ONE WEEK ENGAGED!

Here is a breakdown of everything I did!

SAVORED IT 

We took advantage of the time we had with family in town and soaked in the joy of the moment. We didn’t rush to tell people at first, but reminisced on our relationship with our families. It was also fun listening to our parents tell stories of us growing up. We shared a nice homemade meal around a table together, got ice cream, and enjoyed the view of the beach. While each engagement is different, regardless of who is involved or where you are celebrating, take time to let it soak in. It is a huge milestone and is worth letting the moment be just that. I didn’t believe it when I would read blogs about how important this is to do, but once I was in the moment and reality hit, all I wanted to do was savor it.

SHARED AND CELEBRATED

Once we started our drive back from the beach we started calling, facetiming, and texting our people. I had made a list of who we wanted to share the news with and slowly we went through it. It was surprisingly hard to “pop the bubble” that we had created over the weekend and share with people. This was not because we weren’t excited, but it felt oddly intimate to tell our special story. I was also surprised by how exhausting it was to share it, so we decided to take breaks and continued over the next few days. It was the coolest experience to feel so incredibly loved, celebrated, and cared for. Each time we told a friend or family member, it was a testament to not only our relationship with that person, but each other. It was also a testament to the commitment we are going to make for a lifetime and the strong community of people we have around us. Again, every person has a different story and community, so you may want to do this differently. But for us, this felt so right!

SCHEDULED VENUE TOURS

Because I work in the industry, I had already seen and worked at quite a few venues in the state where we were wanting to get married. But it is important to do your research and ask the right questions! My recommendation would be to take the time in the first few weeks to talk through what style and area feels most comfortable to the two of you. My fiance and I decided that we did not want our wedding to be in the city, and we also knew that a majority of our guests would be coming from out of state. This created a list of criteria for us to go off of. Once we had a few venues in mind and booked flights, we were able to look at the packaging and pricing of each place to prepare ourselves for the visits. Besides creating a budget and general guest count, this is the most important step to start with in the planning process. While you can have dates in mind, you won’t be able to book your wedding unless the venue you desire is available. 

SCHEDULED A PLANNER MEETING

I will say this over and over and over. It is so important for you to hire a wedding planner for your day and/or planning process to go smoothly. Whether it be a day of coordinator who steps in after you have selected all of your vendors, and solidified your design, or a full on wedding planner who will work with you each step of the way, the day will go one million times smoother if you hire a planner.

Keep in mind that some venues offer this add-on service and others offer venue coordinators. There is a difference!! A venue coordinator will work with you on all things venue specific. They will not necessarily help you with a detailed day of timeline or coordinate with each of your vendors. Again, some venues may offer this, but it is not common. Make sure you ask exactly what the role it is that they play.

While the need of a planner/coordinator might be different for all couples, do your research on what package would be the best fit for you! It is also important that the planner themselves is going to be a good fit because you will be spending a lot of time with this individual on arguably one of the most important days of your life. It comes down to asking yourself, how will I feel when this person is involved? The answer was easy for me and I joked with my dad that I will be a much more peaceful bride with my coordinator involved because she immediately exudes authority and a sense of calm on a wedding day.