2021 has certainly been a crazy year with many ups and downs mainly due to the notorious global pandemic. But despite so much uncertainty this year, one thing is for certain….. Love conquers all and there are plenty of newly engaged couples out there!
Enjoy your engagement
If you are one of the lucky ones that have recently got engaged this year, then huge congratulations to you! This is such an exciting time for you, and I hope your engagement is everything you dreamed of and more.
My main advice to you is to really savour the moment. Enjoy being newly engaged, sharing your happy news with friends, celebrating with loved ones and staring endlessly at the new rock on your finger!
When the time feels right, then you can start tuning into wedding planning mode.
When? Why? Where? Who? How?
Wow, this can all seem quite daunting at first and become overwhelming when you start thinking about the task ahead of you. Planning a wedding is no mean feat. Trust me, I know!
From personal experience of planning my own wedding before becoming a fully trained Wedding Planner, the more I thought about my dream wedding and how I would achieve it, the more I clammed up, procrastinated, and started to feel slightly emotional about it all. This wasn’t how I imagined it to be. Shouldn’t it be fun?
Where I went wrong, was that I didn’t have a clear plan or a starting point. As soon as I was engaged, I just threw all my ideas into the box and tried to do everything all in one go. Don’t do that.
So here I want to share with you my top five pointers to set you off in the right direction with your planning so that you can enjoy the process and have fun being engaged whilst doing it.
1. Involve your fiancé in the wedding planning
Firstly, ensure your fiancé is listening and agreeing (ideally) to your suggestions. It may sound silly, but some people are happy to take a back seat in all the decision making. This can prove stressful for you as everything is on your shoulders. Make sure you and your fiancé agree on all final decisions. That way there will be no surprises at the end of the planning journey! Put some time aside to both sit down together to discuss your wedding ideas. Perhaps over dinner or a cocktail or two. Make it fun and don’t put too much pressure on yourself to come up with your perfect wedding in just one day!
2. What time of year do you want to get married?
Next, decide together the time of year you would love to get married in. Are you wanting a winter wedding? Is your heart set on a summer wedding? This will help determine the month and year that you are open to getting married and how long you intend to be engaged. Run past the dates with your nearest and dearest to make sure it’s suitable for them too. Even though it’s your wedding, I’m sure you can appreciate it’s important for certain members of your family and friends to be a part of your special day.
3. What type of wedding do you want?
Once you have a rough idea of when you are wanting to get married, start thinking about the type of wedding you would like. (This may also be determined by the time of year you are wanting to get married). Would you like a religious ceremony? A civil ceremony? An outdoor wedding? Marquee reception? Barn wedding? Wedding weekend? There are lots of options, but once you have this discussion with your fiancé and start planning and gathering ideas, then you will build up a better understanding of the type of wedding you would both like to have.
4. What’s your wedding budget?
It is also very important to approach the topic of ‘wedding budget’. Do you have savings to put towards the wedding? Will there be any contributions from family? This is a very tricky topic as the majority of people won’t know how much weddings cost or where the budget should be spent. Investing in a Wedding Planner like myself can help you work out a realistic and suitable budget so don’t be afraid to ask. Consider your guest list and draft a list of who you would want to invite to your wedding. This will give you an indication of the venue size you’ll need; whether you will need a larger venue or a more intimate one.
5. Research, research, research
Once you have a better understanding of the above areas then let your research begin…… venue searching, colour inspiration, Instagram scrolling, magazine cutouts. Start building up your perfect wedding. Enjoy being engaged and bringing your dream wedding to reality.
Enjoy planning your wedding
Remember, try, and enjoy the planning process. If it all becomes a bit overwhelming for you, it’s ok to take a step back. Have a break from the planning. Come back to it another day. Or if you would like, reach out to a professional, like myself, to help you along your planning journey and alleviate the stress and worries. I will ensure you have the BEST wedding!
If you are recently engaged or have been engaged for while and you would like to book a call to discuss your wedding plans and how I can support you through my full wedding planning service, fill out the contact form below.
Alternatively, you can book a Planning Power Hour for £65, or bundles of Planning Power Hours that you can use throughout your wedding planning process. You can also take a look at all the services I offer.
Are you thinking of having a Barn Wedding? If so, you may find my blog about how to plan a Barn Wedding a useful read.
