You’re Engaged! Time to Start Planning!

There’s nothing more exciting than ringing in the new year with well, a ring! 

photo by michael negrete

Congrats to you and your partner on committing to the next step in your relationship. Now the fun begins. 

photo by Sharon McCutcheon

Planning a wedding is a lot of work. Even if you decide to do a small wedding, you need to organize your paperwork and designate an officiant so those meaningful vows actually translate into a marriage licence in the end. But don’t worry, if you get organized early, it won’t seem so hectic. 

Here’s a quick outline of some of the things you should do first: 

1. Tell all your friends and family! Share the excitement with all those you love, and feel free to post on Facebook. People from near and far are always happy to hear that someone they know is newly engaged. 
2. Discuss what type of wedding you’d like. Do you want a city hall wedding, a destination beach wedding or do you want a big barnyard wedding with twinkling lights and 200 guests. Deciding on what type of wedding you want also means considering your budget, but it’s essential to do early on so you know in what direction to go.
3. Start looking at venues and choosing approximate dates. The earlier you get this out of the way the better you’ll feel. Everyone will ask you when you are getting married starting the second you’re engaged, and you can only give them an answer once you’ve chosen a venue. Plus, you can’t go to a sought-after venue and say “I want August 13th because it’s my parents’ anniversary.” But it’s good to know you want an August wedding when you visit potential wedding locations. Then you can see what is available and choose a date. 

Once you’ve told everyone, you and your fiancé have decided the style of wedding you want, and you’ve nailed down a time and place, all that’s left is securing your vendors and shopping! And enjoy this time, every second of it, because it’s gone too fast!