You’re engaged!! First of all, CONGRATULATIONS! You are about to enter the “married couple” club! It’s a wild ride, but so much of a blessing.

I remember when Adam and I first got engaged. I was so excited, yet so extremely overwhelmed at the thought of planning a wedding! I mean, neither one of us had been married before and neither of us worked in the wedding industry at the time, so I didn’t even know where to begin. Thankfully, I had some helpful family members and friends that came alongside us during that time.

Okay, so now that he popped the question, what’s next? What are the first things you should do when getting engaged? Here are just a few things to consider doing pretty quickly in the process.

1. First and foremost, ENJOY IT!! Give yourself a few days, or even a couple of weeks to just sit back and enjoy the fact that you just committed to loving the same person forever! You’ll have a lot of emotions along the way, but for now, just take some time to soak it all in. Stare at your engagement ring as much as you’d like! 🙂
2. Talk to each other about your dreams for the wedding. If you are the bride-to-be, it may not be a great idea to whip out that dream wedding book you’ve been creating since you were 5. Your future hubby may be a bit overwhelmed. I would recommend talking about things like time of the year, locations, and your top priorities when it comes to your wedding day.
3. Set a date! Now, before you do this, you probably have a few things to consider first. When is the best time of year for the two of you. Also, is the time of year you choose going to affect whether really important people to you will be able to attend? It’s important to consider those most important to you as you select a wedding date. Another thing to consider is if there is a particular vendor or venue that you HAVE to have. Vendors fill up FAST, especially during busy season. So, if there is a photographer, venue, florist, band, etc that you’ve been dreaming of having a part of your wedding, you should reach out to them before setting your date in stone! We vendors just hate having to turn away people because the date is already filled up!
4. Ask your bridal party to be a part of the day! There are tons of creative ways to ask your closest friends and family members to be in your bridal party. Find something that is unique to you and have fun!
5. Start contacting important vendors. As mentioned above, vendors fill up fast! If your wedding date happens to be a prime date, you may need to book months or even a year in advance. Start contacting vendors in the order of importance to you.

I hope this helps. I know it’s a lot to plan a wedding. I remember! Try to relax, have fun and enjoy the ride. Questions? Comment on the post and I will try to help you out!

All of my wedding planning posts can be found here!

I am currently booking 2018 and 2019 weddings!

If you are interested in booking me for your 2018-19 wedding, contact me today by filling out the contact form on my home page, or email me at karen@karenshoufler.com.

I’d love to talk with you about capturing and preserving your big day.