The love of your life has just gotten down on one knee to ask you the most important question you’ve probably been asked to date: Will you marry me? With a swift and eager yes and quite possibly a few screams and gasps, you’re engaged! Congratulations!! …Now what? It’s often that people, even the ones who have been secretly, or publicly on Pinterest, planning their dream wedding for years already don’t know the next steps they should take. Luckily, we’re here to give you the rundown and the order in which you should go to make the most out of your engagement and set yourselves up for wedding planning success!

1. Dwell in your engagement era – Well, the very first thing you MUST do the moment you get engaged… hear us out… is nothing. You’re engaged to the love of your life! WOW. Amazing. What a gift! Now relax and enjoy the effervescence and joy of being engaged! Your impulse might be to jump in with both feet – love is all around! – And it absolutely is – but take it from us, you don’t want to rush this period of your life. It’s magical, it’s once-in-a-lifetime, it’s full of hope and potential, and you’ll want to take your time to bottle up this feeling before jumping ahead to planning. 

2. Day dream – Talk about your favorite ways to celebrate with each other. What kind of parties do you love going to? When do you have the most fun together? What do you want your celebration to feel like? What’s the vibe? (Check out our Pinterest for some preliminary inspo!) Make a list of the 3 most important things for you: Is it the entertainment, the food and drinks, the season, your fit(s), the decor? Think about it individually and talk about it collectively to learn where your priorities lie for your celebration.

3. Money matters – It’s easy to want to save this conversation for later because who likes talking about money? But it’s crucial to find out who is contributing and where the threshold lies for your investment in this celebration. Connecting with each other and your families about the numbers is a great way to create a solid foundation and understanding of expectations. Aligning the expectations with means is an important step. Not starting here with planning is a very common mistake that can cause immense stress and financial strain down the road. DO NOT Google, “how much does a wedding cost in X area?” If you’re stumped on how your budget should break down, reach out and we can help you set realistic parameters based on your style and expectations.

4. Who’s coming – This is another common pitfall when couples start planning their wedding: not solidifying their max guest list before beginning to hunt for a venue. You’ll want to gather the list from your side, your fiance’s side and both sets of parents, especially if they are sponsoring your wedding. You don’t want to waste your time with venues that won’t work for your party size and you don’t want to be convinced that a venue can work because they say they hold 150 guests and you have a list of 150. Spoiler alert: max capacity and max comfortable capacity can be two very different things. Most importantly, you want to remain intentional with your guest list. It may take some tough conversations and a few passes but in the end it’s worth it to have every person in the room be someone you don’t want to imagine celebrating without.

5. Find your perfect planning partner –- Listen, we might be biased on this one, but it’s a biggy to have a wedding planner! Once you solidify your ideal budget, guest count and the priorities of your celebration, reach out! You don’t need to have anything booked to find your planner, in fact we recommend hiring the planner before anyone else so they can steer you away from easy and common mistakes. Your planner will help you define your style, guide you in breaking down your budget, finding your perfect venue and building your wedding dream team. Not sure what type of planning package works best for you? We can help you figure out what level of planning assistance fits your needs and budget best. Check out our services to learn more about what we offer!

There’s a lot to do during your engagement but with a little organization and some patience it can be an enchanted and memorable time for you both to grow even closer. After you’ve taken it all in, daydreamed and prioritized a bit, Dear September would love to meet you! We recommend couples reach out 12-18 months in advance of their ideal wedding date via our contact form. We love getting to know couples during their engagement. What better time to meet people than at the beginning of the rest of their lives?!