Just Engaged? Congrats! Here’s What to Do After Your Engagement
CONGRATULATIONS! If you’re reading this, it’s probably because you’re thinking: I’m just engaged; now what? It’s a super exciting time, but the stress of planning a wedding may already be sneaking in.
Whether you’re opting for a long engagement or are getting married in six months or less, knowing what to do after getting engaged can be overwhelming. But it doesn’t have to be! With years of experience helping couples plan their weddings, we are excited to help you too. If you are just engaged, here are the 7 things to do first… in this particular order.
1. Celebrate Your Engagement
This may seem like such an obvious thing to do when you’re just engaged, but you’d be surprised how many people let the overwhelming unknown of wedding planning keep them from truly enjoying the moment. That’s why we suggest couples don’t even think about wedding dates, vendor contracts, venue options, and catering details for at least one week after their engagement. This gives you plenty of time to savor the moment. Getting engaged doesn’t happen every day, so don’t let the joy of the moment pass you by. There is plenty of time to plan your dream wedding.
2. Share with Friends, Family, and Social Media
One of the most fun things to do while engaged is to share and celebrate with your friends and family! There are a couple of ways you can do this. If there are certain family members or friends you want to tell before anyone else, don’t wait. Share the news. Word travels fast when a new couple gets engaged, so it’s important to make sure that anyone who you wouldn’t want to hear about it “through the grapevine” gets to hear it from you first.
If you have friends or family that fall in the “need to know first” category, we suggest waiting a few days before you post about your engagement on social media. Because once you tell Instagram and Facebook, there’s no telling who is going to find out and join in on the celebration. But that’s the beauty of being just engaged, right? The more people you share this joyous time with, the more love, celebration, and good vibes surround you.
3. Size and Insure Your Engagement Ring
Ok, so once the initial celebration of being just engaged is out of the way, it’s time to get a little more logistical. If you haven’t already, you need to have your engagement ring sized and insured. You don’t want to wait too long and risk misplacing your beautiful piece of jewelry because it slipped off your finger. Instead, make a date out of it. Go get your ring resized, go out to dinner, and have an intimate evening celebrating your engagement with your new finacé.
4. Throw an Engagement Party and/or Have an Engagement Photoshoot
If you’re looking for more fun things to do while engaged, you can keep the good times rolling and extend the engagement celebrations with an engagement party and/or an engagement photoshoot. Having an engagement party is a great opportunity to come together with your closest friends and family and start dreaming about all things wedding. An engagement photoshoot can provide you not only with great photos to look back at years from now but also professional photos if you want to send out a formal engagement announcement to friends and family.
5. Start Considering Potential Wedding Dates
When it comes to what to do after you get engaged logistically, the first big decision to make is choosing your wedding date. However, this early on in the process, it’s a good idea to have a couple of date options. This way, if you find a wedding venue or photographer you love, you can be flexible and choose a date they are available. If you have a date set in stone, that’s ok too! It just means you might have to be flexible when it comes to the vendors you book.
6. Start Researching Colorado Wedding Planners
Next, start researching Colorado wedding planners. Having a planner by your side from the beginning makes the entire planning process so much easier and way more fun. But every wedding planner is unique, so it’s important to hire the perfect planner for you.
If you’re ready to dive into this step of what to do after getting engaged, follow these tips:
Start with online research and make a list of 3-5 wedding planners you are interested in working with based on their website information
Create a list of 5-7 questions to ask each wedding planner to help you get a better idea of their services and price; a few good questions to ask are...
Are you available on our wedding date?
What are your services, and what do they cost?
How many meetings will we have together, and what will they entail?
Do you handle vendor contracts and payments?
Will you help us select the best venue and vendors for our wedding?
Do you help with designing and sending out invitations?
How many people will help at our actual wedding?
How many years of experience do you have planning weddings?
Choose the wedding planner that you vibe well with and that offers the services you need at a cost you can afford
7. Start Dreaming About Your Ideal Wedding
Now it’s time to start dreaming about your perfect wedding. Do you have a Pinterest wedding board you’ve been filling with ideas for months, maybe even years? Well, now is its time to shine! You went from being just engaged to planning your wedding. Can you believe it? While every wedding is different, and the speed of things depends on how long your engagement is, here is what you can expect to do within the months leading up to your actual wedding:
Set a wedding date
Determine a wedding budget
Choose your wedding planner
Book your wedding venue
Share your wedding vision with your planner
Research, interview, and choose the perfect vendors for your wedding
Ask your bridal party to be part of your special day
Find the perfect dress
Make sure to have fun and enjoy this time in your life! It doesn’t come around every day, so savor each moment.
Just Engaged? We Can’t Wait to Hear from You
If you are just engaged and know you want a Colorado mountain wedding, we can’t wait to celebrate with you! It is always so exciting for us when a new couple calls to learn more about our planning services. We are ready for your questions and excited to share with you how we can help bring your wedding vision to life. But first, don’t forget that when it comes to what to do after getting engaged, the most important thing is to enjoy it. Take it in. Celebrate. We’ll be here when you need us!
A Note from Taylor:
This blog post is extra special to me because it features my engagement! My fiancé proposed to me in Iceland, and about a month later I proposed to her with my daughter there. I happened to propose on what was also the first day of the COVID lockdown. Fortunately, my photographer Johnny Robson (Johnny Robson Photography) was still able to capture these special moments for us!