Guiding you through the first stages of your wedding planning

Have you just got engaged and don’t know where to start with planning your special day? 

Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! We have put together our top tips for the early planning stages to give you guidance and make you feel more in control. Making the process more enjoyable for you.

Let’s get right to it, here is what should you do now you’re engaged:

1. Enjoy it!

Spend time together and take it all in. Go for a romantic walk or candlelit dinner, reminisce over the proposal and start discussing your ideas for the wedding.

2. Share the good news

Start with your family then your close friends and finally move onto everyone else.

3. Have your engagement ring fitted and insured

Make sure your ring is the perfect size and insured as soon as possible. Losing your uninsured ring would not be the best way to start your engagement!

4. Buy a wedding planner book or create an online version

It is important to get this as soon as possible, this way you can keep all of your notes and ideas together in one place.

Make sure you don’t make 5 of the common mistakes couples make when planning their wedding:

1. Not planning entertainment for the drinks receptions
2. Not researching your suppliers before booking
3. Don’t let your guests remember the wedding food for the wrong reasons
4. Not consider the children in your plans
5. Last-minute planning

To learn more about these mistakes check out our blog here.

5. Decide who you want to have involved in your big day

Plan your wedding party list and send out your bridal party/groomsmen proposals. The sooner they are asked the sooner you can celebrate together, of course also not forgetting the sooner they can help with the wedding planning!

We have put together tips below to help you with this decision

Here are 8 things to consider when choosing your Best man:

1. Will they be supportive of your decisions and bring a positive attitude and not negativity?
2. Do they have experience in planning great parties and celebrations?
3. It will make things easier if they are sociable and outgoing
4. If you can, ask them in person, this way it is more meaningful
5. Are they organised?
6. Would being your Best Man be important to them? Would they take the role seriously?
7. Would they ask you to be their Best Man?
8. Often the obvious choice is the right choice

Tips for choosing your Bridesmaids: 

1. Decide how many you want
2. Who are your nearest and dearest, think about their feelings. Would they expect to be asked? Would they ask you to be their bridesmaid?
3. Think about including siblings
4. Choose your Maid of Honour first
5. Take into account the different personalities, would they make a good bridesmaid?
6. Bear in mind your budget, how much will it cost for the dresses, make up, hair, and accessories?
7. Don’t forget childhood friends
8. Consider who could take responsibility for the role
9. Decide if you want flower girls, if so how many?

Stuck on how to ask your bridesmaids? Check out our blog here for bridesmaid proposal ideas!

6. Research and budget planning

There is a lot to do when it comes to planning your big day, get researching as soon as you can. This will ensure you know what to expect and that you will be making educated decisions which is really important, especially when it comes to your venue search. Based on your research you can create your budget, it is important to create your budget early on to make sure you don’t let your imagination run beyond your means.

Not sure where to start with the research? Here are 7 ways:

1. Wedding websites
2. Wedding fairs and local open evenings
3. Wedding magazines
4. Instagram Hashtags
5. Facebook groups
6. Word of mouth
7. Pinterest

For more information on this you can check out our blog here.

Are you worried about your budget? The key thing to get in order is your guest numbers as this will dictate everything.

If you are struggling to keep your numbers down and within budget ask yourselves these 10 questions when deciding on guests you are unsure on:

1. Were you invited to their wedding?
2. How would you feel if you weren’t invited to their wedding?
3. Would you want to talk to them for 15 minutes at the wedding?
4. Do you know their last name? (Without checking!)
5. Have you talked to them in the last 6 months?
6. Would you want to go out for a meal with them or have them over for dinner?
7. Do they even know you’re engaged?
8. Did they congratulate you on your engagement?
9. If you’re debating inviting a plus one think, have you ever met their plus one?
10. What will they add to your special day, are they funny and outgoing?

7. Decide on a date and get venue searching

this will go hand in hand, you will need to have an idea of dates but the venue will dictate this overall due to their availability or lack of. It is important to do this as soon as possible as the venue will be the base for the rest of your planning, you also need to get in early with venues to guarantee availability.

Here are 5 key things to consider when choosing a venue:

1. Location
2. Theme
3. Capacity
4. Testimonials and First Impressions
5. Budget

For more information click here, when you are ready to go for showrounds at venues click here for 20 questions to ask them before booking!

8. Book your photographer and have an engagement shoot

Similarly to your venue, photographers book up quickly, you need to book them asap to make sure you don’t miss out. Arranging an engagement shoot will also be a lovely way to practice for the big day and create memories to cherish forever.

Enjoy every minute of your engagement, it is a lovely time to cherish and celebrate with each other. You can join our Facebook group here to give you even more tips and tricks for creating your EPIC wedding day!