Congratulations! You're engaged!!
Take some time to let the magic of it all settle in - you are starting one of the biggest adventures of a lifetime!
Once it has all settled in, it is time to get down to details and start planning!
The world of wedding planning can be MASSIVE and there are a ton of details to sort out. So, where do you start?
Now, you can always hire a planner, and a good planner can help you with all of the details! But these are things you can do on your own, working with a planner to bring it all together! This won't get you through everything, but it will get you started!
1. First things first - pick a theme. This can be a color or your favorite movie or the location you met or a type of food or food in general or a style or a time period or anything in the world! But if you do not pick this first, you will absolutely drown in the endless possibilities of wedding details. Decide together on this, but before you start looking at dresses or flowers or venues or anything, pick a theme.
1A. If you already have a dress that was handed down to you, or that you picked out forever ago, or a dream location or a particular flower, pick a theme that fits that - even if the location or the dress style becomes your theme. Maybe the dress was your grandmother's and the theme becomes "family" or "history" or "the 1950s" or even the color tone of the dress.
2. Once you have a theme, work out two things: What your dream day would consist of, and exactly what your budget for the day will be in real life. By having these two things worked out, you can look at the different elements of your dream day, hold them up to your budget and see where you need to cut back, or find cost-effective alternate solutions, and bring your dream and your budget into a holy matrimony of their own!
3. Start diving into bridal magazines! While flipping through The Knot and every Pinterest board under the bridal sun can be endless hours of inspiration and ideas - it also can be a rabbit hole that will send you into Alice's Wonderland if you do not have parameters set! Picking a theme gives you a yardstick of what direction to go in. And those tiny beach chair name cards in a sand box entry way might not be so distracting when you know you have already picked a metropolitan night scene theme!
4. Don't forget that things can always be handmade - maybe you see a look you love but the price tag is way out of your price range. Perhaps diamond-studded table cards aren't going to fit into your real-world budget, but they would be the best night scene table topper you can find! Check around and see if you can find plastic pieces you can use to make your own and throw a party with some friends to make them! Or, if you are not crafty, or really don't have time, check on websites like Etsy and see if there is a shop there that can make them for you (or tell them what your budget is and see what they can make that might be similar).
5. Find a florist! Be sure to talk to several, but if there is one you just click with, go with that! Nothing is worse than working with someone who doesn't understand what you are looking for and isn't working with you on bringing to life your dream day! Come prepared to discuss budget and colors and concepts. Make sure you tell your florist your theme and what your ideas are - or if you need direction, tell them what your budget is and see what they come up with. Good florists are trained in many styles and know varieties of flowers. Maybe your dream is endless white roses but your budget hasn't figured out how to accommodate that - talk to your florist and see if they can't come up with an alternate style or flower to use that fits your theme and your dream and your budget!
Take some time to let the magic of it all settle in - you are starting one of the biggest adventures of a lifetime!
Once it has all settled in, it is time to get down to details and start planning!
The world of wedding planning can be MASSIVE and there are a ton of details to sort out. So, where do you start?
Now, you can always hire a planner, and a good planner can help you with all of the details! But these are things you can do on your own, working with a planner to bring it all together! This won't get you through everything, but it will get you started!
1. First things first - pick a theme. This can be a color or your favorite movie or the location you met or a type of food or food in general or a style or a time period or anything in the world! But if you do not pick this first, you will absolutely drown in the endless possibilities of wedding details. Decide together on this, but before you start looking at dresses or flowers or venues or anything, pick a theme.
1A. If you already have a dress that was handed down to you, or that you picked out forever ago, or a dream location or a particular flower, pick a theme that fits that - even if the location or the dress style becomes your theme. Maybe the dress was your grandmother's and the theme becomes "family" or "history" or "the 1950s" or even the color tone of the dress.
2. Once you have a theme, work out two things: What your dream day would consist of, and exactly what your budget for the day will be in real life. By having these two things worked out, you can look at the different elements of your dream day, hold them up to your budget and see where you need to cut back, or find cost-effective alternate solutions, and bring your dream and your budget into a holy matrimony of their own!
3. Start diving into bridal magazines! While flipping through The Knot and every Pinterest board under the bridal sun can be endless hours of inspiration and ideas - it also can be a rabbit hole that will send you into Alice's Wonderland if you do not have parameters set! Picking a theme gives you a yardstick of what direction to go in. And those tiny beach chair name cards in a sand box entry way might not be so distracting when you know you have already picked a metropolitan night scene theme!
4. Don't forget that things can always be handmade - maybe you see a look you love but the price tag is way out of your price range. Perhaps diamond-studded table cards aren't going to fit into your real-world budget, but they would be the best night scene table topper you can find! Check around and see if you can find plastic pieces you can use to make your own and throw a party with some friends to make them! Or, if you are not crafty, or really don't have time, check on websites like Etsy and see if there is a shop there that can make them for you (or tell them what your budget is and see what they can make that might be similar).
5. Find a florist! Be sure to talk to several, but if there is one you just click with, go with that! Nothing is worse than working with someone who doesn't understand what you are looking for and isn't working with you on bringing to life your dream day! Come prepared to discuss budget and colors and concepts. Make sure you tell your florist your theme and what your ideas are - or if you need direction, tell them what your budget is and see what they come up with. Good florists are trained in many styles and know varieties of flowers. Maybe your dream is endless white roses but your budget hasn't figured out how to accommodate that - talk to your florist and see if they can't come up with an alternate style or flower to use that fits your theme and your dream and your budget!
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Bridget is the proud Owner of Flower Design by Bridget, bringing European Certification and 20 years experience to Pinellas County, Florida, where she lives with her husband (Air Force, Ret.) and two children. When she is not in her shop, you will find her enjoying a cup of Roiboos tea with her family and several cats and dogs (including one named Daisy). While the holiday greens and decorations of December are her favorite, she looks forward to bringing you sunshine and smiles through flowers all year round!
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