Should I Start Planning as Soon as I Get Engaged?

Firstly, huge congratulations on your engagement! It’s such an exciting time, but once the last bottle of champagne from the engagement party has been polished off and the final congratulations card has landed through the letterbox, your mind will naturally drift to kicking off the exciting (but sometimes daunting) wedding planning process.

Planning your wedding can feel like a full-time job which is why a lot of couples (budget-allowing) hire a wedding planner to guide them through. When you're ready to start planning your wedding, we've got some brilliant wedding planning tips to help you over on our blog, but until then, why not revel in the just-engaged joy as long as you possibly can before jumping into serious wedding planning?! Naturally, you're probably still wondering when is the right time to kick off the wedding planning process; if so, read on because there are a few things to take into account first.

Wedding Date

When you start wedding planning is up to you. It could be days, weeks or months after the proposal; every couple’s wedding plans will be different. But the main thing to consider at this early stage is when you want to get married. If you were hoping to have a short engagement and get married in 6 months’ time, now really is the time to get cracking with that to-do list. But if you were planning on having a longer engagement of more than a year, then you could start leisurely and just enjoy the weight of your brand-new engagement ring on your finger for a while.

One major thing to consider here is that wedding vendors (often the best ones) book up way in advance, so although it might feel like you have loads of time ahead of you, if you have a certain destination wedding venue in mind or you can't imagine another professional photographer shooting your day other than the one you've been stalking on Instagram for the last 12 months, then why wait? It's definitely the wedding venues and the top wedding photographer in the area that gets booked up fast, especially on holiday weekends, so there's no harm in kicking off your research and signing contracts early. But only for the vendors that you are 100% about.

Wedding Guest List

The same applies when it comes to the size of your wedding. If your dream is a romantic elopement abroad, there’s no denying this is going to take a lot less time to plan and probably cost a lot less money in comparison to a 3-day weekend wedding for 150 guests, for example. The best thing you can do though, regardless of your wedding aspirations, is get started.

Draft up your wedding guest list so you at least have a rough idea of numbers when you start talking to vendors. Your wedding party might vary in size between the ceremony and reception, this is fine, but ensure you know how many people you might be expecting for your religious ceremony and catered dinner as this will immediately help you whittle down your venue shortlist and other vendor options.

Wedding Budget

Another super important early wedding planning task is to work out your budget because this will ultimately determine the majority of the plans and decisions surrounding your big day. You’ve likely had a bit of a rough head count of potential guests (see above!), but this figure is another key factor in relation to your wedding size, style and cost. At this stage, these numbers don't have to be set in stone, but starting out with a clear figure will help when planning all elements of your wedding day - how much can you allocate to the catering? Can you afford to buy those designer shoes? etc.

Your planning timeline could end up having a big impact on how long you have to save money ahead of the big day. Start by adding up your savings, and if you have family members who would like to contribute to the day, ask them how much this might be. Finally, work out how much money you can realistically save during the wedding planning process, from the time you get engaged up until the wedding day. This will help you come to a (rough) final wedding budget which will help when it comes to working out how much you want to put towards the venue, the food, the photographer, the bridal party outfits etc. We'd always recommend keeping 10-15% of your final budget to one side for contingencies because no matter how well you plan, costs can often end up creeping up unexpectedly.

Wedding Planner

This is where a full-service wedding planner could be your saving grace. Wedding planners know this industry inside out. They know where to find the best wedding vendors, they can design an immaculate wedding planning timeline, and they can help come up with a plan b if, for whatever reason, the weather isn't great or there are any issues with wedding suppliers etc.

They are professionals who will set realistic expectations and keep your wedding running to a tight schedule without you even noticing! Wedding planners are also famous for remembering all the details. They're incredibly creative but also super practical, so whilst you might find the prospect of planning your wedding a scary prospect, this is a wedding planner's speciality!

After getting engaged, and depending on your time frame, it might be worth researching wedding planners first to see if someone can help you from day one. Alternatively, many wedding planners, as well as offering full wedding planning, also offer an on-the-day service. So you can start planning your wedding, but you can hand it all over to someone you trust and who has experience running a wedding day from start to finish. And someone who can take responsibility for turning all of your beautifully made plans into a reality. This also means you can sit back and actually enjoy your day without being in wedding planner mode!

Wedding Website

There are lots of wedding planning websites, tools and resources available to engaged couples when planning a wedding. But one of the most vital platforms you can invest in is a wedding website. Even if you don’t have anything concrete to put on it just yet, platforms such as Say I do can be hugely beneficial early on in your wedding planning journey. You can curate your guest list here, send out save the dates and online wedding invitations (when you’re ready!), and take full advantage of the complimentary wedding planning checklist, which takes you from the first planning steps right up to ‘print your vows’! Our well-researched bitesize tasks will ensure you plan your big day in an organised, timely manner and in an order that makes perfect sense.

Wedding Venue

When you have your wedding budget planned, your wedding party number drafted up, and you have an idea of when you might like to get married, it's time to consider where that might be. As we mentioned above, the big-ticket vendors such as venues, caterers and photographers can often get booked up quite far in advance, so don't be too leisurely when it comes to securing your dream wedding venue. This is even more important if you're planning a destination wedding. Organising a wedding abroad can be tricky, especially if there is a language barrier, with long periods of time between visits, emails etc., so being as proactive as you can, as early on in the wedding planning process as you can, will be a huge help!

Getting the initial groundwork done is vital at this stage. So even if you have a bit of a rush on planning at the start, you could always ease off again for a couple of months. Totally safe in the knowledge that some of the key elements are confirmed and already ticked off the list – which is never not satisfying! If your close friends and family offer to help along the way, let them. You’ll appreciate the extra pairs of hands, and they’ll love to be part of your dream wedding team!

Finally, unless you’re on a super tight timescale, please take some time to bask in the glory of your newly engaged situation. Enjoy this small window of joy, love and celebration because, we have to be honest here, planning a wedding can be a stressful process, and you might wonder along the way whether it’s all really worth it. Spoiler alert, it absolutely is! But don’t forget to enjoy the journey and try and have a bit of fun along the way...oh, and remember to get wedding insurance!