It happened: You’re getting married! Get ready to embark on the rollercoaster of the wedding planning journey because it’s going to be a wild ride.
Stay organized while planning the big day with this “just engaged” wedding planning checklist.
Share the News
Spread the joy and be sure to tell everyone you know and love. Parents, siblings, and extended family are likely to know first, followed by close friends and social media posts bringing up the rear.
In today’s digital age, be tactful about sharing your big announcement. Give loved ones a heads up and ring them personally to share the news. Refrain from posting anything on Instagram until your core group knows, then feel free to post that ring selfie.
Create a Rough Schedule
Everybody will start asking for a date, and while you may not have nailed down the exact day, you might have a month or season already in mind. The wedding planning checklist usually works around a yearlong or a year-and-a-half timeframe, so keep that in mind before you start planning.
There’s no need to hammer out the nitty gritty details yet, but a beginning guideline makes everything else easier to visualize.
Plan a Budget
Start crunching the numbers. If your family is contributing to the wedding, figure out how much they’re offering, so you know how much you need to contribute to finalize your total budget.
Your wedding planning checklist should allot different amounts for the venue, the caterer, the band, et cetera, so you can finalize where spending amounts are firm and where there’s wiggle room.
Determining the budget might be a hard discussion, but it sets the framework to move everything else down the wedding planning pipeline. It plays a big part in the size of your guest list, the choice of venue, and more.
Write Your Guest List
Learn how to simplify your guest list. Your party size has a domino effect on every aspect of your wedding. The guest list impacts the catering fees regarding how much food to order and whether the venue you like can accommodate that number of guests.
Think about who you really want there on the big day. You’ve likely drafted a pre-existing attendee list, but you will probably need to choose between some friends and acquaintances. Discuss the list with your fiancé to find a number you’re both happy with that includes all the people you want there.
Visualize Your Wedding
You and the groom will need to discuss your wedding style. Are you thinking about a traditional wedding, with the ceremony at one spot and the reception somewhere else, or will you hold both the reception and ceremony at one venue? You can create stunning wedding memories with a unique wedding venue.
Picture your fantasy wedding: Check out different wedding bloggers and scope Pinterest for inspiration. From glamourous to rustic to contemporary and modern, there’s no shortage of creative ideas and wedding resources to make your vision come true.
Insure the Ring
With everything else going on, this might be the last thing you think about, but it’s important nonetheless. Losing a ring can unfortunately happen to the best of us, so add it to your homeowner’s policy or a similar option that insures jewellery. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.
Breathe!
It’s easy to get swept up in planning a wedding, which can quickly leave you feeling overwhelmed. Planning your wedding is fun and exciting—don’t lose track of why you’re doing this.
It’s okay to take a breather and let the news sink in for a week or two before diving headfirst into the party planning. With your wedding planning checklist to refer to, everything is going to work out just fine.