It’s the end of February writing this, and that means one thing. We just celebrated Valentine’s Day and there are more engaged couples! This is an exciting time and is full of emotions. Many brides, however, soon find themselves in the situation of not knowing what to do after getting engaged.
There are a plethora of tasks to complete when planning a wedding – more than can be dwindled into a single blog post.
But here are the first few things to do after getting engaged.
What To Do After Getting Engaged
Pick a Wedding Date
Without a determined date, there is nothing that can be done to plan for the wedding except browsing endlessly through Pinterest.
Vendors can’t be booked, the family and friends invited, or reservations made.
There have been several engaged couples who have inquired with us to photograph their wedding without a determined date.
Because they had no date, we could not book them.
Even worse, when they did come back with a date months later, we could not book them because another couple booked us with that date.
Book the Venue First (after determining a date)
Booking the venue is the first vendor what to do after getting engaged.
It is incredibly easy for brides to get caught up in their own love story and feel as though they are the only bride in the world (rightly so).
The fact of the matter is, couples get engaged every day. This means couples are booking wedding venues every day too.
Without acting fast enough, the venue desired may not be available for the date brides want to get married on.
The date is the most flexible aspect of planning a wedding, so if a venue is desired enough, simply move the date to one the venue is available.
Create a List of What Matters Most – Then Book In That Order
It would be too natural for me to say book a photographer right after the venue, but that is biased.
In actuality, brides should list out what is most important to them in planning their day.
For some brides, next on the list is photography. Others, it may be videography or catering.
The reason for this is to put the bulk of the wedding budget into the things that matter most and to be able to book the vendors that matter most.
Once the venue has been chosen and booked, the date has been locked in and can no longer be changed.
By going down the list of vendors that matter most, brides will give themselves the ability to design the rest of their wedding around the availability of their most desired vendors.
What to Do After Getting Engaged – Get Engagement Photos!
This is one of the most exciting steps in the engagement process.
There are several great uses of an engagement session.
First and foremost, this is an opportunity to have beautiful photos taken as a couple and make a date out of it.
Second, this gives the couple and photographer their first time working together before the wedding.
This builds confidence in the photographer for the couple, and it helps the photographer learn how to communicate with them.
Finally, engagement photos are often used for invitations, save-the-dates, and other decorative pieces around the wedding.
Let the World Know!
After the engagement photos have been received, vendors booked, dress bought, and invitations ordered, it’s time to let everyone know!
Engagement photos are great to use as a profile photo on social media, and even as a post on Instagram!
It’s also important to let the people who are coming know as soon as possible so they can make appropriate plans.
Not only is this a good thing to do to make sure they come, but it’s also just good manners.
Anything Else on What To Do After Getting Engaged?
Well, yes. A lot, actually.
Planning a wedding is not an easy task, especially with most brides having only ever planned one wedding – their own!
That is why we will always recommend scheduling a consultation with a wedding planner to get started.
Not sure where to start? Talk with our friends over at Bella Baxter Events to get started!
And if photography happens to be on the top of the list for the most important vendors, inquire with us!
