I recently made a new, engaged friend. She’s a friend of a good friend, and we began chatting about wedding planning. I realized a blog post about getting the wedding ball rolling might be helpful to the recently engaged gals (and guys) out there. Getting started on all of it is the hardest part.
The Date?
As soon as you announce you’re engaged, within days (if not minutes!) people start asking if you’ve picked a date. It will sort of drive you nuts. Well, if you’re anything like me. Because you can’t pick a date until you have a venue on lock-down, and I think that may be one of the most stressful parts of wedding planning. Finding the venue means starting to think about the budget, how much you can allocate to the venue, and what parts of your budget will come from where… not to mention where you’ll have the wedding if families are scattered about.
Politely say you’ll let them know as soon as you do, or if you have a season or time of the year picked, throw that out there. Most couples usually chose a date 11-12 months out, but some superstars can pull a wedding together in much shorter or wait longer for various reasons including having more time to save up and plan.
Friends and family mean well and just wish the best for you and are making conversation, but it can be frustrating when everything feels so overwhelming.
Take a week or two (or three or four) to just enjoy being engaged!
Venues?
Since you don’t really have a date until you have a venue, this is the first thing on a newly engaged couple’s plate. It will also be a large part of your budget.
To get ideas going, ask friends and acquaintances for ideas. Ask everyone. Think outside the box. Places that don’t seem like traditional wedding venues may just work for a wedding. Event spaces, art & music spaces, parks, large cabins, bed & breakfasts, private, family land, etc. But do remember that basic things are necessities – bathrooms, parking, some shade/weather structure, tables and chairs, so realize that if they don’t exist at your venue, you’ll be renting them.
We had fallen in love with a local park, Mayfield Park, and did our engagement photos there. To book it, the city lets you roll your dice in a lotto. If you’re much more patient and the gambling kind than me, this is an awesome way to go, because the city parks are beautiful and much more affordable, though again, you may need your own rentals for things.
Additionally, venues that let you choose your own vendors will offer you a lot more flexibility in who you can hire. Make sure you read the fine print.
Also, getting married on a Thursday or Friday or Sunday can save you thousands! Seriously. While everyone wants the Saturday evening wedding, it might be worth considering a Sunday brunch, if you’ll then have a couple extra thousand in your pocket for your honeymoon or house down payment or whatever.
How do you stay Organized?
My new friend asked me this, and I giggled because I felt of no use since I struggle with organization every day (and am slowly tackling it!) She’d seen a lot of those pricey binders out there and wondered if they were worth it. Honestly, I used scratch paper to make tons and tons of lists and a manila folder. But just think of how you organize anything in you life, and make a system that works for you, then keep it somewhere handy.
Two FREE tools that were so super-helpful right off the bat were:
There are a lot of other tools on the Knot that can help, too.
I mentioned some books that I loved in my other post, Wedding Advice from a Recent DIY Bride. I lucked into a recent bride’s awesome stash of books, but the wedding section at the local Half Price Books was a big help, too!
Hopefully that helps a bit in getting the ball rolling.
As always, if you need help planning your wedding or any ideas, or wedding film cinematography or videography, custom wedding party jewelry and accessories, or vendor recommendations, don’t hesitate to contact us!
