Recently Engaged? What's Next? 5 Tips On How To Get Started Planning Your Dream Wedding Day!
So your fiance has recently proposed, you said "yes" and now you're gearing up to start your wedding planning. What's a girl to do next?
Many women are excited and slightly overwhelmed when it comes to getting started with planning their weddings. They really aren't sure where to start. This is completely normal so don't panic. If your car broke down and needed repaired you wouldn't fix it yourself you'd bring your car to a mechanic a trained expert in repairing cars, right? So why would you take one of the most important days in your life, a huge investment of money (average wedding is $25,000) at a very overwhelming time in your life to plan your wedding all on your own? You deserve to have a little help from a professional wedding planner (like me) to get you started on the right direction to help you get on the right track, get organized, spend your time wisely, help you find the best location and wedding professionals for your day and then ensure everything is well organized so that you can really enjoy every moment of the day.
Well I'm here to help you get started with planning your amazing dream wedding. Here are my 5 tips to get you started and put you on the right track to your dream wedding day!
1. You're Engaged! Celebrate!
This is such a special time in your lives so make sure you celebrate it! If someone offers to host an engagement party then don't turn them down. This is your time to feel beautiful and get used to becoming a glowing bride to be. Enjoy every moment of your engagement because before you know it; it will be over.
2. Decide what kind of wedding do you want
It's important before you do anything else you really need to sit down and figure out what your dream wedding day looks like. A lot of couples skip this step entirely and what ends up happening is they don't have the wedding day of their dreams and afterwards they can't stop thinking about it. If you talk to a lot of married couples many brides will tell you that they didn't have the wedding day of their dreams. They might make up excuses about not having enough money or time to plan it. But what they were really missing was a process and an expert in weddings to help them make decisions, see it from another perspective and making the impossible actually possible! But what they did was plan to get it all done and get through their day hoping that everything would go right. That's a lot of stress! But what if I told you that's not what your wedding day should be about. It should be about an exciting milestone in your life about the two of you coming together to become husband and wife. Once you say "I do" then you give your guests an amazing experience (your vision) to celebrate with you.
3. Decide how much you want to invest in your dream wedding day?
Wedding budgets don't have to be scary unless you want them to be. Come up with a figure and make sure that it's realistic with the number of guests you will be having at your wedding. Where will those funds be coming from? Keep in mind when parents are helping contribute to the wedding they often will start dictating what you can and can't have. Some couples have no choice they are paying for their wedding themselves and perhaps a student loan, and a new home on top of it. Make sure it's an amount you are comfortable with and sometimes you may have to sacrifice in certain areas to have your dream day. But I know it's possible I've helped couples achieve their dream weddings on budgets between $15,000-$70,000.
4. Start researching ceremony and reception venues
Once you've set a date you really need to secure your DREAM venue as soon as possible. Where do you see yourself getting married outside, inside, in a church, in a garden, by the falls, on a farm, in a rustic setting, in a banquet hall... the possibilities are endless!
5. Get Some Support From A Professional Wedding Planner (for FREE)
I remember what it was like starting to plan my wedding. I sort of felt like "a deer in headlights" not having a clue as to where to begin. I knew what I wanted for my wedding, but it wasn't possible to achieve (Or was it? Not with that attitude). I spent hours and hours Googling stuff and asking around about vendors and venues from friends and family. I thought back to where other weddings had taken place that I attended and graded the hall. But did I really want someone else's wedding? No! But I was taking the easiest way out because planning was just too time consuming and stressful. It was a full time job all on its own. And I barely saw Steve while I was planning our wedding all by myself. And even worse... although our wedding was amazing and our guests still talk about it. I listened to everyone else. And I didn't have my DREAM wedding and now after 2 years I still think about it. I wish I had known about what a wedding planner could have offered me.
As a wife and now an experienced wedding planner I've been there and done that (over 25 times to be exact). I don't just plan weddings I help brides (and grooms) through a very overwhelming and often stressful time in their lives. I'm here to hold your hand and guide you through the emotional rollercoaster that is wedding planning. Nothing means more to me than making sure you have the wedding day of YOUR dreams, to get the things that you want for YOUR dream wedding. To make it a personal day that reflects who the two of you are. I want to ensure you stay on target with your budget, match you to the best vendors and venue that would be best for you and then give you the tools to ensure that you can actually SHINE like the star you are and not be doing anything else but enjoying every moment of your day! That's why I offer lots of tips and advice to hundreds of brides and grooms, because it's so overwhelming and you need someone to help you through the process.
If you'd like more of my help with designing your dream wedding then you can start here with my Designer Secrets Revealed F*REE Special Report "7 Easy Ways To Get Wedding WOW Factor" and you will also receive a subscription to my popular e-magazine "Wedding Wishes By Stephanie Thompson" with more great wedding planning tips and tricks.
Well beautiful bride to be I hope this helps get you pointed on the right direction to planning your dream wedding. Congratulations and enjoy this amazing time in your lives!
Every moment matters,
Stephanie Thompson WPICC
Wedding Wish Specialist
Wedding Wish Specialist
