Woohoo! Your engaged!

Woohoo! Congrats. You're engaged!

You've told everyone you know and the question they keep asking is... when?

My answer to that was... No frickin clue. I don't know about you guys but we didn't have a date in our heads or the perfect wedding vision. We were overwhelmed by how much there was to do when planning a wedding. If this sounds like you right about now, come aboard. It's not as hard as it looks.

First things first. Before anyone gives their opinion or tells you how wonderful their friends cousins daughters wedding was at whatitsname venue, do yourself a favour. Sit down with your shiny new fiancé and work out your budget.

Sound boring, I know. Trust me (and I hate the financial part of being an adult), you will save yourself so much time and agony later on if you do this first. Work out exactly how much you can save before you want to get married per month (our time frame was a year). This is the only budget you will have (even if people say they'll help out, budget for it anyway. There will undoubtedly be hidden costs). The most important part? Stick to the budget. If it's not enough for what you want then work out if a) you really need it and b) if you can extend your money saving time period. Remember what the day is all about because it isn't whether you can arrive on a white horse, it's about you and your partner committing yourselves together for the rest of your lives. So exciting!

So, worked out how much you can save? Got a rough budget in mind? Good. Here comes the fun bit.
For me, this was one of the best bits we did during our wedding planning because it set out both of our priorities and gave us an idea of what we were heading towards.

Sit together and work out which of  these is most important to you both as individuals. Then compare the list:
Wedding dress
Grooms suit
Invitations
Hair and Make up
Hen party
Stag party
Rehearsal Dinner
Small ceremony
Big ceremony
Religious
Civil
Ceremony same location as the Reception
Live music
Readings
Best Man
Chief Bridesmaid
Other Bridesmaids
Flower Girl
Page Boy
Rings
Transport
Decorations
Bouquet
Photography
Video
Receiving Line
Table Plan
Cocktail Welcome
Canapés
Sit down meal
Buffet
Favours
Open Bar
Top Table
Toast Master
Speeches
Wedding Cake
Cake Cutting Ceremony
DJ
Entertainment
Gifts for maids, mums and best man
Evening guests
First Dance
Fireworks
Grand Exit
Honeymoon


Note: This is just a start, feel free to add anything else you feel strongly about on the list.

Once both of you have said whether you feel these things are important, you will be in a much better place to begin the actual planning.

I will continue to add posts relating to wedding planning, I will write the next post about picking a venue and the importance of organisation! The perfect venue for the right price is out there! I promise you!