The amazing moment of being proposed to has finally happened! Your fiance got down on knee in front of you, maybe it was an intimate experience, maybe they asked all of your family and friends to bear witness to the moment, however it happened – here you are with a beautiful ring on your finger, joy, excitement, happiness and love beating through your chest every moment of every day and a million and one questions on where do I even start planning a wedding?!
Planning a wedding is such an exciting time in life, but admittedly it can also be super overwhelming. There are all the vendors to contact, do you attend a bridal show, what do I do first – hire a photographer, choose my venue?
First, breathe. I want to make this so easy for you that you won’t even break a sweat taking your next steps!
Alright, let’s assume at this point you have already called your parents, your BFF since 3rd grade, your 2nd cousin twice removed and posted that ring selfie with your totally fab manicure…your next step is to absolutely get your ring insured.
Getting your ring insured: Often times when your fiance was purchasing your ring, they were likely given a pamphlet to have your ring insured on top of offering a plan to have any repairs or maintenance performed on your ring. But, did you know that you can also add your ring insurance as an extension to your renters or homeowners insurance – and when bundled, you would be surprised at how affordable it can be! We never want to ever think that our rings could get lost or stolen, but it can and does happen.
Speaking of rings becoming lost, getting your ring sized is so important. Rule of thumb is to get it a little tighter so that it may be a tad squeeze over your knuckle but doesn’t have to be shoved on to your finger. And, even cooler these days is the fact that your ring doesn’t have to actually be cut to be sized appropriately anymore. You can have pieces of solder (small pieces of the same metal your ring is made of) added to the inside of your ring. These pieces of solder are easily attached and removed when necessary.
Take a breather. Allow this exciting time to really sink in for a couple of weeks before you really jump into wedding planning. Have a date night with your fiance. Get used to saying “This is my fiance” over and over. Take loads of selfies. Really soak in this time, it totally deserves it’s own celebration!
Next up on the list is to think about and choose a date. Your first two bookings will absolutely revolve around your date you’re choosing to get married, so having that set in stone first is so vital. When choosing a date, here are a couple of pieces to consider: Are there any conflicts surrounding any potential dates – important people and big birthdays; will it be Grammy’s 90th birthday or your nephew’s 1st birthday on your wedding day? Is there a major holiday around your date – Thanksgiving or Christmas – that may impede travel or make traveling guests flights more expensive? Do you have a special date you and your fiance share that you’ve always had your heart set on?
Now, following choosing your date, almost every list you will ever find will tell you to choose your venue first. And while, I would absolutely agree on this if you are planning a wedding at least a year, or two in advance, especially for popular wedding venues – in Phoenix I’m talking about El Chorro, The Farm at South Mountain, Venue at the Grove, Desert Botanical Gardens and so on – I would say you’re next must book is your photographer.
Booking your wedding photographer as one of your first bookings is so important. Most wedding photographer’s book out at least 6-9 months in advance, but in all reality, 1 year in advance. And while that doesn’t mean that there are always last minute openings, but if you’ve been stalking your favorite couple of photographer’s on Instagram or Facebook for a while now, it would be a great idea to sit down with your fiance, the photographer’s website’s or pages open and go over the things you love about them and then inquire!
Having your wedding photographer as one of your first vendor’s is amazing because they can offer you assistance with things like: engagement session + save the date’s, wedding day timeline assistance to maximize your day and ability to capture all those important images, vendor referrals!
I promise, once you have these two booked and out of the way, everything else is small potatoes and the fun has really gotten started! Now you get to start picking the fun things like who is in your bridal party, what will you serve your guests, cake tasting, will there be an open bar or beer burros (have you ever seen these cute little guys?! Beer Burros – SO cute!), cake tasting, music list for that fun dance floor, practicing your first dance with your fiance in your living room or with dance lessons, did I mention cake tasting?!
I hope this has helped relieve some of your stress on what to do next – leave me a comment below about where you are in your wedding day planning or share this blog post with a friend who has recently become engaged!
