The day the love of your life proposes is truly one of the most wonderful moments you can experience. There are tears of joy and excitement, phone calls to loved ones to share the news and a rose-colored view of life and the future. But once the dust settles and the ring is sized, reality kicks in. “Have you guys picked a date yet?” “So when is the big day?” –the questions start pouring in and it is time to make a plan.
Step One: You said “Yes!”
Congratulations! You no longer have to catch any bouquets while dancing to “Single Ladies.” Here’s the top 10 things you need to do right away (yes, budget is one of those), how to announce the big news and most (!) importantly, how to protect that brand new piece of bling. And don’t forget, your man needs a ring too! Here’s 7 Tips for Buying your grooms wedding band.
Planning the First Steps
Type A ladies – this is the moment you’d been waiting for. Time to brush off those Excel skills and get to work on a wedding budget. We’ve also got you covered with two super handy planning timelines, 12 months and 6 months, complete with boxes to satisfyingly check each time you accomplish a planning milestone. Your wedding day has a million moving parts, so this printable wedding day timeline should be your planner or maid of honor’s best friend on the big day. Want to read up on some more tips and tricks to plan a no-sweat wedding? We highly recommend these wedding planning books. P.S This is the stage you find a wedding venue. So get to searching!
Wedding Themes
A theme is more than what color your bridesmaids will wear. It’s a whole mood, that starts from the invitations and carries through all the way to programs and place settings. Here’s a handy guide on how to choose your wedding colors. And if you are still on the fence, we have hundreds of color combo inspiration boards to peruse until you find “the one!”
Wedding Invitations
One of my favorite wedding details to look out for is the Save the Date. I think it’s so important to notify your loved ones early enough about your wedding plans so they can actually save the date! This is also your guests’ first glimpse into your wedding vibe (see above) so be thoughtful about font and color. Next up are the wedding invitations. Details are so important – here is everything you want to include on your wedding invites.
Wedding Dress Shopping
Equal parts exciting and stressful, choosing your wedding dresses is undoubtedly one of the biggest moments of the wedding planning process. For most of us, it’s a moment and a look we’ve been envisioning our whole lives. First things first – you have determine the right silhouette for your gown. And be sure to avoid these common mistakes when you’re shopping for the dress. When trying out different styles, make sure you consider veil lengths in the overall look. And if you’re based in NYC, these are hands down the best bridal salons to visit.
Don’t Forget your Bridal Party
As most of us know, being in a bridal party is just as much a pain in the ass as it is an honor. But actually! So be thoughtful when it comes to thinking about your friends and family who will be spending quite a lot of time and money adoring you over the next year. A lovely thing you can do right away is give them a nice gift when asking them to stand up on your big day. We love these Will You Be My Bridesmaid Ideas. And don’t forget the gents – here are some Will You Be My Groomsmen Ideas.It’s important to clearly establish Bridal Party Roles so that everyone knows their place – this eliminates a lot of drama head on, trust us.
Now you should have everything you need to get started in the epic story of planning your wedding. But it doesn’t stop there – we’ve got so much more inspiration to help you along your journey to the aisle. Check out our posts on the best in bridal fashion, draw inspiration from Real Weddings and all the details in between. Happy planning!
