“I’m engaged! Now what!?” The 4 Most Important First Steps when Wedding Planning

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Written By Janet Abbey

Engagement photo courtesy of Jonathan at New Image Photography in Cleveland, Ohio. View his website here!

The moments following a proposal are filled with “ooohhss and ahhhss” as family and friends come together to congratulate and celebrate the newly engaged couple. 

Quickly however, the “How did he do it?” questions are replaced with, “When’s the wedding? Where will you have the ceremony? What about the reception?” 

It’s unknown why Great Aunt Maggie thinks you know these details mere minutes after getting engaged, but it sure seems important to her…and the rest of your aunts. Sure, they all mean well as they probe for detail after detail, but woah Mags, slow down. 

The answer for most newly engaged couples is, “I don’t know!”

Unfortunately, the excitement of getting engaged is often quickly, overshadowed by the incessant reminder that now you have to plan a wedding.

Which according to Great Aunt Maggie, you better hurry cause your “biological clock is ticking” *sigh*

Truly, wedding planning can overwhelm the most organized people which is probably why some take years to complete the task. Putting off the extensive to-do list and never-ending decisions is definitely easier than checking them off especially if you try to tackle it yourself. 

So now that you’ve got that gorgeous sparkler on your hand, what do you do?

Well, that’s a loaded question and one that takes a lot of time to unravel. But let’s start with the first four steps toward planning a wedding.

4 Crucial Wedding Planning Steps

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1. Create a budget. 

Creating a budget may seem easier said than done. There are so many factors that go into this decision. Most notably, the amount of guests you plan to invite to witness and celebrate your big day. 

Why is the number of guests the largest factor in the budget? More guests equals more tables at the reception. More tables? More centerpieces, food, chairs, linens, cake, alcohol, and the list goes on. 

So I suppose within the first step of wedding planning, you’ll also need to have a close estimate of the guest list. 

Another important factor when it comes to the budget is location. It’s no secret that if you live in New York City, the cost of a wedding is going to be significantly higher than if you live in Twinsburg, Ohio. 

No matter what your total budget amount, I have a simple breakdown of how to spend that money based on percentages, so whether you plan to spend $10,000 or $100,000, these percentages can work for you. 

If you’re unsure of a budget, or if your parents are stuck on the wedding prices of 1987, I’ve got you. Helping couples establish (and stick to) a budget is just one of the many perks of hiring a wedding planner. 

2. Hire a wedding planner. 

Some engaged couples (especially my type A brides) may feel that hiring a wedding planner isn’t a necessary investment when it comes to wedding planning, so I’d like to reframe the “do it yourself” idea for a quick moment and ask a question. 

If you were spending $50,000 on a home renovation, would you ask the experts for guidance in order to help you make good design choices, avoid wasting money, and avoid going over on the budget?  

In most cases, the answer is yes. Spending a LARGE amount of your hard-earned money typically necessitates an expert opinion to guide you along the way. 

With so many decisions in wedding planning, having an expert wedding planner will not only help save you time (because she already knows everything you’re going to have to research), but she will also save you money. 

She knows the ins and outs of the wedding industry and all of the local vendors that you’ll need to make your day come to life which leaves you with less research to do and more time to enjoy. 

Dare I say…your wedding planner may be the most important decision you’ll make in the wedding planning process. 

She will be the person to answer your every question, calm your nerves, help you make tough decisions, give design inspiration, plan the tastings and tours, find the vendors, and keep the planning on track, and so much more.

But most importantly, she will ENSURE that your actual wedding day is stress FREE.

You just sip a glass of champagne and enjoy getting ready the morning of your wedding, she’ll make sure EVERYTHING else is ready and waiting for your arrival at the venue. 

3. Choose and reserve the venue(s) for the ceremony and reception. 

Perhaps you’ve known the answer to step 3 for nearly your entire life. Maybe you’ve dreamt of where you’d exchange vows since the day you met your fiance, but here’s the most important question, is it available during your desired season or month? 

If your heart is set on a specific location, then that location may actually dictate the date of the wedding because you’ll find yourself at the mercy of the dates available. 

At times, this could mean waiting two or three years before exchanging vows depending on how highly sought after that particular location is for couples. For some, it’s worth the wait to have the venue they desire no matter what date is available. 

But many couples have an ideal season or even month that they want to get married. 

Those couples may be more open to various locations in order to ensure the best date available based on their schedules. 

Enter…the wedding planner. 

When you speak with your wedding planner about your big day, one of the first questions she will ask is, “What do you envision for your wedding day?” 

So give it some serious thought, and look around the endless options on Pinterest or ask your wedding planner to give you some options.

Do you envision an outdoor location, a church ceremony, a hotel, a rustic barn, a black tie affair or a casual beach vibe? 

Taking your vision, budget and guest list into account, your planner will be able to narrow down a list of locations, schedule the tours, and even go on tours with you to ensure that all of your questions are answered by the potential venue. 

Do you work full time and dread the idea of your weekend being consumed by tours of venues?

Let your wedding planner do the leg work for you! She will be your eyes and ears on the tours, get the answers to all of the important questions, and narrow down the location options even further so that you don’t have to spend your free time touring the venues around town. 

Remember, part of her job is to save you TIME in the wedding planning process, and this is just one of the many ways that she can. 

4. Choose Vendors. 

Ceremony Musicians - Cle Music Group

Okay buckle up, step 4 is a doozy. It seems so simple in one short two-word sentence, “Choose vendors,” but the list of vendors needed for a wedding is extensive and grows even more extensive depending on the location of the ceremony and venue. 

Take a breath before reading the bare minimum list of vendors that you’ll need to make your wedding come to life. 

  • Florist

  • Baker

  • Photographer

  • Videographer

  • Transportation

  • Ceremony musician

  • Reception musician 

  • Caterer 

  • Officiant 

  • Invitation/Stationary specialist 

  • Hair stylist 

  • Makeup artist 

  • Linens

Now, if you prefer an outside venue, that may require everything to be rented from outside companies. 

While it WILL be gorgeous and it’s completely possible, the list of vendors needed grows because you’ll need rental companies that supply:

Aris Rentals Cleveland, Ohio Click to view their website

  • Tents

  • Tables 

  • Chairs 

  • Bars 

  • Cocktail tables 

  • Lighting (Nothing fancy yet - this is so you can see each other!)

  • BATHROOMS (Yes, your guests will need to use a restroom throughout the event even if your location is a gorgeous lake in the middle of nowhere.)

  • Table settings (dishes, water glasses, wine glasses, alcohol glasses, silverware, etc.) 

Having an outdoor wedding means that you have to rent everything down to the spoon Great Aunt Maggie needs to stir her evening cup of coffee.

But we haven’t even gotten fancy yet! This is where your wedding planner will really help your imagination soar…or reel you in if you need to stay within the budget. 

Get that Pinterest board out that you’ve been filling up since your first date because it’s time to DREAM BIG. The various choices and design possibilities are endless during wedding planning.

  • Boxwood wall rentals with custom neon lighting as a photo backdrop for guests.

  • Calligrapher to make custom signs 

  • Live painter to paint a specific portion of the wedding events 

  • Photo Booth 

  • Lighting Designer

  • Furniture, rugs, pillows for a lounge area

  • Ceiling Treatments

  • Dance Floor Lighting (Check out that monogram below!)

If you can dream it, it can be done!

Believe it or not, there are even vendors available to help you include your four legged friends in your wedding.

Doggy I do, LLC. in northeast Ohio specializes in transporting and accompanying your beloved furbaby to your wedding so you don’t have to stress.

I know that this list of vendors can overwhelm even the most Type A bride, but here’s the good news…a company exists for everything you NEED and WANT. 

And your wedding planner has worked with ALL OF THEM, so leave the hard work to her!

So, let Great Aunt Maggie know that all of the wedding planning is covered.

You’ve hired Sterling Event Services, and Janet Abbey is going to take care of EVERYTHING. 

Janet Abbey https://www.sterlingeventservices.com
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