So Your Engaged, Now What?

Congratulations - you've gotten engaged! You have gotten the ring and had the fun of showing it off to all your friends, and then all of a sudden like a big slap in the face you realize and maybe even say out loud, “oh my, now I have to plan the wedding and I have no idea where to begin”
As if the engagement isn’t overwhelming enough now you have to pick a date, find a church and a reception location. There are the invitations, the flowers and THE DRESS. You have suddenly come to the conclusion that getting engaged means planning a wedding and weddings are work.

Before you start to pull your hair out, keep reading and take some hints from the experts.

Set a Date:

First things first, you have to set a date. Everything else in the wedding planning world depends on this. Many brides have a though in their minds about when they want to get married, but lets suppose you have no idea. Start with the basics, What season do you prefer to get married in? Are you picturing a beach wedding, or a winter wonderland?? Do you want a large wedding, or something small and simple. Remember in the process of picking a date – the larger the scale the longer the wait time.

Location, Location, Location:

Once you have a date the next step is location. You need to find the church and reception hall that will work with that date. Sometimes brides do this step first. If you are flexable with the date you are getting married- a good option is to go to the church and the hall and work around their calendars. A wedding without a church or venue is not much of a wedding. Sometimes you may have to go back and forth between the reception venue and the church to get a perfect day / time combination.
Make sure that you find out if your church requires any “marriage training”, Some churches require special classes and you need to make sure you will be available to spend some time with your clergy prior to the wedding day.

Phew, that wasn’t all that hard was it?

Unfortunately, That's just the tip of the iceburg! Now you must set about finding a dress, bridesmaid gowns, invitations, cake, photographer, planning the meals, choosing the guest list and assigning seating.

Working With Parents and In-laws:


Some Couples decide to do this on their own, and then of course there are those who will work very closely with their parents and future in-laws. This is where the real headaches can begin.
If parents are paying for the wedding, they may feel like they are entitled to have some control over the event. What you want and what they want may be totally different things.

Remember this is your big day and you should have everything you want, however if your gigantic wedding is only possible due to funding by your parents than you may need to strike up a compromise. Take parents aside at the beginning and discuss in detail what you want - let them know what is important to you. Listen to what they think is important and work out a happy medium. If you do this up front you will be able to avoid any conflicts during the planning process.

Every Detail Counts:

Keep detailed records of the planning process – log the phone call you make and the people that you talk to – in the end this will help you to avoid any mis-communications. Read contracts thoroughly to make sure you know exactly what the fees are and what you will get in return for those charges.
Almost every bride (and Groom) gets frustrated at times with the wedding planning, you want your day to be perfect and every little thing can seem a lot more important and stressful than it actually is.

When you feel things start to get out of control, remember what is really important – You. The meaning behind the day is to share you happiness, health and love with the important people in your life. With that in mind your day is bound to be perfect no matter what planning you do!