Congratulations on your engagement! What a fun and joyful time, all in the celebration of love. It can also be an overwhelming time. In their excitement, people have a tendency to pepper you with wedding planning questions the moment that engagement ring hits your finger. So, what’s next? Here’s some tips to get started with planning your wedding.
1️⃣ Pause and take a moment to celebrate!
Congratulations! You’re engaged to the love of your life! Enjoy this sweet moment. Take it all in. You and your partner just made a commitment to move forward in marriage, and this joyful decision deserves a pause before you begin the whirlwind of planning the biggest party you’ve ever hosted.
2️⃣ Write out your guest list
Your guest list can be one large list, or an A list of people you definitely have to have at your wedding, and a B list of people you want to have should you have the flexibility in your venue capacity and budget. The people you surround yourself with as you exchange vows should be people who celebrate and cherish you!
Why is writing out a guest list right away so important? Your guest count decides the size your venue needs to be, and also is the biggest factor in determining your budget. Your budget for catering, bartending, tabletop rentals, floral arrangements, invitations, dessert, and more will be impacted by the total number of guests. Even with planning, the number of assistants I bring with me is different for a 50 person wedding vs a 250 person wedding.
While your guest list is ultimately up to you, if your parents are contributing towards your wedding they may have people that should be included in your guest list too.
3️⃣ Nail down that budget
Figure out what that budget number is. I know this is much easier said than done! Understanding what you, your parents, or other family members will contribute towards your wedding celebration gives you the foundation you need to begin putting the pieces together. Money conversations can feel weird to have at first, but you’re going to have a lot of them over the course of wedding planning. Don’t make money mistakes because you’re guessing on the amounts instead of having this conversation.
4️⃣ Get familiar with wedding budget basics
Standard guidance for wedding budgeting is that your venue and catering (food and beverage) should stay within 40-60% of your overall budget. This gives you the ability to afford everything else you want included in your day!
Venues often have pricing easily available on a website or via inquiry, and you can also reach out to caterers to see if they have an example estimate for your guest count. If it’s not adding up, you may need to lower your guest count, increase your budget, or expand your venue search.
Vendors who you might be including in your day include hair and makeup, entertainment, florist, photographer, videographer, calligrapher, ceremony musicians, transportation, photobooth, event rentals, lighting, late night food trucks, etc.
5️⃣ Hire your wedding planner early in your planning journey
Now, you might thinking ‘Well, how do I know what to budget when I don’t know what things will cost?’ That’s totally understandable – why should you know what a DJ in central Virginia would cost? The difference in pricing between transportation options for your guests? What those cute bistro lights you can hang in your venue will run you? These are all things wedding planners are here to help you with.
We offer budgeting guidance and management in our partial-service and full-service planning packages, and recommend hiring us around the same time you book your venue, either just before or just after. We can help set you up for success and ensure your budget is being spent responsibly while also crafting the wedding of your dreams.
Hire a wedding planner who can honor your budget, ensure your money is well spent, create a cohesive design, and that your day is absolutely amazing!
