Congratulations! I’m sure you can’t stop staring at that sparkly new ring on your finger. Isn’t it so exciting but also SO weird saying the word “fiancé” and “engaged” now?? This is the time you’ve been thinking about your whole life (if you are thinking, no I actually was never that girl) thats ok you might still need help knowing what to do next!
First things first, post that new bling ALL over social media proclaiming, “I’M ENGAGED!! 💍” After the big question is popped, all of your family and friends will probably ask you a million and one questions like…
“Did you pick a date??” 📅
“Where is the wedding??” 🏙️
“What are your wedding colors??” 🎨
Believe me, these questions will come at you quickly and you might start feeling VERY overwhelmed. Finally, you can take a deep breath and know there is help on the way! Yay!
1. Date – Above all, the first thing you want to do after you get engaged is pick your date! Therefore, think about what season of the year you want to get married. For instance, Spring offers ALL the fresh flowers blooming; Summer offers the 0% chance of rain; Fall offers the perfect crisp air and gorgeous foliage; and finally, Winter is the perfect setting for the winter wonderland theme you always wanted! Narrow your options by picking the season and a few different dates you would be happy with as soon venues might be booked for your first choice date. And there! Step one done. ✔️
Maura Jane Photography
2. Venue – Once you select a date, you can think about the setting of where you want to get married. Write a list of what your must haves are and then tour some of the venues to see which place fits all your needs. Is it in Albuquerque? Santa Fe? Ballroom? Outside Tent Wedding? Church? If thinking about all of this makes your head go 🌀, this is when you should hire a Wedding Planner who can help guide you to the best venues in town. A lot of Venues book up a year out so you might have to be flexible with your wedding date. If your dream venue isn’t available for that specific day, ask about their next available date! 📆
3. Budget – This is always a sensitive (😰) subject when you get engaged but you truly can not plan your wedding without a TRUE budget in mind. There are many free budget tracking tools – we will also be providing one in our new Bride Guide so stay tuned for that. Decide which aspect of the wedding is most important to you so you can allocate funds appropriately. Is an open bar more important than large centerpieces? Is your dress more important than a champagne toast? In short, weddings are expensive and knowing how much you can really spend will help eliminate any confusion or overspending which makes for a happy fiancé and happy families! 🤗
Maura Jane Photography
4. Guest List – You’re probably thinking ‘Why do I need my guest list now, I JUST got engaged!’ but you need an idea of how many people are going to attend your wedding to nail down your budget. For instance, if you are going to have 75 guests you can splurge way more on your dream venue because all your other costs won’t be as much. So, you will only need to feed 75 people and will only have 10 tables which means less tables to decorate. However, if you’re expecting 250 guests? You will need to find a place that can hold that many people and have over 30 tables to decorate and put centerpieces on. Keep in mind that the average cost per guest is about $150-$200! 💸
5. Vendors – After that, you need to select the team of vendors to help make your dream wedding come to life! Always wanted a live band? So listen around and pick one that fits your style! Want a certain kind of food? So taste test a few catering companies since they all have something different and unique! Similarly, not all vendors are created equal so set up a few meetings to find the perfect one! Some vendors have sales people who you meet with but then they send out someone completely different on your wedding day. Because of this, make sure you know who you will be working with and come prepared with a list of questions like this! 📝
