Some of you may have noticed, that as soon as the summer wedding season comes to a halt…engagement season begins! If you haven’t noticed…no biggie- maybe it’s just my observation! Either way, you may have a new favorite season to look forward to! What I’m actually talking about is the time of year between Halloween and Valentines Day, when social media and your mailbox are riddled with engagement announcements. From a Wedding Coordinators perspective, we love everything about this season! Plus it is great, rational thinking by our significant others…strategically giving the brides plenty of time to plan their dream day! My point here is that a decent portion of our readers haven’t been engaged before… so how are you supposed to know what to do with yourself now that you’ve said ‘YES’? That’s what I’m here for! There are thousands of places you can look up the nitty gritty checklist of ‘what nexts’, but here are some perspectives of those who have gone before us!  I asked some of my dear pals over wine and via email what…if anything…would they have done differently during their engagement? Below are the top 4 responses. Whether you are already engaged, or just hope to be there soon, these should shed a little light on the subject! Feel free to comment below with any questions or comments!

~ HIRE A WEDDING PLANNER ~

 OK… seriously, this was a non-coached answer! Of course we love to hear it, but we have it listed because it’s the truth! So many of our clients are working full time, juggling everyday obligations, kids, pets, houses, etc. etc. etc., that planning the wedding they have waited for quickly becomes overwhelming. The gals that I spoke to said that they almost felt guilty asking friends and family to help out. And that on the day of the wedding, you really want ALL your guests to be able to relax and enjoy the festivities without trying to oversee the whole operation. It can be a lot of pressure for a family member to try and uphold everything in your ‘vision’- sometimes it’s easier to communicate with someone that you have a professional relationship versus a personal one.  Also, in hindsight, they noted that the discounts they would’ve received when booking through an event planner would’ve sweetened the deal even more. Long story short, the extra money spent on a planner is worth it!

~ DON'T HAVE A DREADFULLY LONG ENGAGEMENT ~

Some of my friends were engaged for the 14-18 month range. From our conversations, I gathered that essentially as soon as you are engaged, you pretty much just want it to be your wedding day. Thus, waiting 18 months for that day can become taxing…and fast. From a coordinators perspective, we prefer engagements in the neighborhood of 10 or more months. That gives ample time for all the decisions that need to be made. Yet…we have planned our fair share of weddings with 4-6 month engagements! Honestly, set the time for what works for you and your guests will make it happen. Since we are sort of talking about a pre-wedding timeline here, another tip I will roll into this one, is to go ahead and have an engagement party. Several of my friends mentioned that they wished that they had had even a small barbeque so that the groomsmen and bridesmaids would have met each other in an informal setting before the chaos of bachelorette, bachelor, wedding shower and of course wedding day comes raining down on them. Just a little added tidbit!

START A WEDDING ACCOUNT… NOW! 

This may be a bit of a DUH… for some of you that are already incurring the cost of your wedding plans. But for those of you who are not yet engaged, the consensus was that everyone had wished they started a wedding fund sooner than later. If you don’t have a ring or a date yet- but you know it’s going to happen with your significant other, it’s not too early to start saving. 

~ EYE ON THE PRIZE ~ 

This was the hands down, most recorded response. Make sure you remember that at the end of the day, you get to marry your person. If you have followed the advice in #1 (above), nothing will go wrong- BUT even if it did, remember to enjoy the day. You have at least thought about the ‘big day’ a few times throughout your life, and undoubtedly spent a good portion of the last year honing down every last detail…ENJOY YOURSELF! One of my friends said that her flowers were completely wrong, and that her Maid-Of-Honor had a bit of a wardrobe malfunction, and she didn’t even bat an eye- because she still got to say ‘I Do’. Although this is a big event for your friends and families to come together, essentially it’s about celebrating your commitment to each other. Don’t get lost in a sea of Pinterest and lose sight of the real reasons behind your celebration. 

That’s all for now- I hope that you have a little something you can take away before the pending arrival of engagement season.

Cheers!

It’s Your Day Events & Expressions Crew