5 Tips for Newly Engaged Couples in 2021
CONGRATULATIONS on your engagement! It’s such an exciting season of life, we sincerely hope that you are settling in nicely to your new role as a fiancé! The wedding planning process can be so overwhelming, trust us. we’ve been there. But, it really doesn’t have to be! We’re sharing 5 tips to help get your wedding planning kickstarted. These are five tips that you should do before you start booking vendors or signing contracts.
01. Set a budget.
Sit down with your partner, pour some cocktails or hot chocolate, turn on some soothing music, and get out the spreadsheets. If you haven’t talked about finances with your partner yet in your relationship, this is the perfect time to start. Figure out how much you can *comfortably* contribute to your wedding as a couple, without going into debt, or sacrificing other important life purchases like a house down payment, new car, or emergency funds.
Next, is the parents. Depending on your relationship with your parents and your partner’s parents, they are probably already preparing to help you financially with your wedding costs. It’s time to have a sit down conversation with them about what they are willing to contribute to your wedding fund. It’s common for parents to throw out a wishy-washy number, but it’s really important to be upfront and honest about what they are truly comfortable with.
It’s also important to chat with them about how they want to contribute. Would they prefer to write you a check for the lump-sum of their amount and let you handle the vendor booking? Do they want to take care of writing a check directly to the vendor when it’s time to book? Do they want to write you a check each time you’re ready to book a vendor?
Check in with your parents about what their preferences are on where they are contributing their money. Personally, my mom was very passionate about paying for a few specific elements of our big day - so we set aside her portion of the contributing budget to make sure she could take care of those items. We then distributed the rest between my partner’s parents and our own budget.
02. Pin away!
You have probably had a wedding pinterest board since college, and maybe even since before you met your partner! It’s time to check back in with that board, and maybe even start fresh. More than likely, your style and taste has changed in the last few years and you might not want the same things that your 17-year-old self envisioned for your big day.
I always recommend starting out with your inspiration for wedding planning with an open mind. Start exploring all the corners of pinterest, wedding blog sites, and instagram so that you know your options and what trends are popular right now. You might find a color scheme, floral element, or style that you never would have thought of before! Pin everything that catches your eye.
Once you feel like you’ve collected a good amount of pinspiration, it’s time to step back and look at the big picture. Scroll through your collection of pins and start connecting the dots. Are there similarities in what you’ve found? What is it about that picture of the wedding reception that you’re drawn to? Is it the centerpieces? Maybe the venue backdrop? Maybe the ambiance of the candles? Start drawing those lines, and you’ll realize that you can now easily narrow down the colors, feel, and style that you’ve been envisioning all along.
Pick out 10-15 images from your pinterest board that are your absolute favorite. Try to have an assortment of flowers, dress, venue, reception, and ceremony inspiration in those images. Then use those images as your base inspiration to send to your vendors.
03. Compile your guest list
It’s time to pull those spreadsheets back out! Make a list of your friends and family that you would love to have present on your big day. Have your partner do the same. Then, ask your parents and your partner’s parents if they have any friends, co-workers, or family members that are must-have additions to your guest list.
Then go back through your master list and re-calibrate. Ask yourself if you can envision your day without that person there. Start creating an A list, B list, and even a C list. On your A list, is the guests that are absolute must-have people to be at your wedding celebration. The B list might be extended cousins that you haven’t seen for a while, but still keep in touch with occasionally. The C list might be your dad’s co-workers, or your mom’s book club friends.
Keep those numbers with different scenarios in mind as you start your venue search, and start to sift through some of those details with your budget. More guests = higher costs all around.
04. Prioritize
Make a list of all the things you want to be included on your wedding day. A plated meal, hanging floral installation, huge dance party, pizza delivery for a late night snack, open bar, your dad to walk you down the aisle, and anything else you can think of. Write it allllllll down.
Go through that list a second time and circle the things that make your heart do a little flutter when you envision that moment on your wedding day.
Then go through that list of circled things and star the items that you absolutely need to have be a part of your big day. Non-negotiables.
Some of those items may be free, i.e. your dad walking you down the aisle. Some of those items might be more costly, i.e. a hanging floral installation. Take those starred items, and prioritize them. Start listing them in order of importance to you.
Keep that list in mind when setting your budget, and determining what percentages of your full budget will go towards different vendors / categories of your wedding.
05. Fall more in love!
Stop what you’re doing right now and text your partner or shout down the hall at them that you love them. Remember how giddy you have felt at different milestone moments in your relationship. That awkward first date, your first anniversary, the surprise of your engagement.
Don’t forget to take time during your engagement to continue to date and fall in love. Set aside time each week to take a break from the wedding planning, and be present with each other. Make dinner together, watch your favorite movie. Learn a new cocktail recipe and play a board game.
Be intentional about your time with each other, because that’s why you’re getting married in the first place. In the end, all of these wedding plans make up for one thing - your marriage.
I hope those five tips help get your wedding planning kickstarted! If you are in the market for a wedding planner or florist, you know we’d be ecstatic to chat with you and hear all about your wedding day vision!
