Congratulations, You’re Engaged. Now What?

After months of nerves, excitement and planning the when and how he proposed. You said yes of course and the rest is future history. Congratulations! You are engaged. But now what? What’s next and how do you begin the task of organising your wedding? We have created a list of 12 (because 13 would be unlucky) things to help you get started.

1. LET THE WORLD KNOW

It’s tempting to use all 140 characters (love hearts will fill in any left) to let the world know that you are now off the market, he put a ring on it and you are going to be getting married. However, make it personal first. Obviously close family and friends deserve more than finding out via social media. Ring them up, meet up, just tell them in person. Hearing their reactions is priceless!

2. SET A DATE (NOT THE DATE).

Set a date, possibly not the date, but when ideally do you want the big day to be? After “How did he propose” & “Let’s see your ring” The next question that always follows is “So when’s the big day?” Your best bet is to have an idea. “We’re planning for a Spring wedding” or “Next Autumn, we love the idea of getting married as the leaves change colour”. From here you can begin to fine-tune your date based on all the horribly practical things such as when is the venue available. However, that is all to come, for now, think about the perfect time.

3. SIZE YOUR ENGAGEMENT RING.

He may know your wedding finger size perfectly, he may have just got incredibly lucky, but for most people, the ring will need a little fine-tuning to get that “I’m getting married” fit. We suggest getting it done as soon as possible. Remember you will be constantly staring at your ring, as well as showing it off to everyone. Trust us when we say there is nothing as scary/stressful/fear-inducing as losing your engagement ring. A reputable jeweller will be able to do this quickly and simply for you.

4. INSURE YOUR ENGAGEMENT RING.

It is something you can never imagine taking off, let alone losing, but having your wedding ring insured will give you peace of mind in case something does happen. The easiest way is to add this to your household insurance, or if it is super special you may want to look into specific jewellery insurance, which may offer more protection.

5. DREAM.

You finally have the excuse to buy all of those wedding magazines. That list of how your wedding day will be that you began when you were five. Now is its time to shine.  You can set up hundreds of Pinterest boards, watch every romantic comedy film you want and begin the process of thinking about what you want and don’t want on your big day. This is the fun stuff, enjoy it!

6. CELEBRATE

Actually proposing is one of the most nerve-wracking things I can remember doing. It was so magical when Lisa said yes, but every second leading up to that was filled with fear. Once you have processed that you are really going to be married you really should take the time to go out and celebrate with no talk about wedding planning. There is plenty of time for wedding planning to consume you in the near future, for right now, you need to celebrate how much you are in love.

7. GET ORGANISED.

Folders, spreadsheets and Pinterest boards at the ready!  The sooner you get your planning organised, the better. There will soon be lists of lists and essential notes to recall at a moment’s notice. The sooner you get these things organised, the better. Plus it gives you an excuse to go out shopping for gorgeous stationary.

8. SET A BUDGET/START SAVING.

OK. We get it, nobody likes to think about budget, but it is really important to think about this at the earlier stages of planning. It will impact almost all other areas of the day, from how many guests, through to how much you can spend on each key item. Do it early and save yourself a lot of unnecessary pain later on.

9. START THINKING ABOUT YOUR GUEST LIST.

Like getting organised, you can never being to plan for your wedding guests too early. Many couples find this process the hardest part of their planning. Which Uncles and Aunties do you really have to invite? Are you going to allow plus ones? We can’t lie this can become a mind field. We would suggest you start with your must have guests and move outward from there. It might be worth getting your parent’s input here on which members of the family they think best to invite. Remember though, bottom line it is your day! You should have who YOU want there, not who you think should be there and your guest numbers can sometimes rule out venues if they have a small capacity.

10. DECIDE IF YOU NEED/WANT A WEDDING PLANNER.

Weddings can be complicated. In fact, they can become all-consuming if you let them. If you have super busy lives and/or you want some specific things for your day, it might be worth looking into a wedding planner. Wedding planners can help with everything from sourcing suppliers to soaking up the sun on your honeymoon. They will save a lot of stress for you and have connections in many fields. They do however come at a cost. So think about whether you have the budget for this before you begin to source your perfect planner.

11. SET YOUR PRIORITIES.

This is closely linked to your budget. When you have your budget you need to think about which areas of your day are the biggest priority and budget accordingly. Obviously, the venue should be the first to cement that date. After this is done, it is important that you seek out the vendors you want most as soon as possible as many book out over a year in advance. Can’t imagine not having a certain catering company or that amazing wedding photographer? Then book them as soon as you can. Otherwise, somebody else will.

12. PERFECT YOUR ENGAGEMENT STORY. 

You’ll tell the story of being engaged a million times. The thing is, you will love telling it the 100th time as much as you did the first. It can be tempting to leave out the hiccups that happen, but the weird thing is, they are what make it.

Bonus. How I Proposed

I proposed to Lisa in front of the Castle in Disney World on Christmas day (she is a massive Disney fan, as well as a Christmas fan so I knew I was on to a winner), she said yes and we skipped off with Mickey Mouse into the sunset.

In reality, though it was a little more complicated. We had a stressful morning already (as we had left the park tickets at the hotel and had to go back and get them) and my nerves at proposing came off as me being upset with her. Luckily, when I proposed, all the stress melted away. The rest of the day was full on amazing, that was until we tried to get something to eat later. Everywhere we went was either full or closed. So we ended up grabbing a Pinocchio Pizza. I think they were the last two as they were closing up. They were tiny, awful and expensive. In fact both meals we ate that day rate among the worst food we have eaten at Disney World. However, those details are what made it our engagement story (plus we had a stash of American candy back at the hotel, which we tucked into on our return).