In case you haven’t seen on Instagram, something pretty major happened in my life recently – I got ENGAGED!! I shared the story and how it all happened in this post (thank y’all SO MUCH for all the love on it btw), so now I want to talk about what comes next! I’m guessing there are a few of you out there who might be in the same boat as me right now, which is why I wanted to write a post all about what to do right after you get engaged. Some of it may seem a little common sense, but some things have even taken me by surprise!

I’m aiming for a pretty short engagement because of our big move to Denver and some other things, so things are moving pretty quickly for us. But whether your engagement is a few months or a year, I hope this post is helpful for any brides-to-be out there like myself. And if you have any other important tips on what to get done ASAP, please share in the comments!!

Celebrate!

I wanted to include taking a minute to celebrate because hello!! You just got engaged!! Trust me, I totally get how easy it is to dive in head first to wedding planning mode without even taking a minute to digest the fact that you’re getting married. But it’s totally worth it to slow down for a sec and take it all in. Lucky for us, Duncan planned a mini engagement party the day he proposed (which really worked out well with our quick timeline). I’m so thankful he did it and wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

Insure your ring and get it sized

OK, so this is VERY important. I’ll be honest – I didn’t even really realize this was something you have to do, but you 100% should. Get it done right away too because if anything happens to your ring, you want it to be covered!

This is also a good time to get your ring sized if you need to (I literally didn’t want to part with mine so I wore it big for like weeks and it was so stuipd of me). It sucks to be without your ring for a little bit, but you don’t want it falling off or be too tight! Some jewelers can do it day-of so call around!

Set a wedding budget

This is one of those logistical things that isn’t very fun but has to be done. Think about the kind of wedding you want (big, small, plated dinner vs buffet, etc.) and talk to your families to get an idea of what your budget will be. Do this ASAP so you can start booking vendors and thinking about all the fun details!

Nail down your most important vendors

Speaking of vendors, you want to nail them down basically as soon as possible. Especially if you’re like me and you only have a few months to plan your wedding. This would include things like your venue, your photographer/videographer, your planner (if you’re having one), the florist, caterer, DJ slash band, etc. These people book up months (sometimes years!) in advance so start doing your research right away and then book visits so you can make a decision sooner rather than later.

Pick your date

You basically can’t do anything else until you have your date set in stone, so while you’re contacting all your top vendor choices, be sure to get a few available dates from each of them to help you narrow down what date works best overall. Take into consideration weather, if you want something inside or out, in-season vs. out of season prices, the type of vision you have and all that!

Share your plans with close friends and family

As you start booking things, you’ll definitely want to keep your family and close friends in the loop. You don’t want to pick a date that doesn’t work for one of the most important people in your life but you also don’t want to be living on other people’s agendas, so keep this circle small-ish. If you want a big wedding, it might be best to do something more off-season so you know more people will be able to attend!

Choose your wedding party

Especially for my fellow brides who are having a quick engagement, choosing your wedding party is something to do right away! If you’re having a longer engagement it may not seem quite as important, but definitely keep this in mind. Your girls are going to want to get to work planning showers and a bachelorette party for you so giving them as much time as possible is always helpful. If you aren’t doing a party, you can obviously skip this!

Gather inspiration

Now it’s time for all the really fun stuff! I’m neck-deep in wedding inspo right now and it’s been so dang exciting! Grab a big glass of wine and get over to Pinterest ASAP because you’ll be both fascinated and overwhelmed by all the different styles of weddings that are possible! So. Many. Choices.

Go dress shopping

Ahhhh!! Y’all probably guessed this would be my favorite part and it definitely has been so far. But you know what I’ve learned? Dreses take a LONG TIME to make and alter. Even if you have a year-long engagement, I definitely wouldn’t wait too long to pick your dress!

If you follow along on Insta, you probably saw the sneak peek I shared about working with Mackenzie Brittingham to create the perfect reception dress. She’s such a joy to work with and I can’t wait for y’all to see what she comes up with! I will definitely be sharing more of the process with y’all after the wedding so stay tuned for that!

Sometimes I still have to pinch myself that I’m engaged and all of this is happening so fast! I want to share more with y’all as I keep planning and learning more about how all this wedding stuff works!

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