Anyone can catch your eye, but it takes someone special to catch your heart.”

– Anonymous

Congratulations! You’re engaged! What an exciting time in your lives, here’s a list of items to do first to kick off the wedding planning!

1. Get your ring insured

Your very first step should be to insure your ring. If that ring decides to go swimming in a pool, take a nose dive down a garbage disposal, or grows legs and just walks off, you’ll be happy you got that precious stone insured!

2. Announce to your family and friends!

Share the big news! Yay! But, before you hit up social media with the big news please make sure you tell your family and close friends first. You don’t want Aunt Lilly finding out from her hairdresser first.

3. Enter Wedding Wire’s #JustSaidYes Contest 

Upload a photo of your engagement ring and tag #weddingwire and #JustSaidYes for a chance to win $10k towards your wedding! Between now and February 29, 2020 Wedding Wire is holding a contest, so go over to Instagram and follow them (and follow me @homespunstudio) for a chance to win! Good Luck!

4. Get a Manicure!

All eyes will be on your hands, so head on down to your local nail artist and get those digits prettied up and polished! It will really show off that sparkler!

5. Figure Out Your Wedding Budget!

This is a great time to sit down with your new fiance and figure out what your budget is. Figure out your guest list count and budget. If you have family members that are willing to chip in, find out what they are contributing so that you know what kind of budget you have to work with. And, don’t worry if you don’t have a big budget, you can plan beautiful weddings with ANY kind of budget (future blog post on this topic coming up!)

6. Hire a Wedding Planner

Wedding planners are amazing organized people who really know the ins and outs of everything wedding related! They will know the best (and secret) spots! If it’s in your budget, now is the time to hire a wedding planner.

7. Pick your wedding party!

If you’ve been engaged for a while, picking your wedding party has probably been on your mind and you probably have a good idea on who you want in your bridal party, so selections shouldn’t be too difficult. If you’re newly engaged, think about the people closest to you and who mean the most and talk with your fiance about your selections.

8. Plan your Engagement Party!

Do you know how many people are going to want to celebrate with you after you’re engaged? ALMOST EVERYBODY! Think about what you want (or don’t want) for your engagement party. Your bridal party can help you plan it. Of course engagement parties are optional, and on a positive note – they are a great way to gather everyone to celebrate this exciting time!

9. Think about your Wedding Timeline

Now that you’re engaged, tell me how many people have asked if you picked a date yet? Go ahead, I’m waiting. 🙂 Of course, you are free to choose a date when you please, but you and your partner should think about timelines so you can plan accordingly. If you want to be married within the next 6 months, you’ll want to get started right away with the planning. If you want to get married within the next two years, you have time to sit back and relax. Just keep in mind, that wedding invitations are normally sent out 6 months ahead of time and your wedding gown will need to be made and most likely altered – adding time to your schedule.

10. Get Inspired! 

One word – PINTEREST! Pinterest will be your new bff! Start a pinterest board and start pinning your ideas. Seperate them into different categories.

11. Take Engagement Photos

Find a local photographer to take engagement photos of you and your fiancee. Or, when you book your wedding photographer, many of them have engagement packages you can include – which is a great way to introduce yourself to your photographer and let him or her get to know you both.

12. Consider hiring an artist to brand your Wedding! (that would be me!)

What is wedding branding, you ask! Well, that’s my area of expertise. Inspired by my own wedding, stay tuned to this blog for updated posts on my DIY table arrangements and my illustrated wedding invitations.

Wedding branding connects your look, feel, and color palette that you have chosen for your special day. Your wedding brand tells your story visually and emotionally. It starts with your Save the Dates, and follows with your wedding stationery, and concludes with the elements of your wedding day – your table cards, your menu, your guest book, etc.

I hope this blog post was helpful, in many ways. I’m hoping to give tips and some advice on what worked best for my engagement and planning. I hope you walk away from this post with some useful information.