It happened! You said yes! What an exciting moment! This may be quite surreal or be something that you have been waiting for, for quite some time. However the question was popped, it finally happened and the moments, days, and weeks following your proposal are guaranteed to be a bit of a whirlwind!
There’s lots to do, so many people to contact and much to organize but don’t be overwhelmed – there’s plenty of time to plan your wedding and the rest of your lives but if you’re like many newly engaged couples, you’ll be wondering what the next stages are after your engagement and in what order you should accomplish them.
But before you start to stress, don’t worry you are in the right place and The Larimore is here to help!
From countless Pinterest boards, wedding magazines, dress shopping and venue searching…. planning a wedding is a timely process and one that’s usually hugely underestimated but you don’t need to start planning every decision the second you say “yes” to your significant other.
Every couple’s timeline is different, you don’t need to race up the aisle or rush any part of the planning process. When it comes to the timings of everything, yes it can be confusing – Who do you tell? How soon should you have an engagement party? What planning tasks do you need to tackle first? These are really common questions that many engaged couples wonder; luckily The Larimore can help.
Read on for what to do now that an all-important proposal has happened.
Break the news
One of the first steps, after you’ve got engaged, is to share your happy news. Take as much, or as little time as you like! Some couples want to tell everyone as soon as possible and have the Instagram announcement posted pronto while others may like to keep it a secret to be enjoyed only by a few close friends or family for a little longer. When you are ready to tell the world do make sure you’ve told immediate family and friends before posting to social media. Once your immediate family and closest friends are in on the news – you can go public and get your relationship status changed on Facebook. If you are planning on posting a ring selfie be sure to get a manicure or at least make sure your nails are cleaned and shaped – you don’t want anything to distract from that gorgeous ring!
Enjoy being engaged
Round up some of your best friends and family and go out for a celebratory drink or meal, or have a special date night with your partner if that’s more your style. You’re engaged, and it’s most definitely worth celebrating.
Once you have shared the news of your engagement soak in the moment. You may decide to have a party or arrange an engagement photo shoot to mark the occasion. Creating a wedding day guest book with your Engagement pictures can be a fun and creative idea.
It’s also worth mentioning that you may want to get your ring insured early on. It’s a pretty sentimental piece of jewelry after all. If you add it to your home insurance policy it’s usually pretty inexpensive.
Get organized
When you are ready to get down to the wedding planning – Get an organizer or a planner to keep everything in one place. There will be a lot to coordinate over the next few months. Get into the habit of keeping important information in a specific place – there’s nothing more frustrating than trying to hunt out a contract or RSVP’s when you really need them.
Start to have those discussions about what kind of wedding you both want to have. A formal gathering? A relaxed outdoor wedding? Do you want a church? Are you a DIY bride or do you want to avoid the added work and go with a full-service wedding venue?
If you have no ideas where to start, think about what suits your individual personality, do you enjoy a good party or are you happier at smaller, more intimate gatherings? If you have attended other weddings, did you see something there that you would like at your weddings? What type of features would you like your venue to have? Once you have an idea of your overall wedding vibe other things will fall into place.
The Internet is a super helpful tool when it comes to all things weddings. Pinterest and Instagram are great places to start. Create your own mood board and pin things that appeal to you, it’ll be handy when showing your vendors the exact colors, atmosphere, and mood you want to recreate for your day and ensure an overall cohesive look.
Next, it’s time to think about what’s important to you as a couple. You may have always wanted a garden wedding or to arrive by horse and carriage, if you have something that you have always had your heart on then you should have it – and if you have a budget, make savings elsewhere. You don’t want to look back at your wedding day with regrets. You don’t get a wedding redo.
Set aside some time to plan
Popular wedding dates and venues get booked far in advance so if you are hoping to get married in the next year or two, it’s sensible to start thinking about dates early on. Find out what works for both of your families and whether there are any dates to steer clear of. Selecting your venue is generally the first wedding service to book.
Once you have chosen your top 3 favorite wedding dates, start a list of tasks that need planning. You can’t book a wedding without a venue so you’ll want to research venues and call or visit for information about available dates and pricing first. You’ll want to have discussions about your wedding size and budget early on in your wedding planning. You can’t move forward with any area of your wedding plans until you’ve determined an overall budget and know who may also be contributing to parts of your wedding. Once you’ve had discussions about your budget and guest size you’ll be able to make decisions and book your wedding date and venue.
Set aside some specific days or allotted time with your significant other to go through plans regularly between now and the wedding day. Planning is best done in stages so as not to get too overwhelming. But don’t let wedding planning take over date night, as it’s still important to set time away from planning as a couple. By allotting time specifically to tackle your wedding to-dos you’ll accomplish so much more than just getting around to bits ‘here and there’ at the end of a long day.
Make a list of what each of you is going to do and split the tasks so that you can both be involved. This will keep both of you involved, every step of the way. Keep communicating too so that you don’t end up contacting the caterer twice or booking two florists! Your partner may not want to be so involved in choosing the decorations for the tables and so that can go on your list and you may decide that you are happy for them to choose the evening entertainment and so that’ll go on theirs. Have some tasks that you’ll do together too and you’ll soon get into the swing of wedding planning.
When the planning gets tough, take a break from it all. It will wait. Spend the time to reconnect as a couple and get excited about the day ahead. Don’t let the work of planning a wedding distract you from the joy of your wedding.
Welcome to wedding planning!