Planning your wedding:
The first 8 steps

Your Vision

Celebrate

Budget

Priorities

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2.

3.

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8.

Congratulations on your engagement! Now that you've said yes to spending the rest of your lives together, it's time to start planning the wedding of your dreams.. You may be feeling a mix of emotions, from excitement to a bit overwhelmed, but don't worry, you're not alone. We were in your shoes seven years ago when we started planning our own wedding. We had no idea where to start and it was very stressful. We don't want you to feel stressed, we want you to enjoy every moment of wedding planning! That is why we created this guide that will give you the very first steps that you will take to get your wedding planning started. Also check out our Next steps section below for even more help with planning your dream wedding.

Seriously, there is no need don't rush into wedding planning just yet! Take a moment to celebrate your engagement first~. Not only will you get to bask in the excitement and joy of being engaged without feeling overwhelmed by wedding planning, but you'll also get to savor the special moment with loved ones and reflect on what you truly want for your big day. Take a couple of weeks to enjoy this new season of your lives together. Trust us, this will make the wedding planning process so much more enjoyable and memorable.

Celebrate!!!

Step 1

One of the first things you'll want to do is to start envisioning what your big day will look like. One great way to do this is by creating a mood board on Pinterest. Get on your computer and go to Pinterest, create a new board and start looking at as many wedding photographs as you can find. Save the ones that speak to you and that inspire you.

As you're looking at these photos, take note of what you like about them. Try to categorize your notes into different categories like wedding venues, bouquets, wedding colors, wedding dresses, etc. Look for things that are consistent in multiple photographs, these are the things that you are likely to want in your own wedding. Highlight these so they stand out on your notes. Later on, you will take these notes and create a storyboard for your vendors to understand the vision of your wedding day. This will help them to understand what you want, and know how to best serve you.

Your vision

Step 2

Make a list of all of the things that you are going to want at your wedding. Once you have all of them listed out, rank them from top to bottom. The top will be the vendors that you are going to want to put a majority of your wedding budget towards, while the ones at the very bottom are going to be the very last things you book. The bottom of the list will be where you will also start cutting from if you go over budget.

Here is a list of the different vendors you should consider for your wedding day:

Priorities

•Wedding Planner
•Wedding Venue
•Photographer
•Florist
•Hair & Makeup
•Videographer
•Stationary
•DJ/Band
•Day of Coordinator
•Wedding Dress
•Tux Rental
•Wedding Bands
•Decor rental
•Catering
•Live Painter
•Limo/Bus
•Getaway Vehicle
•Cake Baker
•Officiant
•Favors
•Lights Designer

Step 3

Before you start making any decisions or reaching out to vendors, it's crucial to have a clear understanding of how much money you have available to put towards your big day.

To start, gather all of the contributions that you expect to receive from friends and family, and add them up to get a total. It's important to communicate with everyone who is making a contribution to ensure that you know exactly how much you have to work with. Once you have your total, you can begin dividing up your budget among the various vendors on your list.

When allocating your funds, it's important to prioritize the vendors that are most important to you, and to allocate a larger portion of your budget towards them. Keep in mind that unexpected expenses can arise, so it's always a good idea to save some money in case you need extra funds. If you do find yourself going over budget, try to avoid cutting funds from the top of your list. Instead, look to make cuts from the bottom of your list, or consider vendors that are less important to you.

Your Budget

Step 4

To start, pick the date you are wanting to get married. We recommend that this date be very flexible so you can find the wedding venue that you love that has availability for your wedding day.

Next, it's important to have a general idea of how many guests you'll be inviting. This will give vendors a sense of the scale of service they'll need to provide, and will be an important factor to consider when making decisions about things like venue and catering.

Another important aspect to consider is your bridal party. Take some time to talk with your partner about the people you'll want to ask to stand up with you on your special day. Make a list of potential members and come to an agreement on the final number of. It's important to note that you don't need to ask anyone to be in your bridal party just yet, but having a general idea of the size of your party will help you and your vendors plan accordingly.

Take all of the notes that you jotted down during your wedding vision brainstorm and create one document with the details of what you want for your wedding. These notes will be invaluable for vendors as they work to understand your vision and provide the best service possible.

Preliminary Details

Step 5

It is almost time to start researching and reaching out to each vendor for your wedding. Now you have to make the very first decision, which is do you want to plan your entire wedding all by yourself or do you want a Wedding Planner to take care of all of it for you? Consider the benefits of a wedding planner:
• They have their own curated list of vendors that they trust all ready for you to look at.
• They make the calls, they get all the paperwork in order, you just have to sign the contracts and relax.
• They handle a majority of the communication with the vendors for you.
Not hiring a wedding planner will save you money that you can put into other things for your wedding, but then you will be responsible for everything your wedding needs.

Wedding Planner or Do it yourself?

Step 6

It's important to identify what type of wedding .venue you're looking for, whether it's an elegant ballroom, a modern barn in the country, or a ceremony space with a stunning view. Look at the photos you found on Pinterest and see what gets you the most excited.

When searching for venues, consider factors such as location, travel distance for guests, and nearby lodging. It's also a good idea to have multiple dates that you're open to getting married on. The more flexibility you have with your date, the better the odds you'll find a date that's available. Don't hesitate to ask if the venue offers any discounts for getting married during the week, this is a great way to secure your dream venue while still having extra money to put towards other important aspects of your wedding.

Have no idea what to even ask during your venue tour? No need to worry, we took care of that for you! Check out our guide that gives you all of the questions you need to ask before you book your wedding venue!

The wedding venue

The questions you need to ask your wedding venue: CLICK HERE

Step 7

After your venue has been selected and your date has been made official, the very next thing you will want to do is book your photographer. After your wedding day is over, your wedding photographs are the only tangible thing you will have left. Wedding photographers get booked very quickly, so you will not want to wait long to find yours. Go back to your Pinterest board and take some time to figure out what you like about these photographs. Also, go ask your friends and family to see their wedding photographs and earn more about what they liked and didn't like about their wedding photographer. Lastly, ask yourself, why do you need wedding photography? How important are photographs to you?
Before you go out and start searching for a wedding photographer, check out our guides listed below. It will give you all the information you need to know what to look for, how much you personally should spend on your photographer, and why you should also consider a Husband and Wife Wedding photography team for your day.