You've got a ring on it, so now what?!
You're engaged! Babes! Congrats and welcome to the adventure of planning your big-day whilst trying to dodge impossible guest-lists, endless to-do lists and generally imploding from the stress of realising you're about organise one hell of a party... Obviously, you don't need to panic, because I'm here and ready to give you some simple steps to kick off your wedding planning in the right way!
First up - get that guest list down straight away, including your evening reception if you'll be inviting extra guests for it (and decide if you're inviting children or plus ones so you don't get caught out), this will form the basis of your venue search and also help you start to consider things like seating arrangements, venue layout and of course, budget! Considering the current climate, you might also want to decide on a '30 person' list - if you know that even if plans change so drastically like they did last year, you'll still want to crack on and tie the knot.
Next - The M word - Nope, not marriage, MONEY - how much do you want to aim to spend on your wedding day? Have you done research into the cost of suppliers? I've just shared a video with my newsletter subscribers giving them the full DL on how much to expect to pay this year and next - so sign up here to delve right into that bad boy!
Then - Get organised. Start from your wedding date and work backwards, breaking each month down into manageable chunks and deadlines, you don't need to do everything in the first month - getting your venue and ceremony booked in, as well as bigger outgoings like your catering and key players such as a coordinator and photographer early is a good place to start, then move on to look at other suppliers, letting your guests know what's going on and dreaming up your decor! I love Trello for my own to-do lists, although the coordinator within is very interested in new kid on the block Airtable, so I'd love to hear if you're a whizz with it already!
Last (but not least!) get venue searching... Be sure to have a look around a few different spaces and get as much info as you can in terms of what you get as part of your booking. Try and visualise your day in the space and have a think about if it fits the style of weddings your after, plus don't be afraid to get quizzing the venue with my free '10 essential Qs to ask your Dry-Hire Wedding Venue' PDF (you'll receive this when you sign up to my newsletter - double whammy!)
Take a deep breath, wedding planning is a marathon and not a sprint, plus remember if you feel like you need a little Sidekick action you can get in touch with me right here for a helping hand.
Happy Planning!
Kate x