Did you just get engaged? Are you lost as to what to do now or how to start planning? First, let me start by saying congratulations! This is the start of a magical journey between you and your fiance. I'm a big fan of attending weddings. All night dancing and dessert (bring on the wedding cake). Two of my favorite things to enjoy in life. But this is about you. So your finance got down on one knee and popped the question, To which you most likely screamed "Yes!!".
Immediately after getting engaged come shock, the overwhelming sense of love, and pure joy while you lovingly stare between your new shiny ring and your now fiance. After a few hours or even a few days, you may be stuck as the thought of what to do next or event first as you are flooded with planning ideas and questions.
Here are the most important things to do immediately after getting engaged:
1. First and foremost...Enjoy. Enjoy your new love-bubble with your fiance. Take as long as you need to be able to fully process that you are now engaged to the person whom you will spend forever with. Enjoy the fact that you found your life partner. Enjoy your big secret (for now) between the two of you. Ultimately your marriage is between just the two of you. You are allowed to keep this news to yourselves for a bit of time before you shout from the rooftop that you got engaged (we'll get to that part later). Once you start telling people, the questions, advice, and planning begin. Give yourselves propper time to be alone and happy and in love with each other, you'll thank me later.
2. Once you are ready to share your news with others, start with your inner circle. Parents and close friends only, remind them gently to keep the news to themselves till you make your announcement to the world. The people in your inner circle will be your support system when times get challenging down the road either in wedding planning or in life. Let them know the wonderful news and shower you both with love and congratulations before the masses. It shows love and respect back to them.
3. Go get that manicure, so you will look your best showing off your new ring. Opt for light pinks or neutrals to look clean and polished without taking away from the beauty of your engagement ring. Our favorite nail colors from OPI are Sweet Heart, Funny Bunny, Lisbon Wants Moor, and Ballet Slippers by Essie.
4. Now that you and your fiance have enjoyed your little love bubble, all of your closets family and friends are in on the news, and your nails are ready for their close up. It's time to announce to the world that you are now engaged. Don't hire a professional photographer for this. You'll have plenty of opportunities down the road to spend the money on professional photos. For your social media announcement, keep your photos personal and intimate by either taking a selfie or have a close family or friend take a few candid shots of you both. If you are both on social media, you should both post an image with a caption, and where it makes sense, update your status. This keeps the message consistent and avoids any confusion. Sit back and watch the likes and congratulatory comments roll in.
5. Before wedding talk and planning begin, create a new email address. You can get cute with ideas like TrueLove@email.com, TillDeathDoUsPrart@email.com, ForeverLove@email.com, or something more standard such as MrandMrsSmith@email.com, TheSmiths@email.com. This new custom email address will be used for all things wedding planning. Communications with venues and vendors, registry, coupons, virtual ave the dates, and bachelor/bachelorette festivities. This eliminates clutter from your work or personal emails inboxes, keeps everything organized under one account that you both have access to, less spam crowding important emails, and then after the wedding, you have the option of deleting the account altogether so you're not getting email promotions about updating your registry, sales on wedding gowns, or vendors trying to get your attention years after your married.
6. One last thing to do before you break out your wedding planning under and sit on Pinterest every night finding all the latest wedding trends. Sit down with your fiance and have an open and honest discussion about the type of dream wedding that you each want. Elope or throw a formal wedding? Big, small, time of year? A ballpark idea on a budget and if either set of parents are able to help financially. You will want to have settle down some kind of direction and possible budgets to work within before you start browsing and contacting folks for more information. The last thing you want to do is find the perfect dress or photographer that costs $10,000 if you and your fiance end up agreeing that the total budget for the day is $10,000. Having an agreed-upon direction and preliminary budget you are both comfortable spending, keeps you focused and on track with all of the millions of options available that will all need to be reviewed and a decision to be made about.
Good luck with your wedding planning adventures! Remember to have fun, take it one decision at a time, and most importantly, it's about you and your fiance starting this new life long journey together. So don't let the stress and minute decisions like cocktail napkin colors (no one remembers them anyway) get in the way of you enjoying your big day.
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