22 Jul You’re Engaged! Now What?
Congratulations – you’re engaged! This is an exciting time in your relationship for you and your now-fiancé, for your family and friends. But now that you’re sporting some new bling on that finger, you’re probably thinking to yourself, ‘What now?!’
Here, we’ve broken down the next 5 steps to help you ease into your engagement and to start planning your perfect wedding!
1. Take a Breath
Getting engaged is a huge milestone and you are sure to being going through a rollercoaster of emotions right now – joy, surprise, excitement, nervousness, and yes, possibly a little fear. It’s important to take a moment, spend some quality time with your new husband-to-be or wife-to-be and remember why they asked you, and why you said yes. These are some of the most cherished moments in your life together, so make sure you appreciate and enjoy them.
2. Think About an Engagement Party
An engagement party will help ease into wedding planning – giving you an idea of a guest list, theme, location and budget. But you may be asking yourself, ‘Do I really need an engagement party? Do I really want one?’
If the answer is yes, get straight into it and start planning as soon as possible! Generally, engagement parties are held 3 to 6 months after the happy couple gets engaged. They’re a fantastic idea if you’re looking to have a small, intimate wedding – allowing you to celebrate with the people who are unlikely to get an invitation to your big day. They also take the pressure off planning a wedding in the near future, with many brides comfortably waiting 2+ years after the engagement party to have a wedding.
That being said, you might choose to skip the engagement party all together! This is a great idea, especially if you’re hoping to get married sooner and want to save a few extra dollars to put towards the wedding.
3. Seek Inspiration
When planning a wedding, there are quite literally hundreds of decisions that need to be made. By getting in early and thinking about your wedding vision shortly after getting engaged, you may be able to simplify this difficult process. Pinterest and Instagram are your best friend in this scenario! Create boards and save photos that envisage your dream wedding dress or ideal wedding suit, bridal party looks, flower arrangements, venue styling… Practically everything!
This will also help you when selecting suppliers, as you can be completely transparent with what you want for more accurate quotes.
4. Request Some Quotes
According to a 2017 survey, the average Australian wedding costs more than $30,000 – with the biggest expenses going towards the venue and catering. If you don’t have a budget in mind yet, start asking around and requesting some quotes from your ideal locations and suppliers. This will help you break down how much you want to spend, need to spend, and can afford to spend. Make sure that you are seeing value, as quite often the word ‘wedding’ instantly drives up the price.
5. Set the Date
There are 2 main ways that you could go about setting a date for your dream wedding: If there is a convenient date available with your preferred venue or suppliers, or if the date is of significance to you (the date you met, you got engaged or your parents got married, for example).
Setting a date is one of the most important steps in planning your wedding. This will prepare you for how long, and how much money, you need to save. Time is also on your side when it comes to booking suppliers and selecting your bridal party outfits, allowing long enough for fittings and tailoring.
Once your date has been set, the list of things to do will seem never ending – but eventually everything falls into place and your day will be as special as the love you and your fiancé have for one another.
The team at The Function would love to speak with you about planning your upcoming engagement party or wedding. Our versatile, unique and stylish Adelaide function venue is ideal for all kinds of celebrations. We allow you flexibility in all of your selections and we provide custom packages to give you everything you are looking for – at a price you’ll love! Click here to contact us to discuss your preferred dates, guest list and budget.
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