on board to help with logistics and décor, ask around for references and do a little online research, then set up some interviews. For the vendor referrals alone, a wedding planner is totally worth their weight in gold! Or, for smaller affairs, go directly to the source and check out a few vendors on your own.
Your wedding outfit
You must have some specific wedding dress designer or maybe your favorite dress designer. Well, you don’t have to try on dresses so immediately. But it is always good to peep your designer’s trunk show schedule and see when they’ll be in town. And find out how much discount you can score on their new collection.
Hire vendors only after interviewing them and when you find yourself comfortable with them
When you start searching for wedding vendors you will encounter many of them. Just don’t hire them for your big day as they told you few rosy things, better get reviews about their services and see whether they are good at their work or not, it is not just enough to have a vendor, you need to be comfortable with the vendor. No matter how much time it takes to finalize the vendors but go with the ones you are comfortable with, otherwise you will have a tough time dealing with them.
Plan an Engagement Party
Well, it is always good to host a party to celebrate your big event. And your engagement is one such special event of your life, which you should celebrate with your loved one. Just plan your wedding party the way you want to, whether big or small, host it at your home or at some hotel or resort. If you want you can even plan it out of town or maybe at some outdoor location. Actually, the idea is to celebrate the whole event totally and have a lot of fun!
And just relax!
Last but not least, involve yourself in some fun activity, especially which involves two of you. If you two are into sports then indulging yourself in games such as; golf, bowling, ice skating etc. Or if you two are more into traveling then a trip to the beach will be a great idea. Because your wedding planning journey is going to be insanely stressful. So, it will be good to try to find some humor in things that you both like. So, don’t forget to take some time to laugh, enjoy, and have a lot of fun together!
AND FINALLY…
The whole idea is to nicely and skillfully organize your wedding and give yourself enough time to plan for that. Wedding planning is much tougher than I think that it would be, Organization is what is needed to have a wonderful great wedding. You have to keep track of everything. Know that even with the most painstaking planning and organization system, there can arise some chaotic situation from time to time. Try your best to plan things and enjoy every moment, there is no need to be too hard on yourself. There are many ways to be organized..!! And yes, don’t forget to enjoy your courtship period!!
You can check find out the list of DONT’s here
Happy Wedding…