Alright, at first when I became engaged I was hesitant about telling that to the brides I was working with.  I didn’t want them to think that because I’m planning my wedding that it would take away from theirs.  ABSOLUTELY NOT!  I feel like because I’m a bride like you now.. I can completely relate much more than I could before because I’m going through it too.

So, now that we’re on this journey together I thought I’d take this year to let you know what I’m doing each month for my wedding.  Hopefully this will helps you gals who aren’t sure of what should be taken care of when and what month.

The first thing that needs to be determined is when do you want your wedding?

Do you need a long engagement? or are you pretty sure you have everything planned in your head already?

For me, I had an idea.. obviously with working with soo many brides over the years I’ve taken notes :)

I had to decide for myself which was more important.. the date of the wedding or the actual venue.  In my situation, the venue was important and I was flexible with my date.  So, I called the venue immediately after he proposed and gave them my range of availability (time frame of months that were possible to get married) and had them send me the list of open dates.  Once I received that, I put a deposit down for the reception venue on the date that worked best.  Then, I called the church that I was interested in using to see if they were available.  Luckily, they were!  However, if they weren’t then I had looked at other churches I thought were gorgeous and had them as backup plans.  YOU ALWAYS WANT A BACKUP!  Let’s say the date is the most important to you and the future hubs.. then you definitely need at least two back up venues.

Now I have my reception and ceremony venue in lock down.. WOOT!

Typically, these two items are the most important aspects to get taken care of.

Next you want to start dress shopping… trust me.. have your venues picked before you shop for the perfect dress.  Especially if you want  a ceremony in a church, they will 9 times out of 10 have restrictions on what you can and cannot wear.  Also, you need to have the venue booked because lets say you’re having an outdoor reception.. clearly you don’t want a MASSIVE dress with lots of layers.. you’ll get hot; you want something with more movement.  On the flip side.. if you have your reception in a grand ballroom then you want your dress to match that atmosphere.

You also want to wait to pick how many bridesmaids you want until you booked the space.  If you have an outdoor ceremony, it will look silly if you have 10 girls.  On the other hand, if you have a cathedral or large chapel then 10 is okay.  The space needs to match the wedding.  Before you pick the attendants you might also want to consider how large your guest count is.  You don’t want half the guest list standing at the altar now do you?

Just some things to think about this first exciting month after the boyfriend becomes the future hubs :)

Happy Planning!  I’m right there with you..

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