My boyfriend just proposed to me....what now? How and when do I start the wedding process?

Answer 1

CONGRATS!!!! How exciting! The first thing you want to do (and is the most important) is to sit down with your fiance and both sets of parents and figure out a budget and who is paying for what...if it is just you and your finace, then you both have to make some serious decisions as to how much money you are willing to spend on everything. AND, no matter what, stick to the budget!!!!! As a wedding planner, I can't tell you how many couples I have come across who haven't stuck to their budget and big problems came up.

After the budget is done, then you can get to the fun stuff!! The ceremony and reception locations should be next, though, as they fill rather quickly sometimes (depending on where you're looking at). Then interview and select your caterer, baker, florist, entertainment and photographer. Make sure you are up front with them about your budget...if they hesitate and pressure you into paying more than you are comfortable with...don't use them!!

If you are unsure about anything or are hesitating about details and/or larger issues...hire a wedding planner!!! Most of the time brides think they don't need a planner and before they know it the details aren't done and it is too late to hire someone. If you hire ahead of time, then there will be no question of who will be doing what. That is the best advice I can give you.

Answer 2

First of all, Congratulations!

Secondly, now that you are coming down from that emotional high, sit down with your fiance. You need to decide how long of an engagement this will be. Some people wait a couple months and get married, others are engaged for years. The two of you need to decide on an appropriate time or date.

Once you have that done, depending again on your time frame, decide on your budget and what type of wedding (big, medium, small...) and everything else start to fall into place after that.

Answer 3

First pick a date.

Once you have that you can go to any book store and buy a wedding planner. It will show you what you need to do 12 months, 9 months, 6 months, etc. in advance before the wedding date. You don't even have to pick a date that's a whole year away. Timelines can be adjusted.

Congratulations!!

Answer 4

You can start the planning process as soon as you want. The whole wedding thing is up to you and him, there is no required time in-between proposal and wedding planning.

Answer 5

Start as soon as he stands up(from kneeling). Kidding. I'm sure you started throwing ideas and making calls to friends and family already. Draw up a budget and start making calls to church and venue first thing Monday. This way you can set a date once the biggies are booked you can relax and slow down a bit if you pick a day in the future. Get these done right away to avoid disappointment some venues can be booked quite far in advance (I heard of one venue in my area with a few openings left three years from now it is seasonal with a small operational time per year)Good Luck

Answer 6

As a former wedding planner of more than 15 years...take your time. Enjoy your engagement with no plans whatsoever for a month or so. Then, after it settles in...set the date and begin your planning.

As you plan your wedding of a lifetime remember that it is just one (1) day in your life's together. While your taking 6, 9 or 12 months to plan one day...take that same time to plan your lives together after the wedding day is over.

Take your time, don't stress and know that whatever you don't do or gets messed up - no one will notice.

Enjoy the planning.

Answer 7

If you have dated him for over 2 years the two of you could start with setting a date . Decide if it will be a large, or small wedding. The time. The Guest list , Location etc. Miss A drina Blue is right.

Answer 8

I remember being in yours shoes two years ago. I bought every magazine and read everything I could get my hands on. But in the end there were really only three resources I needed.

1. www.theknot.com This is great for any questions you have about what to do and they have great image galleries for getting ideas on what you want your wedding to look like. They have wonderful message boards for talking to other brides-to-be and their online planning tools are really great. On their main page they have a link called "Just got engaged" - check it out.

2. The book Bridal Bargains by Denise and Alan Fields. It tells you how the wedding industry works and how you can save money and still have a great wedding.

3. Local wedding vendor resource. There is usually one for every metro area. You can usually pick them up for free at area florist or wedding dress shops. It will list vendors such as photographers, florists, etc.

Take it from me - I've read almost everything I could get my hands on. But everything I really needed to know was in these three resources.

Good luck and happy planning!

Answer 9

You two need to talk things over now. decied if you want a big or little wedding, whats type of wedding summer , spring, winter fall. Decied on your colors. Who you want in the wedding party. Decied on if it will be a sit down event or a snack and cake wedding. Decied if you want boozes. Wedding size, number of people you invite. These are some things, get a hall. I think these are a good start. decied also how long a engagment oyu want

Answer 10

Congratulations!!!!!

Start by picking a day. Then select the hall and church first. Those are the two main areas that will book fast for the upcoming year and will hold the entire event. Then you can start to select details, cake, food, etc. You may also want to select your wedding party as well. Ask those who will be your bridesmaids, groomsmen etc. fast so they too can make sure they are available for the date you select.

Good luck