When you get engaged there are so many emotions that come your way. You are excited, thrilled, and just incredibly happy when you actually realize what is going on. However, for some people when it happens, they feel overwhelmed with just how much needs to be done between now and when you tie the knot. I understand because I’ve been there too. 

Getting engaged is a big step in a relationship. Planning a wonderful celebration is amazing, but getting married is the real reason to celebrate. Keep your priorities in mind, and your wedding will be easy to plan. I am sharing three things you should do to start your engagement in a great place.  When you start planning with a clear focus, everything else will follow. 

Create a Wedding Email Account

Set up a separate wedding email account. All of your wedding-related correspondence needs to be in one place. This is a great way to start organizing everything. Easily communicate with your partner and family about all the upcoming details and don’t stress about losing an important message, like all the addresses you’ll need for mailing invitations.  

Staying organized keeps all your vendor communication in one place so you can share between different vendors and your planner. You will have easy access to all your information whether you are home or on the go. If something comes up while going through these emails, you can address it before you go too deep into the next stages of planning. And keeping it separate also means you don’t have to be consumed with planning your wedding all day every day.

We love when our clients use a Gmail account. That way we can share files, create folders and store everything wedding related on a GoogleDrive.

Determine Your Budget

This is definitely not an easy task, but it is important to know how much money you have for your wedding celebration. Plan your budget to highlight important aspects of the wedding without sacrificing anything you absolutely must have. You don’t have to put a specific number when you are first thinking about the budget, but it is good to consider the cost of things as you create the priority list. 

Once you know the number, stay conscious of your spending throughout the process. Some costs will adjust depending on guest counts and quantities, and other costs are the same regardless of the details. For example, your food and beverage cost will have a direct impact based on your guest count. So if you want to keep your food and beverage costs down, you may need to lower that guest list as well.

It’s important not to lose sight of the things that are most important while budgeting your money. You’ll want to make sure you can enjoy the wedding, but not overextend yourself and spend more than you can afford. Working with a wedding planner can give you a better understanding of your true costs. Depending on which planning collection you choose, we can assist with budget creation and allocation. We can also help with budget management.

Start Your Guest List

Start writing your guest list now. This is probably the most difficult task of all, and it is very important to plan for a smooth experience from the very beginning.  You want everyone who is important to be there on your big day, but before you start sending out invitations, there are some questions to ask yourself when creating a wedding guest list.

How many guests do I want to invite? What kind of reception am I going to have? Will my reception be an intimate dinner or a giant party? When will my honeymoon take place? Once the preliminary questions are answered, the next step is making sure you choose the right venue to match your requests. 

If you decide on a destination wedding, please do not neglect those guests that won’t actually be able to attend because you think they can’t afford it. Never underestimate the power of who loves you and wants to celebrate with you.

Just Remember…

You will have moments when everything just seems too much and really out of your hands. That’s when I tend to recommend writing lists related to each vendor. The best thing about the lists is that you can get everything out of your head and change them around later when you feel like it. 

So if one day you don’t really feel like talking about the wedding, don’t! When you are ready to jump back in, all you need to do is review the lists and set your intentions for how much more you want to accomplish that day. 

When I plan with my couples, we discuss their priorities and focus on what we can accomplish in the meeting. Use your time wisely, and you won’t have to spend all of it planning your amazing day. Do you need a wedding planner to help you put the details together and execute on your big day? Follow Live Love Laugh Events on Instagram and let’s see if we can create magic together!