5 First Things to Tackle after Engagement

I'm engaged! Now what...?

5 Things you should start working on ASAP.

Depending on the length of your engagement and the type of wedding you will have, you will want to start on most of these almost immediately.

Here are the main things you’ll want to tackle first:
1. The Date
2. The Budget
3. The Dress
4. Style of Wedding
5. Things that Absolutely Matter

In this blog I will go over these briefly, but will have follow up posts that will go into each of these 5 things into more detail, and with helpful resources!

First thing: The Date

Hopefully you at least have a general idea of when you want your wedding to be, but it’s a good idea to not have TOO specific of a date, in the case it might be booked already and the venue you end up choosing.

Consider the possibility of two very different dates, maybe entertain the idea of having either a November wintery wedding or a Spring May wedding. Being flexible can help, but if you’re having a hard time deciding, my next blog post will give you specifics on how to narrow down your day!

Second: The Budget

This really should be the FIRST thing on the list! You might have planned every little detail from the flower arrangements, to the DJ to the Wedding gifts. But all of that can be shattered if you did not keep the budget in mind all that time. The budget will help narrow down your choices (hopefully) and should guide all of your decisions. A very important aspect of creating the budget is also knowing who is going to pay for what. Sit with your spouse-to-be, talk with your parents and future in-laws, and discuss how much everyone is willing to chip in. Talk about what you two envision for your wedding and be considerate of the Parents’ vision as well, especially if they’re donating a lot. But always be comfortable and satisfied with your final decision. If you live in Manitoba, you might have to consider having a Social to raise whatever funds are left over.

Don’t worry if you have to re-adjust the budget. I know I did, like, 5 times!

Third: The Dress

It’s important to start dress shopping soon, unless you’re making it yourself (I know someone who did), because chances are you will have to get it custom fit, and this can take months! Once you get it, you may have lost or gained weight, and might have an idea for an alteration, that can also take a couple months to get done. It also doesn’t hurt to look around so you can compare prices and get the best deal!

I am really looking forward to sharing the blog post on this subject alone! Stay tuned for that!

Fourth: Style of Wedding

Once you have a good idea of what your budget looks like, ask yourself the following:
Will this wedding be formal? Or informal? Or in between? Does your budget allow you to have a wedding in a fancy hotel? Or a more intimate, homey kind? Also take into consideration your personality and that of your spouse to be. Are you country folk? Are you urban city hipsters? Both? Maybe you’re very traditional and your fiancé is laid back. Maybe you both like the water, and want a beach wedding? This planning step is a balancing act between expressing your wanted style for the wedding and keeping it under the budget. It can be challenging, but very exciting and rewarding! And there’s tons of help out on the interwebs that I will share when I write a post on this step in particular.

Fifth: Things That Matter the Most

This should be involved in the budgeting process, but it`s okay if you didn’t consider it during the early stages. I know it took me some time of research and even going to other weddings before my fiancé and I figured out what aspects of a wedding matter the most to us. Things like Photography, the dress, and venues, were put on a scale and weighed depending on how important they were. Some things we discarded completely, like having LED lighting, other things we just realized we didn’t need to spend a fortune on and just order cheaper versions on eBay.

Make sure you spend more money on what is important, and less money on what isn’t. Simple as that.

Stay tuned for more detailed blog posts on these 5 things to tackle after you get engaged.

Happy planning!

The Sheepish Bride

Keep Calm...YOU'RE GETTING MARRIED!!!

Congratulations!

You're engaged to the love of your life, your Prince Charming, your best friend. You've probably experienced (and may still be experiencing) that "high as the sky" feeling as you break the news to your family and friends. But with every new "congratulations" and "I'm so happy for you!", comes the overly-repeated questions that slowly, but surely, drain the helium from your balloon. You know the questions I'm talking about...

-- When's the date?
-- Have you set a date?
-- Where are you getting married?
-- When's the big day?
-- Am I invited?
-- WHEN IS IT???

By now your feet are starting to plant firmly back on the ground as the reality of what is in store for you begins to set in. The next sensation you are likely to feel soon (or already have) is perhaps a teeny bit of PANIC!

Fear not! This is perfectly normal. Even if you are a bride like myself, who had spent countless hours "planning" her wedding on Pinterest since your first month anniversary with you then-boyfriend, and even if you have about a year before the "I do", there is a stark difference between fantasizing all the different possibilities with decorations and wedding dresses and venues, and actually making a decision that you will have to see through and live with for the rest of your life!

This level of anxiety/stress/panic may be increased if you're the sort of bride who never actually put a whole lot of thought into your wedding prior your engagement. That's fine! You can still do this! Is your engagement only 6 months? It's still doable!

I'm here to reassure you that you won't die of a heart attack, and that in the end, everything will be fine...so long as you take the reigns right now, find a planning strategy, and lose any fear of asking for help!

I am currently 9 months away from my big day, and I have survived the first few hurdles of the planning process. I will share not only my experiences, as we go through this together, but anything I have learned from other sources, whether it be online or from my wifey friends who already tied the knot!

Follow my blog to get my up-coming posts about finding a planning strategy, the dos and don'ts, as well as sources I used to help my plan all sorts of aspects of my wedding! I also like to share lists of (mostly local) vendors and venues, particularily if I went to a wedding at said venues, and give my review of them.

Basically I will rant about anything and everything I think will be helpful and useful for you, the bride, as you plan your wedding!

~Cheers
The Sheepish Bride