I Am Engaged! 3 Things You Need to Know
Ahhh, the joy and carefree times of having just gotten engaged.
If you were recently engaged, you've probably been basking in the glow of your new social status; daydreaming of your lives together, the possibility of children, the travels you'll take together.
All of that is a precious time in your life, but before you get too far down the road, there are 3 things you need to make sure you get a jump on before you start getting into the wedding details.
As a long time wedding aficionado, let me share the top 3 things you need to focus on now! First, wedding planning today can be an overwhelming task.
It seems that the simple weddings of days past are...
well, a thing of the past.
Brides and grooms today are getting mired in so many specific details from what sort of favors will be on the tables to what sort of limousine they want to leave the wedding in.
There will be time to worry and discuss all those details, but the first thing you need to do is decide on a church or a marriage hall.
Today, churches and marriage halls are booking 12 months, 18 months or even 2 years in advance! Before you get into any of the details on your wedding dress, bridesmaids & groomsmen, and food, start looking around for the church and the wedding hall where you want your celebration to be held.
This is probably the single most important decision the two of you will make with regards to the wedding plans so it is important that you both agree on the location and the price.
Some couples are opting to hold the ceremony and the reception at the same location while others prefer the traditional church ceremony with a reception to follow at a local wedding hall.
Still other couples are opting for a destination wedding and skipping the traditional wedding locations all together.
Whatever you decide, make this your number one priority.
Number two, you need to put together and agree upon a budget, which will include the list of attendees.
Too many couples just jump into the wedding plans without a budget and they end up sorely disappointed when they realize just weeks before the wedding that they cannot afford everything on their planning list.
Often times couples will end up maxing out every credit card they have and they find themselves starting their life together deeply in debt.
Putting together a wedding budget is one of the most important steps to starting your life together.
The two of you need to figure out just exactly how much money you can afford to spend on the entire wedding first, and then start putting the details together from there.
Often times, brides will just go shopping for a gown hoping they will find "the perfect wedding dress".
Trust me, if you go that route, the salesperson at the bridal store will sell you the most expensive dress they can.
Instead, go into your shopping excursion with a pre-planned budget and share that with the consultant.
There are plenty of beautiful gowns within ALL price ranges AND, sometimes bridal stores will even negotiate the price of a particular gown down just to get your business.
Getting the budget number out on the table early will save you from having a salesperson try to get the most money out of you.
Once you've picked the wedding location and set your budget, now you need to get the word out to your list of attendees so they know when the event will take place.
The best way to announce your wedding is through save the date magnets.
Since your date is probably a year away or more, save the date magnets are a great way to make sure your friends and family SAVE THE DATE and don't book a vacation or trip in your wedding weekend.
A save the date magnet can be placed directly on the fridge so that every time they open their refrigerator door, they will see your announcement and there will be no chance of them forgetting.
Choosing save the date magnets today can be tricky, but here's a little advice.
There are quite a few companies that offer the more novelty style floppy magnets that we've all seen before.
Frankly, I'm not a big fan of those as many of them are made in China and have a cheap print quality to them.
Look for companies that offer the newer magnetic card style save the date magnets, which combine the traditional look and feel of a nice card stock announcement, but are powered by a magnetic striping on the back so they can be displayed on the fridge.
The magnetic save the date cards have many benefits including a higher print quality if you decide to use your photo on the design, they usually are much larger than the smaller floppy magnets and they are usually archive quality so they can be scrap booked and will last over time.
You can do a Google search for magnetic announcements and usually find good companies that offer this newer style of save the date magnets.
If you follow these three simple steps to get your wedding planning off on the right foot, everything else will be so much easier down the road.
Make the big location decision, set up your budget, send out your save the dates and then relax for a few weeks.
The rest of the planning will start soon enough.
If you were recently engaged, you've probably been basking in the glow of your new social status; daydreaming of your lives together, the possibility of children, the travels you'll take together.
All of that is a precious time in your life, but before you get too far down the road, there are 3 things you need to make sure you get a jump on before you start getting into the wedding details.
As a long time wedding aficionado, let me share the top 3 things you need to focus on now! First, wedding planning today can be an overwhelming task.
It seems that the simple weddings of days past are...
well, a thing of the past.
Brides and grooms today are getting mired in so many specific details from what sort of favors will be on the tables to what sort of limousine they want to leave the wedding in.
There will be time to worry and discuss all those details, but the first thing you need to do is decide on a church or a marriage hall.
Today, churches and marriage halls are booking 12 months, 18 months or even 2 years in advance! Before you get into any of the details on your wedding dress, bridesmaids & groomsmen, and food, start looking around for the church and the wedding hall where you want your celebration to be held.
This is probably the single most important decision the two of you will make with regards to the wedding plans so it is important that you both agree on the location and the price.
Some couples are opting to hold the ceremony and the reception at the same location while others prefer the traditional church ceremony with a reception to follow at a local wedding hall.
Still other couples are opting for a destination wedding and skipping the traditional wedding locations all together.
Whatever you decide, make this your number one priority.
Number two, you need to put together and agree upon a budget, which will include the list of attendees.
Too many couples just jump into the wedding plans without a budget and they end up sorely disappointed when they realize just weeks before the wedding that they cannot afford everything on their planning list.
Often times couples will end up maxing out every credit card they have and they find themselves starting their life together deeply in debt.
Putting together a wedding budget is one of the most important steps to starting your life together.
The two of you need to figure out just exactly how much money you can afford to spend on the entire wedding first, and then start putting the details together from there.
Often times, brides will just go shopping for a gown hoping they will find "the perfect wedding dress".
Trust me, if you go that route, the salesperson at the bridal store will sell you the most expensive dress they can.
Instead, go into your shopping excursion with a pre-planned budget and share that with the consultant.
There are plenty of beautiful gowns within ALL price ranges AND, sometimes bridal stores will even negotiate the price of a particular gown down just to get your business.
Getting the budget number out on the table early will save you from having a salesperson try to get the most money out of you.
Once you've picked the wedding location and set your budget, now you need to get the word out to your list of attendees so they know when the event will take place.
The best way to announce your wedding is through save the date magnets.
Since your date is probably a year away or more, save the date magnets are a great way to make sure your friends and family SAVE THE DATE and don't book a vacation or trip in your wedding weekend.
A save the date magnet can be placed directly on the fridge so that every time they open their refrigerator door, they will see your announcement and there will be no chance of them forgetting.
Choosing save the date magnets today can be tricky, but here's a little advice.
There are quite a few companies that offer the more novelty style floppy magnets that we've all seen before.
Frankly, I'm not a big fan of those as many of them are made in China and have a cheap print quality to them.
Look for companies that offer the newer magnetic card style save the date magnets, which combine the traditional look and feel of a nice card stock announcement, but are powered by a magnetic striping on the back so they can be displayed on the fridge.
The magnetic save the date cards have many benefits including a higher print quality if you decide to use your photo on the design, they usually are much larger than the smaller floppy magnets and they are usually archive quality so they can be scrap booked and will last over time.
You can do a Google search for magnetic announcements and usually find good companies that offer this newer style of save the date magnets.
If you follow these three simple steps to get your wedding planning off on the right foot, everything else will be so much easier down the road.
Make the big location decision, set up your budget, send out your save the dates and then relax for a few weeks.
The rest of the planning will start soon enough.
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