Newly engaged, now what? We’ve got some great advice for newly engaged (or soon-to-be engaged) couples to help you get on your way and start wedding planning!
Spread the News!
One of the first questions for newly engaged couples is when to share the good news. This may seem obvious, but in reality, the first item on your to-do list is to share the good news with your family and friends. Your announcement can range from a simple phone call or text, an announcement on social media or even a public announcement in the newspaper. Big or small, this is the time to celebrate with those you love the most!
Get Ring Insurance
If this wasn’t purchased at the time your fiance bought the ring, now is the time to get your ring insured. Ring insurance is a very important task you need to check off early on in the event anything should happen to your ring. It is a valuable investment and you don’t want to pay the price for not getting insurance should your ring get damaged or lost. Generally, you have two options – you can either get a ring insurance policy or you can have your ring covered under your home or renter’s insurance. This is one of the most valuable pieces of advice for engaged couples – don’t skip this one!
Get a Manicure
While not the most important task, this is certainly something fun to do before you start showing off your beautiful new ring in person to all your family and friends. Treat yourself to a relaxing manicure that will really make your ring pop and look even more stunning!
Celebrate!
Whether you are planning a larger scale engagement party at a restaurant or a small gathering of family and friends be sure to have some sort of celebration to toast to your new engagement. This is a great step to take before you jump into wedding planning. Once you start planning you’ll likely be consumed with wedding details, so this is a great time to just enjoy this next stage in life before planning for the next one.
Start Planning!
Now that you’ve told all your family and friends, taken care of getting ring insurance and celebrated a bit, it’s time to start planning! These next tips for engaged couples include the first three points of discussion you and your fiance need to determine, which are, when you’d like to get married, your guest list and your budget. These three factors will heavily determine many of the subsequent decisions you will have to make. Once you have a general idea of when you want to get married, how many people you and how much you want to spend on your wedding you have done most of the hard work already! From here it’s a good idea to determine where you want the actual ceremony to be – at a house of worship like a church or temple or on-site at the reception hall? As you begin to search for wedding venues knowing these factors will help you decide on the best place to hold your reception.
Armed with these bits of wedding advice for couples, you are sure to make the right decision based on your budget, guest list size and time of year preference. Booking your wedding reception venue and ceremony officiant and/or venue should be at the top of your list. There are many options when it comes to flowers, entertainment, photo, and video but you can’t even start to look at those unless you have a wedding date and location.
Once you’ve finalized the details for your wedding ceremony and reception site, some couples decide to take a break in planning since this part is usually a lot of work. At this point, you can relax knowing the biggest wedding to-dos are completed. However, if you’re planning a shorter engagement then you need to start searching for the rest of your vendors. This is also a great time to create deadlines and a large-scale to-do list that includes everything from your vendors to favors and every detail in between.
Choose and Ask Your Wedding Party
Now that wedding planning is in full swing if you haven’t asked your bridal party yet, now is the time! Make this moment special by giving them a small token gift along with a sweet note about what they mean to you and how you’d love for them to stand by your side on your wedding day. These are the people who will be helping you throughout all of your wedding planning, so choosing them early in the process is a great way to alleviate some stress during planning.
Go Dress Shopping
With your plan for your vendors underway, it’s time to gather up those special ladies you’d like to share in this moment with you. Maybe it’s your mom, soon to be mother-in-law, sisters or friends – whoever it is, pick a day to enjoy trying on beautiful dresses. This is also a great time to start looking at bridesmaid dresses as well.
Schedule Date Nights
Wedding planning can be extremely stressful and put a lot of strain on couples. To help avoid this and lessen the amount of stress you feel, it’s a good idea to schedule date nights ahead of time. These dates should just be about the two of you, no “shop talk” about wedding plans or details. Instead, use this time to connect and dream and plan for your future lives together.
Don’t Stress!
This is, of course, easier said than done, but good advice nonetheless. Keep in mind that your wedding is preparation for your marriage and that while your wedding day will be wonderful and special, it’s one day of out many to come. Rather than caving in to pressure from parents, family or friends, make sure your wedding day is about a celebration of love with those closest to you. Keeping a healthy perspective will allow you to breathe a little easier and enjoy your wedding day and simply have fun!
