Finally, you’re engaged! You’re going to get married, taking that big step and spending the rest of your lives together! The proposal is perhaps one of the most special and emotional moments when it comes to getting married. The others being when you say ‘I do’ and that moment when you find the dress of your dreams. As soon as the ring is on your finger, you begin thinking a million things and start planning tasks and to-dos that will carry you right through until your wedding day. So what are the first things on your list?
1. Telling your family
Before changing your status on Facebook, think: Who are the people that you want to tell first? Make a small list and personally call your nearest and dearest to arrange to meet them as soon as possible to announce your good news, including family, close friends, possible witnesses and bridesmaids. You could send a save-the-date a little later once you’ve fixed a wedding date and then invitations which are usually sent 12 weeks before the wedding.
2. Insure your engagement ring
Don’t let emotion cloud your common sense. If the ring doesn’t come with insurance from the jeweller, the second most important thing you need to do is get it insured. It’s common nowadays to get high value jewellery added to home insurances, giving you piece of mind against loss, damage and theft. No one can restore the sentimental value, but at least you’ll be able to recover something financially should the unimaginable happen.
3. Start thinking about dates
So when is the big day? One question that you’ll hear over and over again once your engagement goes public. To avoid speculation, and having an answer ready for when people ask, start thinking about setting a date, or if it works better for you, a range of dates: spring 2015, in August, within 3 months (for those of you that are fans of express weddings)… you get the picture.
4. Contact your favourite suppliers
This is fundamental so that other couples don’t steal your date. You don’t necessarily need to set anything in stone at this stage, simply assure yourself that they have a few dates of your choice available, and begin to make some rough plans and appointments. If you leave this too late, it is possible you may have to juggle your suppliers and maybe even go with your second choice… and no one likes a second choice.
5. Sign up to online wedding sites and blogs
Pinterest is a wonderful online tool that enables you to create your own inspiration boards. You can create one for every element of your wedding: flowers, decor, centrepieces, fabrics, crockery and even bridal gowns. Online wedding magazines and blogs have really substituted traditional wedding magazines. No only will these save you money and space, but also time. You can have a read on your daily commute, swap ideas with other brides-to-be and catch up on all the latest trends and ideas on the go.
6. Create a draft guest list
Another important task is to begin thinking about your guest list. This is going to change many times from the moment you start thinking about it to a week or two ahead of your big day when you have to confirm final numbers to your wedding venue. Doing this nice and early will help you put together a guest list for your engagement party, helping you to think about the actual size of your wedding, enabling you to work out an initial wedding budget. A guest list will also help you to choose certain wedding suppliers. Working out the number of guests will help you choose a venue according to size, it’ll also help you to plan things such as wedding favours, dietary requirements for your menu and work out a seating plan.
Good luck and happy planning!
Photo Credits: Inspired by this Sweet little photographs One love photo Huckleberry GraceDon't want to miss out on the latest trends for your wedding?
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