CONGRATULATIONS! YOU’RE ENGAGED! WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
FEATURING
Woohoo! You’ve popped the champagne corks, you’ve celebrated with family and friends and now it’s time to get down to planning your wedding.
Our top 10 tips to start wedding planning
There can be a lot to think about once you’re engaged. It can also feel a little overwhelming as well-meaning family, friends, work colleagues, people you meet down the pub and, well, just about anyone, offers you advice left, right and centre.
Fear not though our newly engaged peeps. Help is at hand in the form of WFIL and our super handy wedding hints. Find our top tips to kickstart your wedding planning adventure right here.
1 – WORK OUT YOUR BUDGET
Budgets, they sound boring don’t they. But they’re an essential part of wedding planning and will have a big impact on your future wedding plans.
Do you have savings you want to use? Perhaps family members have offered a contribution or you’re planning a longer engagement so you can save.
Knowing what you can afford to spend is so important so make sure you’ve got a budget sorted before you start booking suppliers.
2 – HOW BIG (OR SMALL) A DAY WOULD YOU LIKE?
It’s so easy to get excited and invite all and sundry to your wedding – work colleagues, people you went to school with, distant family members you’ve not seen since you were a child…
Let’s not get carried away!
Your guestlist will be hugely influenced by the budget you’ve set. At this early stage you don’t need your guest numbers to be set in stone but it is a good idea to sit down together and work out who you both absolutely want to be at your wedding and take it from there.
3 – WHAT ARE YOUR PRIORITIES?
What makes you both excited about your day?
Are you both big foodies so the catering has to be top notch? Perhaps you are really into your photography so you know booking someone amazing is number one on the list. Or is live music your thing and you want an incredible band to get the party started?
We recommend that you think about your “big three” must have items / suppliers for your wedding. This will help you allocate your budget and you’ll know what to spend big on and what can be DIY’d / left out completely or just have a lower budget given to it.
4 – GET WEDDING INSURANCE
It’s not fun or glamorous. But it is important.
We highly recommend getting wedding insurance. You’re going to be putting so much time, effort and money into your wedding and you absolutely need to protect that.
Of course we hope nothing goes wrong but life can sometimes take us by surprise. Insurance is just a bit of reassurance and peace of mind.
5 – WHAT’S YOUR WEDDING STYLE?
Budgets are sorted, insurance is in the bag. Now we get to the fun, creative part!
What sort of looks make your heart sing? If you’ve got no idea that’s absolutely fine. Google, Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest are your friends! There’s no shortage of inspiration out there.
Start saving images and gathering ideas for your day. Think about what’s important to you both and how you can include any of those elements in your plans.
Pinterest is a great tool for collating ideas, or you can use Google Slides to create a mood board or just head to Instagram and start saving posts. Whatever works for you.
Spending a bit of time putting together visual ideas will really help later down the line when you start looking into suppliers and making some decisions.
6 – DO YOU NEED A HELPING HAND?
Did you know, planning a wedding takes on average around 250+ hours!
If you already have a busy life then trying to fit in wedding planning can feel overwhelming. Or even if you feel like you have time but planning and organisation just isn’t for you. That’s ok. That’s what wedding planners are for!
Professional wedding planners are worth their weight in gold. As with any supplier be sure to do your research though.
It’s not just about finding a planner with experience and ability – although of course that is hugely important – you need to make sure you “click” with them as a person too.
7 – CHOOSING YOUR WEDDING VENUE
Oh, in Scotland you are spoilt for choice when it comes to picking a wedding venue.
How on earth do you go about making a choice?! Well, having a good idea of your budget, guest numbers and wedding style will really help you here.
Here are a few other things to consider; do you want an outdoor ceremony? If so have a look at the venue’s indoor options too. Just in case. We are in Scotland after all!
Perhaps you’re getting married in a church or town hall. So think about transportation between there and your reception venues. You don’t want to be travelling for miles on your wedding day!
Will you have lots of guests coming from a fair distance away? If so it might be worth looking at venues with accommodation or plenty of places to stay nearby.
Do your research, make a short list and before visiting venues make sure you contact them to find out if they’re within your budget. There’s nothing worse than falling in love with a venue only to find out you really can’t afford it.
8 – WHEN DO YOU WANT TO GET MARRIED?
Spring and summer are, by far, the most popular times of the year to get married. Long days, sunny (hopefully!) weather and, if you have children, school holidays make it easier to get time away.
Don’t fully dismiss autumn and winter though. They’ve got their own unique charms! Autumnal colours are spectacular and winter has a real sparkle to it. Especially in the run up to Christmas.
If you can, visit your shortlisted venues at your chosen time of year so you get a real idea of what they’re going to look like.
9. YOUR WEDDING PARTY. YOUR DREAM TEAM.
These are your squad. Your team. Your cheerleaders.
The people who are going to support you in the run up and be there for you on your big day.
For some couples choosing their wedding party will be a no brainer, but don’t rush into a decision. If you’re planning a smaller wedding for example you might want to have a small wedding party in keeping with this. If you’ve got a big group of mates then this could mean that some tricky decisions would need to be made.
Budget will also be a factor here. The more people in your wedding party the more expense on outfits, flowers etc.
There are lots of ways to have friends and family involved in your day, someone could give a speech or a reading. If you’ve got a more outgoing pal then why not make their your emcee for the day.
Have a good old think about who you want to be involved, and how. There are lots of options.
10 – ENJOY BEING ENGAGED!
There’s absolutely no rush to jump straight into wedding planning. Take time to enjoy your newly engaged status. Revel in the congratulations and you might even want a party to celebrate! It’s a good excuse for a night out at least!
Wedding planning will be waiting whenever you decide to get started so make the most of this time and enjoy the anticipation and excitement of all that is to come!
Hopefully you’ve found this useful and it’s given you lots to think about. Remember, if you need any help with finding the very best Scottish wedding suppliers then you know where we are!
