First off, if you are reading this, you are probably newly engaged so CONGRATULATIONS! The time of engagement is such an exciting time in your life, so be sure to enjoy every moment together in these days leading up to your wedding! I remember after I got engaged, it was a whirlwind of emotions and also a long list of things I felt like I “Needed to Do” for whatever reason. In this post, I am going to share with you some of my top tips for what to do right after you get engaged so you can get the big things out of the way and can just enjoy being engaged!
Decide Your Wedding Date
This is probably the most obvious one – you will want to pick your date! (Or at the very least, pick a month or a season you prefer!) Some couples have a specific venue that they want and so they are a little bit more flexible with their date, and some couples are more flexible with their venue so they set their date first. The decision on which to decide first is totally up to you based on your personal preferences and other deciding factors you have!
Contact Your Church About Marriage Prep
Look into options for marriage prep in your area. If you are getting married in a Catholic Church, you will need to go through their marriage prep course. Getting this started early can help you have more time to devote to it, but also can help ease stress later on.
Book Your Wedding Venue
The biggest thing that might impact your date is your wedding venue, so we want to make sure we take care of this first. You want to first decide on what type of ceremony you will be having and what your feel of your day is. Once you have your venue and/or church booked, your date is solidified!
Book Your Wedding Photographer
Once your venue is booked, the next thing you want to do is to book your wedding photographer. This is the person that will potentially be spending more time with you than your future spouse on your big day, so you really want to make sure that you take the time to find one you love. After you have booked your wedding photographer, you will be able to get some engagement photos taken!
Talk To/Book All Other Wedding Vendors
Next, you will want to book all your other wedding vendors or at least contact them to see when you are able to meet with them to talk about your wedding. Wedding vendors book out pretty far in advance, so making sure you take the time now to talk to them will save you stress later on.
- Caterer
- Cake
- Florist
- DJ
- Wedding Planner (If you would like one)
- Musicians
- Jeweler (For Rings)
- Bridal Party Attire
Set Up Some Appointments for Trying On Dresses!
You should get started on finding a dress right away – dresses can take months to make and even once you get your dress you might need to get it altered. You want to make sure that you have enough time to find the perfect dress and then make sure that you have enough time to alter it so that it is the perfect fit
Invite Your Bridal Party Members
Finally, you will want to decide who will stand next to you on your big day and ask them to join you. It’s a good idea to ask your party members early so they can start making arrangements and start helping you with your big day!
Take a breath and enjoy being ENGAGED!
Those are all the things that you need to do right now! Sure, you do other things like send out save the dates (Only if you want to!), but once your vendors are all booked, you can breathe and not have to worry as much. Next comes all the fun little details of planning colors, center pieces, invitations, etc. Unless you have a super short engagement, you can focus on those things later. Just take a few days to take it all in and enjoy being ENGAGED to the love of your life!
Hopefully this was helpful for you! If you have any questions, feel free to reach out! I’m always happy to help!
Happy Planning!
