Your Wedding Planning Checklist

10 Jan Your Wedding Planning Checklist

Did you recently get engaged? Congratulations! This season is such a fun and exciting time. But can we be honest? Wedding planning is also sometimes a bit overwhelming and stressful. I remember thinking when we first got engaged, “What do I do now?” If you are wondering where to start, then we have got you covered.

First Steps of Wedding Planning

1. Enjoy it!
   Unless you are getting married real soon, you have time to just soak it in. Celebrate with close family and friends. Tell them first before sharing it with the rest of the world on social media.

 


2. Decide on what is most important to you.
   This is the reason every wedding checklist looks unique – they valued different things. So what is most important to you? Is it the venue? Then start there. Is it a specific photographer or caterer? A band? Make sure they are available.

 


3. Set a budget.
   This is where things may vary a little. If finances were that thing you valued most, then now is the time to set your budget. This will help you moving forward with every other decision because you will know which vendors are within your price range.

 


4. Set a date.
   One of the next important steps is to set a date or range of dates. If the venue was your top priority, maybe choose a month and look at the dates they have available. Every vendor moving forward is going to ask you for your date, and if you don’t know yet, it just creates anxiety. Once you have your date set, you can start booking your other vendors.

 


5. Reserve your venue.
   This is the last of the big steps you should take in the early stages of planning. If you are getting married at a park or a beach and you may just need to get permits, so maybe reserving your photographer is a higher priority. But if you are looking at wedding venues and have found the one, book it. Put that deposit down and reserve your date. It not only solidifies your wedding date which all the other vendors will need, but there are a couple other benefits.

– It is one of, if not the biggest expense. This will affect the rest of your budget moving forward.
– It helps answer other questions: is catering included? Lighting? Rentals? Do they have an all-inclusive package?
– They most-likely have a preferred vendor list which is extremely helpful to find other vendors.

What’s Next?

Now it’s time to dig in! Download our wedding planning checklist below. Then we recommend signing up for The Knot if you haven’t already done so. On there, you will find a budget calculator, a complete and customizable wedding checklist, as well as many more wedding tips! Share with you family and bridal party so they can help too!