Love is in the air. You’ve got a new sparkle on your finger and a spring in your step. Most future brides want to get straight into wedding planning after they get engaged. Don’t hold back – here’s what to do first.
Many engaged couples already have a good idea of when they’d like to get married. It might be during a specific season of the year, or it may be on a special date. Whenever it is, check all the most important people you want to be there have the date blocked out in their diaries. If you don’t mind when you get married, stay flexible. It might turn out the venue of your dreams has limited availability, in which case you’ll have more chance of being able to host your reception there.
The location of your wedding reception is one of the most important elements of your wedding day, and it’s never too early to start looking. This is the place you’ll spend the majority of your big day – especially if you have the ceremony there too – so it’s important to get it right. Make sure you look at venues when they’ve been set up for a wedding – it’s the only way you can really picture how your wedding day might look.
Dress shopping: it’s the part of the whole wedding planning process many brides look forward to the most. Most wedding dresses need to be made from scratch to perfectly fit you, or at least require a bit of tailoring, so getting stuck into wedding dress shopping early on is a good idea. Many boutiques ask you to make appointments in advance, so get booked in with a few different shops. It’s likely you’ll want to try on quite a number of dresses to be certain of your choice, so leave enough time and visit a good range of suppliers.
Wedding photographers and videographers can become quite booked up in advance, so this is another exciting aspect of your wedding you can start planning now. This is something you can do the bulk of online, so reserve it for lazy Sunday afternoons when you don’t want to venture too far from home. Have a look through photographers’ and videographers’ portfolios and short-list your favourites. It’s always a good idea to meet your preferred photographer or videographer before you book them, to ensure you have good rapport. Knowing they’ll make you feel comfortable on your big day will help you get the best pictures and videos possible.
Focusing on these four elements straight after getting engaged is the perfect way to get straight into the fun and important aspects of wedding planning. All the other details will soon slot into place too. It’s high time to plan, shop and get wed!
