What Happens After Your Engagement...

He listened to Beyonce and put a ring on it! Congratulations, you’re engaged!! Soak it all in, get all the Future Mrs. stuff and look at your ring 184728374618 times a day.

But then what? Now you have to plan a wedding, but where do you start? The first few things need to be done in a certain order, here's what they are and why that order matters...

1) Decide on a budget! This is huge because it will set the tone for the planning process. You will want to let vendors know your budget during consultations to ensure you are not spending more than you want.

2) Hire a planner, if you are using one. A planner will work with from start to finish, including finding your venue. Full service planners will have a hand in the entire planning process, and you will want to bring them on ASAP!!

3) Book your venue. This one is important because you cannot book other vendors without having your date, and your date is not set if the venue isn't booked. You can have an ideal date in mind, but if the venue you want is already booked that day, you're going to have to decide on another date or another venue.

4) Once your venue & date are booked, you can begin booking all other vendors. The order for the rest of your vendor does not necessarily matter. As the wedding industry continues to see a likely boom for the next several years, it is best to book all of your vendors as soon as possible. This will ensure you are able to book everyone you want to work with and they will be available!

Saturday weddings are the most popular, and vendors get booked 12-14 months in advance. Sometimes more, sometimes less. I am personally booking into 2023 and have had inquiries for 2024 already, each vendor is different so be sure to inquire about availability. Friday and Sunday weddings are becoming increasingly more common, and some vendors are booking those days quickly as well. To help get everything you want for your big day, consider a weekday during the off season!

Don't get too consumed in the planning process that you forget to enjoy your engagement, you don't have to start planning immediately and you don't need to do it in a hurry! Keep your relationship healthy and stress-free while planning with date nights and breaks from planning when needed :) Don't go into your marriage with tension of the wedding planning process!!

If you have any questions during the planning process, send me a DM and I'd be happy help! Make sure to follow me on Instagram to see all the wedding tips & tricks I post, and all my Wedding Day Adventures!