Congratulations on your engagement!!! My greatest wish for you is that you’ll be able to effortlessly plan the wedding of your DREAMS. If you’re currently feeling a little overwhelmed and confused about what steps you should take, this blog post will help point you in the right direction. Below are my top five tips for what you should do as you begin the wedding planning process!

1)    Show off your ring!

We’re all dying to see your new bling! And if you have a cute proposal story to throw in, we all want to hear that too! Before you get started on planning, sharing your proposal will allow your friends and family to begin sharing in your excitement.

2)    Discuss the type of wedding you want with your partner

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying that “communication is key” and wedding planning is no different. Be sure to have a talk with your fiancé about your vision for your wedding day. This talk will inevitably lead to a conversation about maximum budgets, guest counts, and possible locations for your wedding venue which are all very important things to figure out as soon as possible. Understanding what you want will guide you when you’re making decisions down the road – for example, if you and your fiancé discuss an intimate rustic wedding, you probably won’t want spend too much time looking at city ballroom venues during your planning process. Looking at the bigger picture for your day will allow the smaller details to come together perfectly.

3)    Create an organization system

This is the first official wedding planning step that EVERY couple should take. There are so many things to keep track of during the planning process and you will be a lot less overwhelmed if you know exactly where to find things! First, I’d suggest getting a binder or creating a folder on your laptop where ALL wedding related things can live. Create subfolders based on what makes the most sense for your organization style: payments/receipts, a folder for each section of the wedding day, honeymoon information, vendor information, contracts, style boards. Also, creating a wedding email is another great way to make sure all of your wedding related communications stay in one place.

4)    Plan an engagement date or party!

In all of the hustle and bustle of wedding planning, be sure to actually celebrate your engagement. Whether it’s a party with your closest friends and family or a night on the town with your new fiancé. The average couple is only engaged for about 14 months, so be sure to HAVE FUN and make the most of it!

5)    Pick your venue and hire your top vendors!

After all of the prep work is done, it’s time to really dive into wedding planning. Once you’ve developed a vision and gotten organized, don’t hesitate to start reaching out to some of your dream vendors.

Your date and venue are two things that need to be set in stone before you can officially book most other vendors, so nail down a tentative date and then start scheduling some venue tours. You can view some of my favorite Virginia venues on the blog here or on my Pinterest.

While all vendors are in demand during peak wedding season (April-Jun and Sept-Nov), photographers, planners, and venues tend to be the hardest to snag since most only take on one wedding per day. For this reason, it’s important to start looking into those vendors first! If there’s a wedding vendor that you’ve been swooning over on Instagram or Pinterest, be sure to add them to the top of your to-do list!

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Have questions or need vendor recommendations? My inbox is open! I’m happy to chat with you or send you to some of my favorite vendors who will help you plan your dream wedding.