You’re engaged! Congratulations! While you’re basking in the engagement limelight, I know you’re probably wondering, what now? Here are 10 tips on what to do right after you get engaged.

Take a moment to yourselves

Getting engaged is a very exciting time in your lives so the first tip is to take a moment to enjoy being engaged and have some time to yourselves before sharing your news (and being bombarded by the wedding questions!).

Get a Manicure

You will be showing your ring off to a lot of people over the next few weeks so having your nails done will make your ring sparkle even more!

Tell your loved ones

Plan a family gathering, invite your friends over for afternoon tea, it’s so much nicer sharing your engagement news in person rather than over text! Once you share the news with your nearest and dearest, then share a post on social media.

Insure the ring!

This is such an important element after getting engaged that is often overlooked. Your ring could be the most valuable possession you own so it’s important to have the piece evaluated and then insured if it’s lost, stolen or damage. You can go through a jewellery insurer or add it to your home and contents insurance.

Plan an Engagement Party

Before jumping into wedding planning, an engagement party is a lovely way to celebrate your news! One question that is always brought up is - is the engagement party guest list expected to be invited to the wedding later on? Every couple can make up their own mind with this but one way to get around this expectation is to make a thank you speech at your engagement party thanking guests for coming and saying you are planning on having an intimate wedding so it has been lovely to celebrate tonight with everyone. This will help relieve expectations later on when it comes to the wedding guest list.

Prepare Yourselves for the Questions

As soon as you announce you’re engaged, you will be bombarded with questions: How did the proposal happen? When’s the date? What venues are you looking at? Have you looked at dresses? Am I in the wedding party? It’s good to prepare yourselves for all of the questions and having a response in mind can help with the overwhelm as well. Something like: “We’re enjoying engaged life right now and will start wedding planning when the time feels right”, should quieten down the onlookers.

Set a wedding Budget

Budget is the first stage of wedding planning so it’s important to think about this before anything else. The budget will set the tone for all decisions to come, including guest count and therefore which venues you will look at.

If your families are contributing to the wedding costs, remember that communication is key.

Get Started on the Guest List

When you know how many people your budget and favourite venues may allow, you can start listing out your guest list. Begin with the most important guests first, the non-negotiables, and then continue from there. Consult your parents on who they would like to have in attendance and while this may cause some tension, it may help with pressure later if they feel involved (especially if they are contributing to the wedding). Your parents may not be 100% happy but one thing to keep in mind though is that you and your partner need to be on the same page with your guest list. Remember it’s your day in the end.

Good questions to ask yourselves when wondering whether to invite someone are: Have we hung out socially with them in the last year or two? Have we met their partner (if they’re not married or engaged)? Will we be friends with them in 20 years? Remember you want all of the people you love there on your wedding day, so if certain relationships aren’t meaningful to you, perhaps they shouldn’t be on the guest list.

Book a Venue / Set the Date

After the budget and guest count have been sorted, the next thing to do is to book a venue and set a date. Is there a particular date that is special to the two of you? For example, New Year’s Eve or a certain Saturday in Spring? If this is the case, start there with venues and see what is available. If you are not fussed about dates, research venues and find the one that ticks all of the boxes. Find out what availability they have, many book out 12-24 months in advance especially in Spring, Summer, and the start of Autumn, so booking a venue early on is recommended.

Considering the season/month you will celebrate is important too. Do you want an indoor or outdoor ceremony? A reception under the stars or inside a venue? Do you want a cocktail or sit-down reception? Cityscape/urban, garden/winery or coastal location? Do you want Winter moody blooms, Spring romantic florals, Autumn foliage, or Summer brights? Remember that with outdoor celebrations you may want to choose the drier season and/or a wet weather option so make sure you consider that before booking your date and venue.

Remember What Matters

Wedding planning is exciting and all-consuming so keep in mind that your relationship is what matters above all else. The wedding is only one day (or weekend or week depending how long you decide to celebrate for!) of your lives whereas your marriage will be what comes after.

Your day is about you so while planning may become all you think about, remember why you are doing it in the first place, and that’s because of your love first and foremost.

Lei x