Just got engaged!! What's the first step in planning a wedding?

Question

Is there a great wedding planner to buy or any other first steps? The whole thing looks very overwhelming from here. Any specifics for the DC area would be appreciated, too. Timeline on the wedding is about a year. Thank you!

Answer 1

After the excitement dies down a bit, sit down with or talk to both sets of parents & see what, if any, financial contribution they are willing to make.  Then create your budget.  Nothing can be done without this.

You can't draw up a guest list for 400 if you can only afford 100; nor can you book a venue for neither the ceremony or the reception.

You can find many good planners on the net.

Answer 2

The first thing you need to do is choose a date... the most things to do is the location of the ceremony, the location of the reception & the photographer... To me these are the things you can't do without...

Answer 3

wedding planners are expensive......

The first thing you should do is talk to your fiance' about what KIND of a wedding you both would like.  

Then set a budget ~ and stick to it.  Book the church and book the place for the reception as they need to be booked some places more than a YEAR in advance.  

You can get a book at the library or Google "planning a wedding" for step by step and when things need to be done and who does them (great help).  

I actually planned a ficticious wedding my senior year as part of Home Economics class.  Pretty funny hunh ?

There are ALOT of items to take care of so check lists are necessary.  Good luck and congratulations !!!

Answer 4

going to a bridal fair. its like a kid in a candy store. be prepared with labels with ur name address & fone #&email. good luck!

Answer 5

Know the exact date! You'll see how that's KEY in all your plans. Everything is based on that very special day from food, flowers, venue......all of it. And by the way ...congradulations:o)

Answer 6

colors, date, city.    work on the rest of it from there.    

oooh.   and start early on your dress.

Answer 7

YES the knot is awesome!  i would definitely start there, or if you don't want to do that,  go to a bookstore or target or something, and buy a few bridal magazines, and one of them is guaranteed to have a wedding checklist/budgeter inserted into it.  i've been engaged for a month and i wanted to get all of the major stuff out of the way first.  the day we got engaged we set a date-well, we said that we wanted to get married october of 2009.  so from there, we each picked a place we liked for the reception (we are from chicago, so i picked a venue downtown, and he picked one in the suburbs).  i went with my mom to both two days later and we picked then, because, depending on the time of year, things book up fast!  i was lucky to get my reception site-it was the only saturday available between the months of march and november for the next 3 years!

decide if you're going to have a church or ceremony.  i'm catholic and my fiancee is methodist, so we agreed, to be fair, to get married in a non-denominational chapel and have someone from each church come in and bless the marriage.

date, ceremony and reception are 3 of the biggest things to tack down first probably.  and of course, it is never too early to start looking for a dress.  but i would suggest pinning down date/place and use that as a spring-board into the next step.  i thought i was going to be an unorganized mess when i started planning this wedding, but things have just been falling together so naturally, i am surprised!!!

i also went on amazon (before i got engaged, knowing i would be getting engaged soon) and searched for wedding planning books.  its good to invest in a wedding etiquette book, even if you aren't going very traditional, because it is a really good guideline to have incase any questions come up that you're unsure of, plus it breaksdown the wedding into sizes, potential budgets, guides, who pays for what (traditionally), etc.

you will do fine!!!  good luck with everything, and many congratulations to you and your fiancee!

Answer 8

join The Knot.

add your wedding date and it'll give your a checklist and a list to help you set your budget.

www.theknot.com

Answer 9

I think the first thing you should do is create a guest list. From there, you can make a budget.

Answer 10

well of course the first thing is to tell everyone :) then after that you should look into where you would hold the ceremony and reception. get a list!! it helps a lot trust me :)

Answer 11

Like the others said, join www.theknot.com

I bought a binder and dividers. I labeled the dividers as needed and put ALL my ideas, contracts, lists, recipiets ect into this binder. I put a photo of my fiance and I on the front.

Here is a "general checklist" that I used when I first started planning. I didn't use ALL of it as listed, but I used it as a general idea.

*Put These Items On Your Calendar First*

• Wedding Date

• Rehearsal Date

• Invitations should be mailed 6 weeks before the wedding

• Wedding dress should be ordered at least 6 months before the wedding

• Bridesmaids' dresses should be ordered at least 6 months before the wedding

• Bride's hair should be cut and colored approximately 15-20 days before the wedding

• Groom's hair should be cut 2 weeks before the wedding

• Blood tests generally must be taken within 30 days of the wedding

*Twelve to Six Months Before the Wedding *

• Purchase engagement and wedding rings; arrange for engraving

• Select a wedding date and time

• Announce your engagement and wedding date

• Discuss and create a preliminary budget with all involved

• Determine your wedding theme or style

• Reserve your ceremony location

• Determine who will officiate the ceremony

• Reserve your reception location

• If you plan to have your reception outdoors, make alternate plans for bad weather

• Decide in your color scheme

• Determine the size of the guest list

• Start compiling names and addresses of guests

• Select bridal attendants

• Obtain bridal attendants measurements and sizes

• Select groomsmen

• Obtain groomsmen's measurements and shoe sizes

• Plan reception

• Select a caterer

• Select a photographer

• Select a florist

• Select a band or DJ

• Select soloists, organists, musicians for ceremony

• Select your dress and order if necessary

• Select your headpiece

• Select bridesmaids' dresses and order if necessary

• Select and order invitations, matches, napkins, thank-you notes and programs

• Start addressing invitations and announcements when they arrive

• Pre-address than-you note envelopes while addressing invitations and announcements. (This saves a great deal of time later.)

• Prepare maps and directions to include with your invitations.

• Check with the post office for the amount of postage needed to mail the invitations when all the pieces are included in the envelope.

• Register with bridal registries

• Reserve the rehearsal dinner location

• Select a baker for the cake

*6-4 Months Before the Wedding*

• Check with your local newspaper for the form and timing of your wedding announcement submission.

• Have mothers select their dresses

• Select the men's formal wear

• Choose songs that you would like for the band or DJ to play at your wedding

• Keep gift checklist up to date and write thank-you notes daily

• Arrange accommodations for attendants who do not live in town

• Reserve a block of rooms for out-of-town guests

• Hire limousines and/or other transportation

• Make appointments for physicals and update your immunization shots and records

• Shop for wedding rings

• Start planning the honeymoon

• Begin shopping for trousseau

• Begin addressing invitations and announcements. (They should be sent 4-6 weeks before he wedding.)

*Two Months Before the Wedding*

• Finish addressing invitations and send them out.

• Finalize all details with the caterer, photographer, florist, reception coordinator, musicians, etc.

• Order the wedding cake if it is not supplied by the caterer.

• Finalize the ceremony details with the officiant.

• Make rehearsal and rehearsal dinner arrangements.

• Plan the bridesmaids' luncheon.

• Make appointments with your hairdresser and mark-up artist.

• Finalize honeymoon plans.

*One Month Before*

• Have a final fitting of the wedding dress and bridesmaids' dresses.

• Have a formal bridal portrait done.

• Complete all physical and dental appointments.

• Get blood test and marriage license.

• Make transportation arrangements for the wedding day.

• Purchase gifts for all of the attendants and particpants.

• Purchase gift for your fiance

• Keep careful records of the gifts you receive and write thank-you notes as you receive them.

• Select responsible person to handle the guest book.

• Make sure that all of the men's attire has been ordered.

• Pick up wedding rings and make sure they fit.

• Take care of legal affairs such as changing the names on insurance policies, etc.

• Reconfirm the accommodations for out-of-town guests.

• Prepare wedding announcements to be sent to the newspaper.

*Two Weeks Before*

• Arrange to have wedding gifts moved to your new home.

• Turn in a change of address card to the post office if necessary.

• Finish addressing announcements to be mailed on the wedding day.

• The groom should have his hair cut.

• The bride should have her hair colored if necessary.

*One Week Before*

• Contact guests who have not responded.

• Give the final count to the caterer and review the details.

• Go over any final details with all wedding professionals you have hired.

• Give the photographer a list of pictures you would like.

• Give the videographer a list of shots you would like included in the video.

• Give all musicians the lists of music for the ceremony and reception.

• Plan the seating arrangements.

• Continue to write thank-you notes.

• Pack your suitcases for the honeymoon.

• Make sure you have the marriage license.

• Make sure that you have the wedding rings and they fit.

• Make sure that all wedding attire is picked up and it fits.

• Reconfirm all honeymoon reservations.

• Make sure that you have your plane tickets.

*The Day Before*

• Have the bridesmaids luncheon if you are not having it the day of the wedding and you haven't already had it.

• The bride should have her nails done.

• Have rehearsal with all participants, reviewing their duties at least twice.

• Go over special seating or pew cards with the ushers.

• Give any instructions about on the wedding day such as what time everyone should be at the church for pictures, what type of transportation is provided, where the reception is, etc.

*The Wedding Day*

• Have the bridesmaids' luncheon if you have not already had it.

• The bride should have her hair and makeup done.

• Make sure that each of you have the rings.

• Make sure that you have the marriage license.

• Place the officiant's fee in an envelope and give it to the best man so he may resent it after the ceremony.

Answer 12

First step-----determine the type of wedding you want and how much you plan to spend.