It can feel slightly overwhelming when you first get engaged but don't you worry I've totally got your back!
I am going to talk you through the first 9 steps from engagement, you may be thinking, where on earth do I start? But don't fret follow these steps and you'll be on your wedding planning journey!
'Where on earth do I start?'
But before we jump in, I must say CONGRATULATIONS!! As I'm guessing you're newly engaged if you're reading this blog post!
STEP ONE - CELEBRATE!
Absolutely celebrate your engagement, don't forget that bit! It's one of life's biggest chapters and you must embrace it! Don't get straight into planning the wedding enjoy the exciting moment of becoming engaged.
STEP TWO - CONSIDER YOUR WHEN
Consider when you want to get married, is that in a year, is it in two? Think about how long you want your engagement to be. Perhaps you have a specific date in mind or you know you want a 2 year engagement or you may even want to get married in 6 months time!
Whatever that 'when' is have that conversation with your partner. Your budget may also need to come into consideration when considering your when, if you don't have any savings and want to pay for it all your wedding may need to be far enough in the future for you to save.
STEP THREE - LOCATION
Now, I'm not saying you need to decided exactly where you're getting married! You just need to start considering the location or area of where you want to get married.
You may know you want a UK wedding but not sure where in the UK and are open to looking at all different options when you've decided your budget and guest numbers.
You may already know you want to get married abroad, in Italy or the South of France or even further afield or you might know that you want to get married in the same town you live for guests convenience.
STEP FOUR - BUDGET
This is super, super important! It's one of things I harp on about the most in most of my blog posts or videos!
Start off now by determining your budget and set it. Do not go into your wedding planning process without having set your wedding budget. I'll link a video here where I go into more detail about how to set your budget.
STEP FIVE - GUESTS
You might be surprised but this one will interlink with your budget and that's guests. Write your guest list down and who you will want at your wedding, this will then give you an idea of how many guest you might be entertaining on the day. Not all your guests may come but that's fine!
Just don't guess! It's going to effect your budget, the venue you choose, the caterer you choose etc etc so write the damn list!
Once you've written the list you then might realise your budget won't work for that amount of guests and you need to reduce it.
STEP SIX - SPLITTING YOUR BUDGET
Now I have got a budget spreadsheet for you which teaches you how to split your budget up! It means allocating your budget to the relevant suppliers that you'll need via percentages of your total budget.
It's a specific formula that I use and trust me it works, so download your FREE budget helping spreadsheet here!
STEP SEVEN - CREATE A PINTEREST BOARD
So I've spoken in more detail about how to and how not to use pinterest when creating your wedding moodboard so check those videos here.
But essentially you need to start creating a simple pinterest board pinning wedding images and ideas that your drawn to then you can move onto the next step.
Now I don't like to create a full wedding design until the venue has been chosen, others and yourself might feel differently about this, but you might design your wedding theme and then can't find a wedding venue that fits it. So when creating your board make it quite general with a vibe of what you are drawn to as this will help to decide what type of wedding you want and then want venue you want to look for.
STEP EIGHT - START TO LOOK AT VENUES
So using some fantastic tools and search engines, Coco Wedding Venues is one of my faves! You can then start looking at specific venues that you want in the area or location you've decided. Whether thats a marquee spot or a manor house or a barn, you would have created your pinterest board realised what style of venue you're drawn to and can search for more specific venues.
STEP NINE - DESIGN BOOK
Once you've got that venue, you've got the backdrop to your wedding day so you can then really start digging into your wedding design and create a design book!
When I design a wedding for one of my couples I'm picturing each area of their venue that their using and how we can enhance and embrace the setting.
In your design book you can then breakdown how the days going to run, how each part is going to look and feel and the details that you want.
Now if this sounds a little overwhelming on how to even start a design book, I have created a template for you which you can buy in my digital shop here! I've even done a step by step guide on how to use it.
WHO IS DOING THE PLANNING?
The last thing you should consider when you're newly engaged and starting your journey is who is doing the planning? Have a conversation with your partner, are you planning together, are you planning on your own, are you going to enlist some help whether thats friends and family on certain tasks or a wedding planner.
You may want to binge read my blogs or watch all my Youtube videos and we'll plan this 'virtually' together! I've had so many emails to say I've been their unofficial wedding planner by watching all my Youtube Videos and I cannot tell you how much that lights me up inside!
So they're my first 9 steps to wedding planning, you're on such an exciting journey just don't let that stress and overwhelm jump in! Use all my resources to help you plan your wedding and I'm sure you'll be become an absolute wedding planning pro!
and again... CONGRATULATIONS!!
Happy planning
Lauren xx
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Photos by 1. Mindy Coe Photography 2. Ross Hurley Photography 3 & 4. Sophie Duckworth Photography
