Congratulations! You’re engaged! You’ve chosen to spend “forever” with the love of your life! During this wonderful time, it might be difficult to avoid thinking about the wedding planning process. You might already be thinking about who will be in your wedding party, where you’ll get your dress at, and so on! There will likely be plenty of people giving you advice on what to do and what not to do! Some of this might actually be useful and some of it probably won’t do much at all!
However, before you start getting down to all the details, take a step back and enjoy the moment, sharing the news with your loved ones (as well as a handful of selfies with that new ring!). Trust us, you’ll have plenty of decisions to make once you really get into the wedding planning process!
Having spoken and worked with hundreds of couples that have chosen to have their big day at Madera Estates, we feel pretty confident in saying that you don’t have to start planning your entire wedding at the exact moment you’re engaged! With this said, we wanted to provide a little insight on what items can wait and which you should focus on right away.
What Can Wait?
Picking Your Wedding Party
There’s obviously plenty of excitement right after you get engaged! Going right along with this, you may want to ask more and more friends to be in your wedding party! Before you let the excitement make too many decisions, wait until it has died down a little bit and then determine who’s still excited to assist you in all of the wedding planning.
Purchasing Your Wedding Dress
This might easily be something that you’ve been thinking about for a long time, but it doesn’t have to be #1 on your to-do list from the get-go. Take your time shop around various galleries, social media channels, magazines and so on to get a better idea of the style you’re looking for. If you have a general picture in your head of what you’re envisioning, it will make this part of the process a lot less stressful. Why will it ease the stress? Well, simply put, there’s certainly no shortage of options out there to pick from and having to narrow down an entire catalog can be daunting!
A quick pro tip on the topic of wedding dresses (and every other item on this list!) is to always keep a time clock running in your head! Particularly, with a wedding dress, you want to leave plenty of time available for fittings, shipping times and so on!
Avoid Saying “Yes” Too Many Times
Alright, I know what you’re thinking. The whole excitement around this moment revolves around the word “yes,” but this is a time you want to avoid promising too much. Family members might want to invite some of their buddies and people will have recommendations on where you should get married. All in all, there will inevitably be a lot of opinions out there. At least during these first couple of weeks, try to avoid committing to anything. As with picking your wedding party, let the excitement level die down a bit, so you can carefully plan out the larger aspects before the finer details.
All the Legal Stuff
One of the least exciting parts about getting married is, without a doubt, paperwork! While you’ll definitely want to file for the marriage license, all of the other stuff can actually wait until you’ve gotten married! This includes everything from changing your last name, updating all of those tax forms and consolidating your bank accounts.
Finalizing a Budget
If you read our blog post a couple weeks ago that discussed budgeting, you know that creating a budget can save you plenty of headaches throughout the planning process and is a critical item to complete early on. However, as with all the legal stuff, all of the engagement excitement doesn’t need to be hindered by numbers talk! Unless, of you course, you like whipping up a nice spreadsheet, you don’t need to worry about the budget just yet!
Booking and Finalizing Vendors
While we would love for you to spend your big day with us at Madera Estates, you don’t have to sign up the day after you get engaged. Browsing around different venues, photographers, florists and so on is one of the funnest parts of the planning process! In those first couple of weeks after becoming engaged, focus more on crafting the vision for your dream wedding! You still have plenty of time at this moment, so take advantage of it to make sure your big day is perfect!
Plenty More!
If you have been involved in the wedding planning process before, you’re likely more than aware of how complex it can be! As mentioned in the opening section, most of this can be put on the backburner in the first week or two after the engagement. Some other items not listed above (that can also wait) include creating your guest list or seating plan, finalizing bridesmaid dresses, booking your honeymoon and choosing a first-dance song.
What Can’t Wait?
Personally Tell All Your Loved Ones
Once you get engaged, make sure to personally tell all of those close to you (parents, siblings, best friends, etc). If possible, it would be best to avoid having these people hear the big news on Facebook! Give them a call and fill them on the big news!
Ring Selfie
Once you’ve spread the news to those closest to you, go ahead and head to Instagram to put that beautiful ring on full display!
Relax for a Second
There’s obviously plenty of excitement, but as you learned in the top section, don’t worry about wedding planning yet! Take this opportunity to enjoy the moment and celebrate with family and friends!
Get Your Ring Sized
There is a chance that your ring already fits perfectly, but that might not always be the case. The last thing you want to happen is for it to fall right off your finger. So, head on over to the jeweler and get it sized to fit perfectly! While we’re on the topic of rings, you might also want to consider getting it insured. At a time full of excitement, this might seem out of place, but it can definitely be a smart decision in the long run.
Thinking About a Date
I know that we’ve said any planning can immediately be an item that can wait, but thinking about dates and general times shouldn’t be too stressful! The date you choose will have a big impact on the planning process. Most venues book out months (sometimes over a year) in advance. This will also help you craft a timeline that everything else will follow!
Tour Madera!
Once all of the excitement from the first couple of weeks has died down, it becomes time to truly get into the planning process! As we’ve mentioned many times on this blog, one of the first items you’ll want to tackle is finalizing on a venue! Since this affects so many other variables, such as how many guests you can invite, catering, and more, it’s critical to choose a venue that best fits your dream wedding! Here at Madera Estates, we take pride in giving you an unlimited amount of options for your dream wedding, while making the entire process seamless and stress-free! Feel free to book a complimentary tour today to see Madera’s true beauty in-person!