You’re Engaged, Now What?
Congratulations – you’re engaged! It’s such an exciting whirlwind right after saying YES!
Post guest written by Sarah McClure Photo
Hi guys, I’m Sarah! I want to give you a little background on who I am and why I love weddings so much! I’m a goofy and sarcastically charged photographer based in Utah and I loooove getting be your sidekick and third wheel on your biggest adventure yet! I want to tell your love story! Here’s a blog post I wrote with some tips and tricks for starting your wedding planning process!
Once the elation of the proposal has calmed down a new emotion may set in… Panic. Panic about where to begin, what to even start planning, how to find the right vendors. Oh heck, how do I do this!?
Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered! Here are a few things to narrow in on in the months leading up to your wedding. Keep in mind, if you are looking to hire a wedding planner they should be able to help you with all of these things!
Your very first decision, besides date, should be deciphering what three things are the MOST important to you on your wedding day. By taking a moment to figure out these points you can help set yourselves a budget. Maybe your top three things are photography, wedding dress, and catering – from here you can work on getting bids from your dream vendors and know what you need to adjust and plan for to make those happen.
Once you’ve decided on a budget you can start the planning process! You’ve got your date, now you need your where. One of my favorite venue resources is the LUX Venue Page! There are over 100 venues on this list and each one includes basic information about the venue and what they provide. Once you’ve narrowed in on a handful you can start reaching out to them, setting up site visits, and planning your date with them. Some venues provide tables, chairs, and linen rentals, make sure to ask about this in your planning process. Otherwise it may be an additional cost that you didn’t budget for.
After you’ve narrowed down your venue it’s time to start planning your vision! Here’s where you start including vendors. LUX is obviously my go-to first vendor to contact for many reasons! The biggest reason is because they are able to help with anything design and decor related, they’re not just food! I am a big fan of being able to hire and coordinate the smallest amount of vendors possible, so having LUX be able to do the food, china, linens, florals, cake, bar service, and more, makes it soooo easy. They also offer a complimentary taste test where you can come in, try your menu served on the china you want, see your floral arrangements, etc!
Aside from venue, catering, and decor here are some of the other vendors you may want to consider!
- Photographer
- Videographer
- Florist
- DJ
- Officiant
- Invitation Suite Designer
- Hair and Makeup Artist
- Day of Coordinator
The vendors you select should be able to help you in more ways than one on your wedding day, and they definitely should not add to your stress level! LUX is a great resource for keeping you on schedule when it comes to the backend, things like starting bar service for you at the selected time, starting dinner without being told, clean up, etc. Someone like me, aka your photographer, should be there to keep you on track in other aspects! Things like knowing how long we have for photos before we need to move into cocktail hour, and then dinner, and dancing, etc. When narrowing down your vendors find people that you vibe with and that you want to spend time with on your special day!
I hope this helps narrow down some of the choices you’ll need to make when it comes to your wedding day! The biggest thing to remember is that this is YOUR day – you and your partners! It is a day meant to celebrate the love that you two share, let your personalities shine through, and make sure you take the time to enjoy it. You can’t re-do it!
If you have any additional questions not covered in this blog post you can always reach out to me via Instagram or my website! LUX is also easily reachable via Instagram and their contact form!