Being newly engaged is a wonderful time in your life, but when thoughts of wedding planning start to bring you stress, you can quickly begin to feel overwhelmed. While wedding planning doesn’t have to be difficult, it often can feel like you’re out of your depth. If you’re not sure what your first steps should be when you get engaged, it’s time to turn to the experts. Once you’ve told your nearest and dearest about your engagement, it’s time to start planning.
Here are the first things you should do when you get engaged.
Consider your wedding vision
Before you do anything else, sit down with your fiancé and understand your wedding vision. Do you want a huge party that everyone you know will attend and dance the night away? Would you prefer an intimate evening, sipping drinks and spending quality time together? Do you picture your ceremony in a religious setting, or out in nature? How do you want your wedding to feel? How important is your parents’ involvement in the wedding?
The answers to these questions will dictate every decision you make in wedding planning.
Set a wedding budget
Once you understand how you want your wedding day to look, it’s time to talk about your budget. Consider what you can afford, how you’ll be funding it, and what’s a realistic budget for you. This includes understanding modern wedding costs in your city. The average wedding cost in Canada in 2022 was $30,000.
Compare your budget to your wedding vision, and understand what’s possible for you.
Book your venue
The first thing to book when getting engaged is your wedding venue! Booking this first secures your wedding date and gives you a concrete timeline. This also lets you start looking into other vendors, as their first question to you will always be: “what’s your wedding date?”
About 50% of wedding costs come from venue and catering, so securing a venue will help you understand how your vision will come together, and how your budget will shape it. It’s also much more exciting to look forward to a wedding when key details are figured out!
Here at St. Joseph’s Banquet & Conference Centre, we’re experts at helping your wedding vision come to life. Whether you’re hoping for a small & intimate wedding, or a huge party, we’re here for you! Contact us to get started on planning your wedding.