You’re engaged!! Has it fully hit you yet?! Your head might be full of questions like, now what? What do I need to do right away? Am I already behind on my planning?
I felt this way when I first got engaged. There was so much joy and excitement in those first few days, but then a part of me started to worry that I needed to plan my wedding ASAP.
In this blog, I want to help you enjoy all the celebration of your new engagement without feeling stressed that you have a million things to do. Please don’t feel like you have to plan your whole wedding the first week you get engaged! Give yourself time to let it all soak in.
1. Dream together!
After the question is asked and you say yes, go somewhere quiet where you and your new fiancé can dream together! Talk about when you want to get married, where you envision your wedding being, how big or small do you want it to feel, and if you want to go on a honeymoon, where would that be? You can finally dream together about your wedding day if you haven’t already!!
2. Announce it when you’re ready!
Don’t feel like you have to announce it to social media the day you get engaged! I waited three days until I posted a picture on Instagram, and it was so nice having that time to let family and close friends know first before I went public with it.
3. Celebrate with family & friends!
Surround yourself with the people you love and celebrate your new engagement! They will all want to know how it happened and your dreams for your wedding. Being together with my family the day after I got engaged made it start to feel real!
4. Start venue shopping!
After your engagement as semi-soaked in, I would start venue shopping so you can make sure you get the date you want! I was planning my wedding date 14 months in advance but there was still another bride who wanted the same date as me. I would suggest putting this first on your list whether you have a short or a long engagement!
All of the other vendors you will book (hair, DJ, caterer, etc.) will work around the date you book with your venue. That’s why it’s important to book this first!
5. Research photographers!
After you lock in your venue or know of a date that is available at your dream venue, start researching and sending out inquiries to photographers. Their schedules can also fill up for the year, so before I booked my venue I made sure the photographer I wanted was available on the same day.
6. Make a Wedding Planning timeline!
If you’re like me, a natural planner, then this timeline will put your mind at ease! Plan out each month leading up until your wedding date with the must-dos that month, so that you can relax knowing you won’t forget any deadlines! (I’ll post a separate blog for an example of a Wedding Planning Timeline).
7. Look into Harborside Chapel’s Marriage ‘MentorUs’ Program!
My husband and I really wanted to use our engagement season to prepare for marriage. The Chapel’s marriage mentoring program, MentorUs, allowed Jacob and I to learn the skills that would set us up for a healthy, successful marriage. Being married for three months now, we rely on these skills on a daily basis. We are so thankful we met our marriage mentors and went through this program! (For more information on MentorUs, check out the “Mentoring” tab located above next to the “Blog” tab on the Chapel’s website).
This is such a special time you are entering into with your new fiancé! Looking back, my engagement season was such an exciting time in life. It seemed like there was always something fun to plan or a wedding activity that was just around the corner. I loved spending intentional, quality time with my family and bridesmaids leading up until my wedding day.
I know you might want your wedding to be here right now, but I want to encourage you to be present during this season and not to wish it away. Enjoy every second of dreaming, planning, and growing closer to your fiancé!
Check out my other blog, “Stress-free wedding planning” for tips on how to stay organized throughout your engagement to help reduce all the unwanted stress!! Wedding planning can be a fun, memorable time, I promise!
All the best,
Jess Conley
Photo by: Cara DeHart Lewis Photography
