So you got engaged over the winter?! Congratulations! You have updated your status, called all your friends, and posted a million photos, but now what? First things first, you need to decide if you want to get married as soon as possible, or line a few ducks up in a row before the big day.
1. Budget
This is a big one! This could determine if you are going to be getting married next year, or waiting awhile to save up. While everyone’s situation is different, it is important to be realistic about how your Wedding expectations fit in with your budget. The average city wedding will run well over $50,000. The average rural wedding is typically around $30,000. If you are blessed enough to have family members that want to contribute to the budget this would be a good time to talk about it. You cannot start shopping for vendors, talking to your planner, or even deciding on your style of wedding before your budget it established.
2. Guest List
After you decide on the budget, you need to decide on how many people are going to be attending. It is important to be realistic about this as well. If you have a network of over 200 friends/family/coworkers, you probably won’t be having a 75 person wedding. If you have a smaller budget you may not be able to let everyone have a plus one, but it is important to keep in mind who may be expecting to come. Having a 200 person wedding on a $20,000 budget will be much more difficult that having a 50 person wedding on a $50000 budget.
3. Plan, Dream, Repeat
Now for the fun part! Once you are over all of the drama and stress of deciphering budgets and guest lists you are free to make your Pinterest boards come to life. This is also the best time to decide if you want to work with a Full Service planner. If you are in communication with your planner from the beginning things will go very smoothly.
and Enjoy the rush of Wedding planning!
Great tips! Those beginning stages can be super exciting and overwhelming at the same time!