Along with food, gifts, and time with family, the holidays often result in another joyous moment: proposals! And after you’ve taken the time to enjoy the celebration and share the engagement news with family and friends, you probably start to wonder “what do I do now?”. The wedding team here at Castle Farms, including our certified professional wedding planner Johanna Alexander, is happy to share tips for the first steps to take in your wedding planning journey!
The first thing you and your new fiancé should consider when thinking about your wedding is a budget. Finances can be a tough area of discussion, but it’s important to get a grasp on how much you’re willing to spend before you get too far into researching vendors and ideas. “Set your budget right away,” Johanna advises. “If you don’t have an exact amount, at least know what your maximum limit is that you’re willing to spend. Weddings can get expensive fast, and it’s hard to say no to something once you’ve seen it. Also, as a wedding planner, I don’t want to suggest something to you that’s beyond your budget. So you really can’t move forward in the planning process until you have that number.”
Next, you’ll want to pick a time frame to host the wedding. It’s best to choose a season or month, as opposed to an exact date. That will give you much more flexibility when it comes to options for venues and vendors, and, likewise, your budget.
Once the date is set, you can begin looking at wedding vendors! You’ll want to secure a venue first, as choosing other vendors may depend on where your venue is located. Also, choosing your wedding venue will help in finalizing your wedding theme and style. Then, you will want to research and consider hiring a wedding planner. Hiring a wedding planner makes sense. Since they know everything about the wedding industry, it saves you time and stress, but also helps you stay within your budget.
It sounds intense, but we’ll guarantee that once you have these first few steps nailed down, things get easier. You can move on to hiring your priority vendors (what aspects are most important to you at your wedding – food? entertainment? photos?). And finally, on to the fun stuff: choosing bridal attire, planning the honeymoon, and more!
