THE FIRST FIVE THINGS TO DO AFTER YOU GET ENGAGED

Yay!! The moment you have been dreaming about is finally here- you’re engaged and you’re going to marry the love of your life! How exciting!

After you call your parents and closet friends and change that Facebook status, you may start to realize that wedding planning is A WHOLE NEW WORLD! While this season of life is SUPER exciting, it can get really overwhelming very quickly. Because of this, I want to help you nail down what tasks are most important first so that you can have a stress free wedding day this is filled with joy!

1. CHOOSE YOUR BRIDESMAIDS!

Initially, wedding planning can feel like a full time job, but this is where your maids will come in! They will be there to let you vent and be a sounding board for you. These ladies should be the ones you can’t imagine not standing beside you one the happiest day of your life. They will be the ones who have been there for you through thick and thin and will be the ones who support you not only through the wedding planning process but will be cheerleaders for you in your marriage!

Are you brainstorming cute ways to propose to your girls? I highly recommend checking out Greetabl. You can pop the the question to them in an adorable way with just a few clicks!

2. CHOOSE YOUR BUDGET

Although it’s an awkward conversation, figure out who is paying for what, and figure out how much you have to work with. From there, pick and choose your splurges. If you have limited funds and if you’re dream is to have a venue that people will talk about for months and beautiful photographs so that you can relive your day over and over again then skimp on flowers, or take more of a DIY route for your invitations. Figure out what is most important to you and your fiance and make those items priorities.

3. CHOOSE YOUR VENUE AND DATE

I lumped both of these together because they truly do go hand in hand- especially with wedding planning during a pandemic. Because of coronavirus, many 2020 brides are choosing to just push their weddings back by exactly a year so vendors are booking much more quickly then they usually would so go ahead and reach out to your dream venue asap.

Some considerations for choosing a venue?

-Look at your Pinterest board and see if you notice any trends in the images saved:

Do many of your inspiration images have a beautiful Southern backdrop?

Then look for venues that match up with that vision. If you’re in the Raleigh, NC area a few you should consider are The Highgrove Estate, The Merrimon-Wynne, The Sutherland, and The Oaks at Salem.

Are you excited about dancing the night away in a beautiful barn:

Then check out Shady Wagon Farm, the Barn at Broadslab Distillery, or the Carolina Grove.

Think about what you wanted included with your venue. Are you wanting something that has a more all inclusive approach or are you wanting to choose the majority of your vendors yourself. Are you ok with having family and friends help clean up afterwards or are you wanting that included?

4. SELECT A PHOTOGRAPHER

If having gorgeous images that you can treasure for a lifetime is a big priority, then I recommend going ahead and selecting your photographer once you select your venue and date. Typically photographers book up between 12-15 months out. Some considerations for choosing your photographer are as follows:

Budget- Go ahead and have a budget in mind for your photography needs, but also remember this is an area where you get what you pay for. This isn’t an area that you get a do over in, so keep that in mind. The cake will get eaten, the flowers will fade, but the pictures stay forever. This is an area of the budget that I would give some wiggle room on. If you find a photographer that you love who is just a couple hundred dollars out of the price range, consider if there are other ways to save that couple hunded so that you can have the images of your dreams then do it. Obviously if someone is far out of the budget, then go back to the drawing board.

Style- Look back at that inspiration board. Are the images that you love more of a true to life style? Are they timeless and bright, or are they more dark and moody? What images on your mood board give you the warm and fuzzies inside soles based on their style? Look for a photographer who is similar to that.

Fit- Consider this…you will spend more time with your wedding photographer on your wedding day then you will spend with your future spouse. With this being the case, you need to make sure that your photographer is someone you feel comfortable sharing those intimate moments with. Select someone who makes you feel comfortable and relaxed!

5. Wedding Colors and Mood

This is an important decision because so many other decisions will stem from this one such as your bridesmaids dresses, groomsmen attire, florals, linens, and even cake! Think about the time of year you’re getting married in when making this decision. One of my best tips is when you select your bridesmaid dresses, see if you can get some color swatches to purchase. Then take them along with you to your meetings with your florist, baker, etc. so they know what colors to match to. My mom would cut a small piece of our color swatches and give them to each vendor so they had it to reference. This helped everything match perfectly and seamlessly.

Your wedding day is going to be one of the happiest days of your life! But keep it in perspective, the wedding is just one day, the marriage is for a lifetime. Whenever you feel overwhelmed, dwell on that!

What are you most excited about in wedding planning? If you have any questions wedding planning related send me an email at hi@tierneyriggsphotography.com. I’m to happy to help however I can!

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