We see so many brides who come in and tell us.. ‘I just got engaged last week! I am so excited to find THE Dress!”

“But after THE Dress…I’m clueless!!”

We wanted to provide our beautiful brides with some helpful tips and most importantly a preliminary checklist to follow

We interviewed Ms. Beth Carrick, wedding planner and owner of Flawless Occassions. She gave us her thoughts on things to do after you are engaged-

Here they are:

First five things to do once you get engaged:

1. ENJOY BEING ENGAGED! Before anything else, take a little time to just enjoy being engaged.  Everyone will be asking when and where – but you have plenty of time to decide.  Once the planning begins, engagement can become overwhelming.  Take some time to just enjoy the engagement before the planning frenzy begins.
2. BUDGET – Determine what your budget will be and how you will pay for the wedding.  Get commitments from anyone who is planning to contribute. 
3. GUEST LIST – Both the bride, groom and parents on both sides should be involved. The initial list will include everyone you would like to invite and then you will have to have to narrow it down to fit into your budget.  Have each person do their own list and then you can merge them together and determine who you will actually invite.  
4. DECIDE WHAT KIND OF WEDDING – Sit down with your fiancé and talk about the type of wedding you would like to have have and what things are most important to each of you.  Will your ceremony be held in a place of worship, if so, which one?  What style of venue do you both like or want for your wedding – modern, vintage, rustic, casual, black tie affair, on the beach, in a park, somewhere unique, at a certain venue?
5. DECIDE WHAT TIME OF YEAR – determine what time of year you want to get married.  It’s best not to pick a date until you find the venue you love, otherwise your selection of places may be limited.  Sit down with your families and talk about schedules so you can find a time of year that would work best for everyone.   If you need to save up for the wedding, make sure you allow enough time to do so.  Many vendors will want up to 50% for a deposit – so once you start booking vendors, you will need to have money available.

How many of you have completed the preliminary checklist and looking for more help in planning?

Thank you Beth for always being so insightful and providing us with great tips for our brides!

Stay Tuned for our next blog …