"I just got engaged! What do I do now!?"

If you’ve just got engaged, let us be one of the first to say congratulations! You are about to embark on the exciting journey of planning your wedding.

Once you get over the extra weight you’re now carrying around on your left hand you will at some point ask yourself “So, where do I actually start?”.  Visiting wedding fairs, buying wedding magazines and browsing Pinterest can be great inspiration for your wedding but can also be very overwhelming as you quickly realise there is a lot of choice when it comes to planning a wedding.  So, there are a few things we suggest you do first of all:

One

Set a realistic budget
You may have some money put aside for your special day, now is the time to think about how much you feel is reasonable to spend on all the elements of your wedding, and ensure you have at least 5% put aside as a contingency. It may also be worth setting up a dedicated wedding bank account to start saving. If you have set your budget right from the start, it will be much easier to stick to it.

Two

Draft a guest list
It will be difficult to book a venue (and ultimately set a date) if you don't know how many people are going to be there. Some venues will only be licenced up to a certain number and you don't want to cram all of your guests in. Likewise, you wouldn't want your 60 guests to be lost in a room big enough for 300.

Three

Must haves
Any newly engaged couple will have ideas of what they want to happen on their wedding day. Now is the time to talk to your partner and agree on a few 'must haves' that are important to you both for your wedding and will take priority. It may be that your cake is a certain flavour, you’ll be wearing your mother’s veil, or you go somewhere really special for your honeymoon…

Four

Think about the theme
The best way to start choosing your theme is to look at bridal magazines and on the internet, there are some fantastic and very inspiring wedding blogs out there with lots of real wedding features.  Pinterest is also a fantastic resource for wedding ideas. Start collecting pictures of the things you like, don’t worry whether they match or not. Start a file with cakes you like, dresses you like, flowers you like, colours you like etc.  Once you have started to build a collection, a theme will soon naturally emerge. 

Five

Image of The Wedding Planners, by Ross Dean Photography

Get help
Either from a professional wedding planner or from friends and family.  Planning a wedding is a LOT of work, you will need some help. So assemble your wedding team now and spread the workload.

One final bonus tip! With all suppliers, communication is key.  If you don't tell them what you want, they cannot provide it.  Be honest with them about the budget you are working to and do your research to find the right suppliers for you.

Happy Planning!

Caroline & Victoria
TWP x