What To Do Immediately After Getting Engaged

Pop the champs because you’re officially a fiancée! Congratulations! 

After you’ve celebrated properly, it’s time to dig in and start planning! You might be thinking, “where the heck do I even start?!” Wedding planning can definitely be intimidating. But don’t worry, you have plenty of time and we’re here to help!

Here’s what you need to do immediately after getting engaged:

Enjoy Your Engagement

Yep, you heard that right. After getting engaged, it’s time to enjoy it. Soak up the sweet moments with your fiancé – you’ll have more than enough time to plan (and stress!), trust us. Treat yourself to date nights while you daydream about your upcoming wedding and future married life.

Engagement Photos 

While you’re still on the engagement high, book some engagement photos! This is a great way to remember this season of your life. Plus, it’ll warm you guys up for your wedding photos! And, if you’re really on top of it, you can book the same photographer you’re planning to have at your wedding; this will make your wedding photos a breeze since you’re already comfortable with each other! 

Figure Out Your Budget 

Alright, now that you’ve celebrated and enjoyed properly, it’s time for the not-so-sexy part. You guessed it, the budget. It’s good to tackle this task first, as it will be a deciding factor for the rest of your planning decisions. If your parents, or anyone else besides you and your fiancé, are paying for the wedding, make sure you are all on the same page budget-wise.

Put Together the Guest List

Like the budget, your guest list will also determine other factors in your wedding: how big (or small) your venue needs to be, if you’ll need a second photographer, what percentage of the budget will go to food and alcohol, etc. Grab a bottle of wine and sit down with your fiance to create the first draft. From there, you can add and subtract where needed.

Set a Date

Now the fun stuff begins with, first things first, setting a date! Eeeek! There are 2 ways you can do this. One, pick a date and then book your venue afterward, depending on which venue has availability on your date. This is usually the route you take if you choose a meaningful date and aren’t flexible on moving it. The second option is to choose a season or month, and then when you find your dream venue, you can pick between available dates for that time of year. 

Book Your Venue

Now the really fun part, booking your venue! Booking the venue first before any other vendor is super important. Your dream venue may have a list of preferred vendors and not allow other vendors to be used. Plus, you may decide to choose vendors who have worked at your venue before, or use one of the venue’s recommendations, even if it’s not required. In addition, you’ll typically need to know your date and venue in order to book other vendors; they’ll need to know when and where to give you availability and pricing.

From there, it’s time to book the rest of your vendors and take care of all the little details! But, doing these things immediately after getting engaged will set you up for success. Now, go get started!!

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