The 5 Most Important First Steps of Wedding Planning | Analyzing
March 4, 2020 by Just Marry!
The 5 Most Important First Steps of Wedding Planning | Analyzing
If you’re newly engaged like me, you’ve probably been waiting for this magical moment your whole life only to realize you don’t really know the first steps of wedding planning. First things first: you should be celebrating! You just said “yes” to spending forever with the love of your life. Soak up the moment before you get down to business!
#1 - SET A BUDGET
Unfortunately, the first step of wedding planning is the least fun one – setting the budget. While it isn’t an enjoyable conversation, it is absolutely necessary! Start by setting a rough guideline of the total you’d like to spend. Then identify which categories are most important to you so you can decide how to allocate that budget. It’s important to set your priorities from the beginning so you don’t get lost in the details!
#2 - CHOOSE A DATE
You can’t do much wedding planning until you set a date, and you usually can’t set a date until you pick a venue and find out availability. The best way to choose a date is by picking your top three wedding dates, and then your top three venues.
If you’re considering an Orlando wedding, whether you’re local or from out of the area, there are so many amazing venues to choose from! You can learn more about the venues we partner with over on this page. We’re also happy to help guide you on this if you want!
Extra tip: keep the time of year in mind when considering venues. For example, if your dating anniversary is on a Saturday in July and you plan on getting married on that date in Orlando, you may want to consider some indoor venues!
#3 - CREATE YOUR GUEST LIST
Once you’ve set your budget and your date, it’s time to figure out who will be there on the big day! While the exact guest list may change throughout your planning, it’s good to set a rough estimate. Your budget and your venue will help with this. Your venue may have a maximum capacity, for example, which automatically puts limits on your guest list. And your budget will also dictate how many guests you can afford to invite.
Pro Tip: Pare your guest list down as much as possible to maximize your budget. More guests = higher food and beverage costs, which is a big part of the wedding budget!
#4 - BUILD YOUR VENDOR TEAM
Once the date has been set, it’s time to build your Wedding Dream Team by hiring the amazing vendors you will trust to implement all the plans you’re working so hard to make. This can be both fun and stressful, especially if you’re planning a destination wedding! It’s definitely one of the most critical first steps of wedding planning.
That said, it should come as no surprise that I recommend you hire your wedding planner first! Whether you want to be hands-on in the planning process or let someone else do all the hard work for you, we wedding planners are an endless resource. We can recommend the top vendors in the area to eliminate tons of research for you, we can negotiate contracts for you and point out ways to save money, and we offer countless wedding planning tips and tricks. Our knowledge and relationships help us pay for ourselves!
Just Marry! offers a variety of planning packages for whatever type of planning assistance you may need. If you’re interested, you can download those here.
#5 – INVITE YOUR "I DO" CREW
Inviting my bridal party to stand up with me was among the most exciting first steps of wedding planning for me. I could not WAIT to ask my favorite ladies to be there with me on my big day!
It’s a good idea to talk this step over with your future spouse. Decide if you even want to have a wedding party, and who those people will be if you do. If you decide against having a wedding party, that’s completely fine! At the end of the day, you and your future spouse have to do whatever is best for YOU!
RELAX, CELEBRATE, AND ENJOY!
This may not be one of the “official” first steps of wedding planning you’d see on a standard checklist, but it should be! Being engaged is such an exciting time in your life. While the goal is to plan a wedding and marry your best friend, you should try not to get wrapped up in the logistics of the event and forget why it’s even happening.
Take time to breathe and just enjoy being together and in love. Don’t let anyone else’s opinions bring you down. Your wedding day is about you and your future spouse and should be exactly what you envision it to be. Make choices, stick with them, and do what is best for you!
MORE ABOUT THE FIRST STEPS OF WEDDING PLANNING
If you’re looking for more tips on the first steps of wedding planning, we’ve got you covered! Check out some of our previous posts where we provide you with our best tips on wedding planning first steps:
JOIN THE JUST MARRY! FAMILY!
We’d love to welcome you into the Just Marry! family! If you’d like us to guide you through the first steps of wedding planning or would like to speak with one of our planners, e-mail us at info@justmarry.com and we’ll get back to you right away. We’d be happy to customize a planning option that will allow you to enjoy every moment of your planning and your wedding day!
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The 5 Most Important First Steps of Wedding Planning | Analyzing