If you’re here then you’re either one of my biggest fans, or you’re engaged! They’re both things to be celebrated, so either way – congratulations!
But what’s next? Planning a wedding is no easy feat, but whether you’re going at it alone or recruiting some help from friends and family or a wedding planner, I’ve got some comprehensive tips coming up to help you with the next steps.
1. Tell Your Friends and Family
A lot of other guides tell you to take some time together and soak in that ‘newly engaged’ feeling. But by the time you’re reading this post, I hope you’ve already done that! The natural next step would be to announce your engagement. However, don’t be tempted to post your ring photos on Instagram straight away! Your closest family and friends will want to hear it straight from you (before anyone else hears about it), so give them a call or visit before posting that all important engagement selfie.
2. Post a Ring Selfie
Ready to share your engagement with the world? Post a photo of that ring on Instagram and let the love flood in. Better yet, if your engagement was captured by a photographer, nothing beats the authenticity of unstaged and natural photos. If you’re looking for a photographer to capture your engagement or a pre-wedding shoot, they’re both services that I offer!
3. Plan an Engagement Party!
It doesn’t have to be a full-blown party, you can invite only your closest friends and family or even just have a date night with your significant other. Having an engagement party gives you time to celebrate with some champagne before the madness of wedding planning kicks off.
4. Start Planning
You don’t have to start booking things straight away, but it’s a good start if you begin thinking about inspiration for your wedding day with your partner early on. Think about themes such as modern or classic, rustic or glamorous etc. Keep a visual map of your ideas on a Pinterest account so that it’s all in one place (Pinterest is also a fantastic place to get inspiration), or a wedding planning book.
5. Set a Budget
The average wedding cost in the UK is £18,400. Decide on how extra you want to go with your wedding and then choose a budget either side of this number, and remember cutting down on your guest list can dramatically decrease the cost. If you don’t have experience planning a wedding keep in mind there are a lot of unexpected expenses such as a marriage licence, dress or suit alterations, service fees and sound/lighting.
6. Book An Engagement Photoshoot
I may be biased, but I cannot recommend booking an engagement shoot enough for several reasons.
Firstly, they’re a great opportunity for a day out in a local picturesque location with your partner. Not only is it an ideal date idea but you’ll receive some beautiful photos in a location of your choice. When I do an engagement shoot I send the photos within 48 hours.
The second reason is that they get you comfortable in front of the camera before your wedding day. There will be a lot of photos of you both at your wedding so it’s important that you don’t feel too anxious with a camera around. This leads me to my next point.
You’ll quickly learn how the photographer works, if you get on with them and whether or not they make you feel comfortable during the photo-shoot. If they tick all of these boxes, they might just be the perfect person to photograph your wedding. When someone has an engagement shoot with me prior to their wedding, I give them a £100 discount on the wedding booking so they can decide if I’m the right photographer for them before booking me for their full-day or half-day package.
7. Create A Guest List
Before meeting with your potential venues and wedding vendors you’ll want to create a guest list. Once you’ve got your first draft, cut this down. It’s really important that you don’t feel guilty about cutting people out of your day, because it’s exactly that; your day. If their presence at your wedding ceremony isn’t absolutely vital, then ask whether it’s worth inviting them at all. You can also consider factors such as how often do you actually see them? Do you feel comfortable sharing intimate moments in front of them? Do you feel pressured to invite them?
You’re going to be spending a lot of time and money on this day, and it really is all about you, plus the money saved on trimming your guest list can be used to upgrade other areas of your wedding. So invite only your most loved friends and family. Once you’ve finalised your list, ask them to RSVP and for those who will be in attendance, keep a list of their email addresses, phone numbers and dietary restrictions.
8. Choose a Venue and Date
The first thing you’ll want to get booked in is your venue. Make sure you either book around 1 – 2 years in advance as venues tend to fill their dates quickly. Failing this you can always try taking advantage of last minute sales when venues lose a booking or have the odd date that hasn’t been booked yet, which are usually on weekdays or Sunday’s.
9. Choose Your Vendors
If you’ve got the budget for it, a wedding planner can be a lifesaver when it comes to vendor referrals and helping you out with the next steps. If you’re not planning on hiring a wedding planner, then time to start your search! There are a multitude of ways to find your vendors:
- Instagram (use hashtags for your area such as #nottinghamweddingphotographer
- Directories such as Rock My Wedding, Belle Bridal and Love My Dress
- Recommendations from friends (did you really like your friends wedding photos? Ask who did them!
For your main vendors such as photographer, I’d recommend that you book no later than 6 months in advance. However if you’re already within that date, there’s no harm in reaching out and checking if a vendor is free. Some of my best work has come from weddings where they enquired less than 2 months before the day!
Once you’ve found vendors you like make sure to check for reviews and testimonials and ensure their communication is up to scratch. If their communication is poor leading up to a booking then it’s likely it will be even worse when approaching your wedding day.
Try and have a Zoom meeting with your vendors before booking them to ensure they’re who they say they are, and you can also ask any questions you might have.
10. Relax
Remember to take time out, because wedding planning can be an extremely stressful process. Find the time to stay connected and remind yourselves why you’re engaged in the first place, wedding planning can be exhausting but it’s also meant to be enjoyable and an activity for the both of you to experience together.
