What comes next? Where should couples even start with planning their weddings?

You’re engaged!! Now what? What comes next? Where should couples even start with planning their weddings? As a newly engaged couple these are probably the first few questions that will start popping up after getting engaged. Wedding planning and your engagement is such a wonderful and special time in your lives. As a wedding planner I always recommend to couples to enjoy their engagement for a bit, let that soak in and be an incredibly special time! Celebrate your love with your family and friends! Then when you are ready to start to think about the planning process I’d recommend the following tips to get you started with planning your New England wedding.

1. The dreaded “B” word ~ Budget! You’ll want to decide on your wedding budget. This is a crucial first step in the planning process. You’ll want to ask the question- “who is paying for this wedding?” If parents and future in-laws are assisting in paying for the wedding you will want to come up with your total wedding budget based off of all those involved who will be helping foot the bill for your special day. Once you have come up with your total budget, stick to it! Most couples don’t have an unlimited budget to spend on their wedding day. Sticking to your budget
and having a realistic expectation will avoid issues down the road. You don’t want your wedding to get bigger than what you can actually afford.

2. Who do you want to invite to your wedding? Whether you have your hearts set on planning an intentionally romantic and intimate soiree for 20 of the closest people in your life or want a large wedding with 150 + of your family and friends you will want to start thinking about who to invite. I’m a sucker for organization and I love a good spreadsheet for your guest list. It’s great because you can add additional tabs for collecting guest addresses, having notes on guest food allergies, doing color coding and more!

3. Where do you want to get married? This could be a loaded question and perhaps you don’t know and you’re not even sure where to start, or you may have your heart set on a venue and your ready to see if it will work for your budget.

If you and your fiancé aren’t sure with where to even start with selecting your wedding location
think about the following questions:
– Are you a couple that loves the ocean and spends a lot of the time at the beach?
– Are you a couple that loves the outdoors and mountains?
– Are you a city couple that loves the hustling vibes of the city and exploring museums?
– Is there a certain town or city that you love spending weekends away at as a couple?
– Is there a favorite venue you’ve attended a wedding at previously?
– Do you want your wedding to be a full weekend away experience for you and your guests or just a one night
celebration?
– Is there a private family property that you would absolutely love to be seen designed and
turned into a magical private estate + tented wedding location?

Hopefully these questions will get the juices flowing if you are a couple who isn’t sure of what type of venue you’d want for your wedding day or wedding weekend! And on the flip side if you are a couple who really has your heart set on a certain location you will want to see if you can make the wedding work with your budget and for the season you want to get married in.

4. Is there a particular time of the year or season you love and want to be married in? Early in the wedding planning process is the perfect time to start to think about this. If you have your heart set on having a wedding during the peak New England wedding season of May – September to early October you will want to keep that in mind as venues and vendors book up quickly for this time. The late fall into winter and early spring, are typically more open as far as availability on the venue and vendors sides goes.

Extra Tip! Did you know that many venues offer discounted winter wedding packages? If you are open to getting married during the winter months in New England this may be a great way to save money on your wedding! In addition, the beautiful winters in New England can often offer alovely backdrop for gorgeous wedding photos!

5. If you are a busy couple the initial phases of wedding planning may also be when you start to think about hiring a wedding planner in some capacity. Did you know that the average New England wedding takes over 200 hours to plan? Yes, that is correct, over 200 hours! Some weddings take 250-300 + hours to plan. That is essentially another full time job on top of the jobs and normal activities and family obligations you have going on in your personal lives. Many couples simply don’t have that amount of extra time to plan their wedding and they opt for a planner for full or partial wedding planning packages to assist them with managing the wedding planning process.

6. If you start feeling overwhelmed with the planning process take a break! Don’t get burned out from wedding planning as then it will become a less enjoyable part of your life. If planning truly becomes too overwhelming and time-consuming you may really want to consider having a wedding planner by your side to take over the reins and offer their experience to make your wedding day the most enjoyable day of your lives!

7. Have fun! Wedding planning should be a fun and exciting time in your engagement! While not every couple will enjoy all the many different aspects of the planning process, try to enjoy the ones that offer your unique love story the ability to shine through!

XOXO,

Something Bleu