Congratulations on your engagement! You’re glowing and probably a little sore from smiling so much. So you have the ring…but what comes next? Lucky for you, your local Calgary wedding planner (moi) has put together a list of the the most important things for you to do now that you are planning your wedding…in Calgary? In the Mountains? Regardless where you are considering to host your wedding, these wedding checklist will get you on the right track in wedding planning. Let’s get started!
The Top 10 things to do after you get engaged to start your wedding planning
1. Announce your engagement formally
After you have spent some time reveling in the fact that you are going to be Mrs. (or Mr.) Love-of-Your-Life, take the time to properly announce your good news formally. Despite today’s increasingly casual society, an engagement should be announced by a good old-fashioned phone call (not text!) to your family members and close friends. This may seem very logical, but your friends and family will appreciate this exciting news delivered personally to make them feel special and not via a mass Facebook or Twitter message.
2. Create a wedding email
You will be getting a ton of emails that are wedding-related. Unless your place of work is calm enough that allows you to answer work and wedding emails all day long, get a wedding-specific email address so you can filter everything into one spot. This will simplify your wedding planning so much. You can also consider setting up a wedding website so that guests can have a place to check everything out. Wix is a great, free and easy to use website builder for a non-cheesy (yes, I said it) wedding website!
3. Decide what style of wedding you would like to have
This means that you and your fiancé will need to sit down and seriously discuss your wedding vision before you start any serious wedding planning. Do you dream of a more casual, backyard affair with a small group of family and friends? Or do you envision a modern bash with the latest, greatest decor and action food stations? Once you have set this tone to your wedding, many other aspects can be decided based on this vision.
4. Make a list of what really matters to you
This is related to #2 and the style of wedding you would like. You may have been to weddings where you thought “wow, they really have fantastic décor!” or “I can’t believe there wasn’t a live band”. Now is the time to think of all of those things and create your “Most valuable” list for both parties. You may be surprised to find out that while you value getting married in a beautiful, historical church, your fiancé is more excited to incorporate the most advanced lighting effects at the reception. Go through all of the major wedding components and decide, together, what things matter the most to you for your wedding. Having this list clear in both of your minds will help you select appropriate vendors and know where you want to spend your money in your wedding planning.
5. Set your wedding budget
B-u-d-g-e-t. This is often the most difficult part of planning a wedding, and it is why you should discuss what style of wedding you would like so you know right away what sort of budget you will need to create your wedding vision. Have a formal sit-down with your parents and/or any other family members that would like to contribute and discuss how you would like to divide the finances. You may decide that you would like to pay for the wedding yourselves, but parents may want to contribute as well. Keep in mind that if parents or other family members are contributing, they will get to have some say into the wedding…especially when it comes to the guest list!
Photo credit: via Wedding Bee
6. Create a rough draft of your guest list
This is time consuming and one of the not-so-fun aspects of wedding planning, but drafting your guest list will make or break a lot of wedding decisions. Your dream venue may not be possible if you must invite all 300 guests on your list. You might find that your guest list may be bigger or smaller than you thought too once you really write everyone down (This will relate to your overall wedding budget). Tip: if you’re super organized, list everyone alphabetically so you can use this later as part of your Master Seating List for quick reference.
7. Decide on a venue.
Picking a venue can definitely be tricky as sometimes a venue could be the deciding factor for things such as your guest list, wedding date and budget (you see how so many of these things are related?). We are lucky that there are a lot of interesting Calgary wedding venues and that the Mountains are so close that we have all of those venues as options too. Many couples tend to pick a venue first and decide on other wedding factors such as number of guests and budget afterwards – there is no “right” or “wrong” way to do this as you have to decide what is right for you and your families.
Photo credit: 4Eyes Photography via Style Me Pretty
8. Decide if you need a wedding planner
At this point in your wedding planning, you may start feeling a little overwhelmed. There are a lot of details and decisions to make, and if you are working a full-time job it can be tough accomplishing everything on your massive to-do list. A professional wedding planner will be able to save you time and stress because he/she is able to do the legwork and, ideally, simplify the planning process for you. At Evelyn Clark Weddings (formerly Sweet Stylings), we never want to take over your wedding and do everything “our way” and “our style”. It is your wedding, and our Calgary wedding planners are here to guide you through decisions based on our experience, not make decisions for you. Consider getting help with your wedding planning, even with a Month-Of Coordinator at the very least to ensure your vision is communicated and accomplished.
9. Decide on a design theme
Although this part is definitely more fun than crunching numbers for a budget, developing your design theme should come later in your wedding planning process because it may depend largely on the venue you choose. By now, you must have collected a bunch of photos on Pinterest or through magazines, so spread all of those out and see what jumps out. You will probably notice an overall colour theme and style theme, and those are great starting points. As a Calgary wedding planner that offers wedding planning and wedding design we can help you align ideas while taking cues from your personalities and lifestyle to create a wedding that is uniquely you.
10. Choose your bridal party members.
Before you rush out and excitedly invite all of your friends to be in your wedding party, take a step back and really consider who you want to stand with you on your wedding day. Your fiancé may be thinking of a small, intimate bridal party so what are you going to do if you already asked 8 friends to be involved? Discuss things together (notice a theme here?) and personally invite people to be part of your wedding. And, no, your numbers do not have to be an exact match.
Photo credit: Three Blondes and a Camera via Style Me Pretty
BONUS! 11. Book your Most Valuable vendors ASAP
Remember #4? Take a look at the wedding items that mean the most to you and consider booking those as soon as possible. In Calgary, major wedding vendors book quickly, and you don’t want to be disappointed when your favourite photographer already has your date booked.
There you have it! While this list is quite extensive, don’t forget to also have fun and enjoy the wedding planning process. Being engaged and getting married is an exciting time in your life, and you really want to make it special and meaningful for everyone involved.
If you are looking for a wedding planner to help you make wedding planning fun and not a headache, Contact Evelyn Clark Weddings (formerly Sweet Stylings) for more information on wedding planning and design. We want to hear your wedding story!
Happy New Year and happy planning!
Evelyn Clark
Calgary Wedding Planner and Designer
Calgary Dessert Table Designer
