You’ve been dreaming of this moment. Your sweetheart gets down on one knee and says those four little words: WILL YOU MARRY ME? You celebrate with happiness and tears of joy as you respond with a big YES! The two of you are so excited to celebrate the next chapter of your lives and are ready to get to planning. But where to even begin?

As planners, we always want to help you and your partner succeed in planning your wedding and the marriage to come after the I Do’s. And we totally get it – with so many things to think about, it’s hard to even know where to begin and what to prioritize. But we want to change that! We want to share with you some of our best tips to get you started with all the right tools so you’re ready to tackle on planning your big day as an unbeatable duo. Keep reading below 🙂 

Where to Begin

Before the date, the venue or budget chats… sit down with your fiance and start discussing your wedding vision. Start off by having a couple’s brain dump: write down everything you love and dislike and what’s personally important for you to have on your wedding day. As you write your list, ask yourselves these questions: 

• What important elements and details would you like to bring to your wedding and vice versa?
• Are there any priorities to you? What meaning does it have to the both of you?
• What do you expect from each other on your wedding day?

Once you’ve both found similar priorities, it’s time to start planning forward. Woohoo! 

Beginning to Budget

We’ve heard many couples depend on the beautiful inspirations from Pinterest. Yes, it is achievable to create a similar look but often than not, it’ll cost quite a bit. Think a little deeper and start off with these details: 

• • Guest count – how many guests do you want to have? 

• • Location – where will you have your ceremony/reception? Will you have it indoors or outdoors? Will it be local or a destination?

• • Time of day – do you want to have a morning ceremony and a lunch reception? Or do you want to have your ceremony midday and party all night long? Weekday or weekend?

• • Style – Rustic? Romantic vineyard? Contemporary elegance? The list goes on!

• Rough budget – after you’ve considered these areas, make a rough calculation of how much money you will invest into your wedding to cover all these areas.

Remember: by having this rough outline of what your vision entails, this will definitely help you plan as you go on to choosing your venue, vendors, and other aspects of your day – because it really affects it all!

At the end of the day, this is all about you and your sweetheart. Do what will make you both the happiest and listen to your heart and each other. We want this process to be fun and exciting for both of you as you plan for your special day.

You can even turn it into a date night: grab a glass of wine, play your favorite music, and plan together! But also make time to take a breather from planning your wedding from time to time and focus on your relationship.

Want MORE Wedding Planning Advice?

We recently did a podcast with our friend photographer, Wilson Lau! We chatted all about how to kick off your wedding planning, what is an “average wedding budget”, and why hiring a planner is so important + so much more! Click here to give it a listen!

And if you need more support with getting starting and planning ahead – we’d love to chat and be your ultimate support system to bring your vision to life. Say hello and let us know your plans!

Happy Planning, Sweethearts! xo

Photography Credit: Kat Willson Photography