Getting engaged is one of the most exciting things that can happen to a person! The elation, the joy, the happiness, the daydreaming of your future with your significant other is a feeling you’ll never forget. From that point on, you know with the two of you working together, you can conquer anything - which is absolutely true! Yet, after the proposal, most people have NO idea what they should do next. They don’t know where to begin - should you do what your friend did when she got engaged? Or should you listen to your Mom or your Cousin about the first steps they took when they got engaged? Well have no fear! We’ve compiled a great list of the FIRST steps you and your newly betrothed should take on your Wedding Planning Journey!
STEP 1: TALK ABOUT YOUR WEDDING DAY DREAMS
Have you ever asked your significant other what they envisioned for their Wedding Day? If you haven’t, this is the perfect time to have the conversation. To ensure you are working toward the same goal (goes along with that conquer anything mantra), you should have a conversation in the beginning about what you’re both interested in seeing. Did you think you would be married on a farm? Or on a rooftop? On a yacht or in a Church? If you two have never had the conversation before about what your dream Wedding would look like, you might find you both have very different opinions OR you might find one person has no opinion (about certain aspects) at all. Regardless of the outcome, you want to ensure that you both are on the same page about the end result. If you don’t have this conversation up front, you’ll run into all types of disagreements, mishaps and unnecessary nights of going to bed upset with each other. Do yourself a favor and talk about everything in the beginning!
STEP 2: SET YOUR BUDGET
Once you are clear about your Wedding Day expectations, then you can have one of the tougher - if not the toughest - Wedding Planning conversations: your Wedding Day Budget. Along with understanding each other’s Wedding Day goals, ask each other what the other one thinks is a realistic budget. It’s easier to have this conversation in the beginning of the planning process, so you can be on the same page, as you both begin to learn how much different Wedding elements cost and determine what to prioritize. If any friends or family members have indicated that they plan to contribute financially for your Wedding, you should contact them during this part of the process to confirm how much they are going to contribute. If you plan to take out a loan to cover your expenses (WHICH WE DO NOT SUGGEST), this would be the time to determine how much of a loan you are going to take out. Once you get to a firm budget number (or at least a budget range), you have conquered one of the biggest obstacles in Wedding planning and can move on with confidence!
STEP 3: SELECT A DATE
If you’ve followed the step above, then settling on a Wedding date should be really easy. If you both agree that you want to get married in September, then start looking at all of the dates within your calendar. If there isn’t a date that is significant date within your relationship you want to honor (i.e. like the first time you met or your first date), then it looks like you may have free reign on any date that fits your desires. First, decide if you want to have your Wedding on a Friday, Saturday, Sunday or any other day of the week. Once you select the day of the week, then decide if you want to avoid holidays (i.e. Labor Day in this case) or any other important dates like Back to School, Homecomings, etc. PRO TIP: Some venues and vendors will provide a price break if you book during a non-busy time i.e. Friday or Sunday Wedding; January/February or a traditionally warmer weekend in the summer. If your Wedding Date is flexible, keep this in mind when visiting venues and speaking with vendors.
STEP: 4 RESEARCH VENUES
Once have discussed your Wedding Day goals and your date, this is the perfect time to start contacting venues. At this point, you should be quite confident in what type of look and feel you and your fiance are looking for as well as your preferred Wedding date. This is enough information to begin scheduling site visits with venues to tour the properties. Most venues can be contacted directly through a form on their website or they may have profiles on The Knot or WeddingWire. Regardless of how you contact the venue, you want to be sure you visit at least 3 different venues that meet you and your fiance’s criteria. PRO TIP: If your Wedding Date has flexibility, be sure to have 2 dates you can provide to the venue - your 1st preferred date and your 2nd preferred date in case the first date is already booked.
STEP 5: CREATE YOUR WEDDING GUEST LIST
Once you have your 3-5 venue site visits scheduled, you should move to one of the biggest (and likely, most stressful) tasks of Wedding Planning - creating your Guest List. Lucky for you and your fiance’, we have compiled a step by step process to help you Create the Perfect Guest List. Just follow our guide and you should be be able to create your Wedding Guest List quickly and without stress, so you can get on to the fun part of planning - picking flowers and linens!
STEP 6: START PLANNING AND CALL A BRIDAL HELPLINE PLANNER!
After these tasks are taken care of, then you can move onto to fun stuff like planning your engagement celebration, selecting your Bridal Party, finding your Wedding dress, holding your menu and Wedding cake tastings and determining your centerpieces. If at any point during your Wedding Planning process you have questions (no matter how big or how small), schedule a Bridal Help Session to connect with a Wedding Industry Certified Planner whose sole focus is to help you develop solutions to your specific Wedding Planning Questions.
Our main mission is to ensure EVERY Bride has the tools to create the Wedding of her dreams; and we mention that because we know what it’s like to be excited and overwhelmed at the same time. We truly believe if you start with these first few tips, you’ll begin your Wedding Journey is a stress free manner that will enable you to enjoy every single step of the process.
Designed for today's Modern DIY Bride, The Bridal Helpline is the ideal addition to your already busy lifestyle - giving you the flexibility of planning your Wedding anytime, anywhere. THE BRIDAL HELPLINE connects you by phone to an experienced, Wedding Industry certified Wedding Planner to help you develop solutions to your Wedding Planning questions.
HOW IT WORKS
STEP 1: CHOOSE A SERVICE
Assess your list of wedding planning questions and decide if you need a 25 or 50 minute Bridal Help Session.
STEP 2: PICK A DATE
Find a date + time that fits your schedule. You will receive the name and number of your Bridal Helpline Planner.
STEP 3: MAKE A CALL
Simply call on the day an time of your session and get answers to all the questions on your list.
SCHEDULE YOUR CALL
There are two convenient ways to speak with a Bridal Helpline Planner. You can either schedule a session based on your personal availability or your can select your favorite Bridal Helpline Planner. Bridal Help Sessions can be reserved with your Bridal Helpline Planner as far as a week in advance or as soon as 24 hours before you need to chat, so you have plenty of time to gather all of your Wedding Planning questions.
Tags // DIY Bride, DIY Wedding, Bridal Helpline, Wedding Help, Wedding Advice, Bride, Engaged, Bridal Help Session, Wedding Venue, Guest List, Valentine's Day Engagement, Engagement Photos
