Newly engaged, how to start planning?

Question

My boyfriend proposed just 2 weeks ago and everyone is asking if we have a date set and what our plans are. I don't even know where to start! We know we want a small wedding, but other than that we don't know what to do. Who do we call if we want it in a church, or outside in a park? How far in advance should we send out invitations (once we pick a date). What else should we be thinking about and planning for? Any advise would be great :)

Answer 1

Okay calm down, Take a deep breath, and start surfing the web I suggest starting with theknot.com or theweddinghelpline.com both sites are very good for helping plan weddings whether big or small. I used them and planned my whole wedding in 4 months! First pick the date, the venue, reception spot if not in the same place, rings if you don't already have them, invitations, colors, theme if any, budget, dress, wedding party attendants if any, that should at least get you started, after that it's just small stuff like cake, favors, flowers you know the stressful part lol If your not in a hurry and pick a date within the year, you'll have plenty of time. It just all depends on what YOU and your fiance want and remember that your reception will take up maybe half of your budget if you have a budget. What I did was take a 3 ring binder and used it as my wedding planner, I am a big do it yourself bride and made a lot of my stuff rather than spending a lot of money on things to have someone else do them. It's a little bit more stressful but in the end you'll know that YOU did it and your wedding will mean more to you knowing that you worked so hard into something that's for the rest of your life. If you need anything feel free to email me, but you'll get a lot of help on answers as did I! Good Luck with all your planning and Congratulations on your engagement and upcoming wedding!!! : )

Answer 2

First of all, you and your fiance need to sit down and decide how big a wedding you want. This makes a big difference when choosing the venue- a wedding with 350 guests is going to need a lot more room than a wedding with 50 guests.
Once you determine the size of the wedding, talk about how you envision yourselves tying the knot- church wedding? Outdoors in a beautiful field or garden? You could even combine the two and have the ceremony in a church and the reception in a garden or park. If you pick a church wedding, be advised that most churches usually only perform wedding ceremonies for actual church members. You can't just stumble across a beautiful church and decide to get married there- they want you to be part of the congregation. If you are, then just talk to the minister, priest, etc. and he/she will tell you which dates are available for your wedding. If you choose to get married elsewhere, contact the owners of the property (if it's the botanical gardens call their info line, if it's a city park, contact the Parks and Recreation dept.) and ask them what you must do to reserve some space for a ceremony/reception on the date you've chosen. If you feel you need any additional help, look under Wedding Coordinators or Wedding Planners in the yellow pages. COngrats!

Answer 3

first thing I would do is start with an idea for a guest list. that way you have an idea of how many people you want at the wedding. then I would set a budget you want to try adn stay within. then start looking for places. the thing with churches is some wont marry you if your not a member. start looking around at churches and going in to talk to them about it. if you want something outside then look for a park or a place and contact the city to find out about using it for a wedding. once you have the places down you can start looking into food and drinks, music, wedding party, dresses, flowers and what not. invites should go out about 2 months before the wedding. also, if you need to book anything like church, hall, caterer, dj, most need close to a years notice so I would get on that asap if your planning to marry in a year or so.

Answer 4

im also engaged gonna get married on april 18 thats the day he first kissed me i would pick a date that has some meaning or significents to you and him.. i browsed through magazines and went to bridal shops already to try on and pick out the dress i want....invitations should be sent out about 3months before the wedding...as for where you want it.. park or church you call up the churches and find a price.. what i did for the outdoor wedding were gonna have is look around the town your in or a nearby one and see what you think.. or you can google for places too. if your getting married in veges.. theres a beautiful outside place called the grove.. they have wedding by a babbling brooke.. a gazeebo.. a big willow tree...good luck with your wedding plans.

Answer 5

Well, I started out talking to a coordinator...they come in handy although mine is just like a guide not so much like Jennifer Lopez in the wedding planner lol.
She/ he can give you the steps you need. Start EARLY on everything dates fill up FAST! You'll be amazed at how early you think you are only to find out that you're right on time!
I started with my guest number...the more guests the more expensive. That help me to set a budget. Then once you know that start with your church/venue for ceremony. Then on to your reception hall. Those are the two I was told would be the hardest to get closer to the wedding date. Then start on a caterer and the dj and florist. (Im on that step now) Then from there do one thing at a time.
It helps to have a planner with all the deadlines and checklists in it. (like 12 months+ do suchin sucha and so on). That's help too. Hope this helps.

Answer 6

First thing to do is sit down with your partner and ask each other serious questions about what you want to happen. Find out how involved he wants to be in planning. Find out how it will get paid for. Find out how much money you have and how much you are willing to invest in this wedding. You have to know what you want and what you have before you can plan anything, especially a wedding!

Buy a notebook and start making lists. One page is your wish list, then your finances page. Then a page for cakes, for locations, etc. Jot down info as you get it.

I suggest doing a lot of initial research on the web. Look at your state's (or city's) parks & wildlife (or recreation) department and see if they have a phone number dedicated to weddings. If not, they should list the phone numbers of the indiviudal parks. You can call them and eventually talk to a nice person. Also call B&Bs in your area. They might have group rates, and a nice garden to hold a ceremony in. The same advice goes for flowers, catering, etc. Look on the web to get a list, call to narrow the list. Basically, you're going to call a whole lot of people.

Try to stay positive, and be prepared for things to change and not go according to your perfect vision because things NEVER go according to plan, especially with weddings! Try to think of it as planning the coolest party of your life. It should be fun not only for other people, but for you!

Answer 7

First thing, buy wedding magazines and search internet to find out what kind of wedding you want. Just flow around ideas for now. Next, choose your maid of honor because they usually help you plan your wedding.Then when you two are ready, set a date. Everything you do after that surrounds that date. Once the date is set, book your vendors. It's a crazy process, but have fun with it. Congrats!

Answer 8

Congrats! You and your fiance should have a "wedding picnic" together to discuss everything - even if it all changes. But even before planning the wedding, have you planned your lives together? All the things that happen after the wedding - Religion, children, who works what hours, what city to live in...these types of things should be known before any ceremony. On your picnic discuss how you both visioned your wedding to be and go from there. REMEMBER - this is YOUR day make it what YOU want it to be!!!

Answer 9

Aww. Congratulations!
Okay, about the plan. If you want to get married in a church, depending on your religious belief, say Catholic, you have to take 6 month course with your husband-to-be.
Send out your invitations one month before the date.
You should be thinking about flower arrangement, I usually buy flowers from the suburbs because it is very reasonably priced. I buy 1 dozen roses for $ 5. Dont buy commercialized flowers.
Register ahead for your registry. Go to target, it is most affordable, linensnthings or bedbathbeyond for your kitchen, bath, etcetera needs.
Buy invitations from local printing small business. They have many templates and give you reasonable price. Don't overspend on invitations.
Shop for gowns, davids bridal have inexpensive yet nice dresses. Shop for make up artists to make you up, your family, and the groom's family, bridesmaids.
Shop for hotels, honeymoon, cruise.
Look for party place, inside or graden. From my experience of planning parties, garden, buffet, or standing up party is very much cheaper than sit in party.
Don't spend more than $ 500 per table for 10 persons.
Shop for shoes, a really comfortable one, because you have to dance, walk, and many more.
Best of luck

Answer 10

set a budget. venues. location of ceremony. wedding party.pick theme and colors.