1. Celebrate the Moment – First off. Take time to enjoy your engagement before diving into planning. This is truly an exciting time, so enjoy it!

2. Announce Your Engagement – Share the news with family and friends, and consider an engagement session. If possible, when searching for your engagement photographer, keep your wedding photographer in mind. Most of the time, your wedding package will include an engagement session and having the same photographer shoot your wedding is always a plus.

3. Set a Budget – Determine how much you’re willing to spend and who will contribute. I tell my couples to budget based on what’s most important to them. If florals aren’t that important to you, spend the least on those and spend more on what’s most important.

4. Choose a Wedding Date – Decide on a season or specific date. Keeping in mind that wedding vendors are booked out 1-2 years in advance for months like April, May, September and October. If the date isn’t so important to you, I recommend booking your favorite vendors based off of their availability. So, if you just HAVE to get married at a specific venue, reach out to them before you set your date and pick one of their available dates that work for you.

5. Create a Guest List – Get an estimate of how many guests you’ll invite to help with your venue selection. Don’t be afraid to exclude some people if you’re getting over budget. Remember, this day is yours.

6. Hire a Wedding Planner (If Needed) – I’ll always recommend hiring a wedding planner or a day of coordinator at the minimum. They’re exceptional at knowing exactly what you need for your exact situation. There are things that they think of that you likely wouldn’t. Backyard wedding? They thought to bring a generator AND a backup generator.

7. Pick a Venue – Most couples secure their venue before anything else. But as I mentioned before, book the vendors most important to you first. If you have a few different venues you could choose from but only one choice for photography, I would start with the photographer. This goes hand in hand with choosing your wedding date as well. See #4.

8. Choose Your Wedding Party – Ask your friends or family to be a part of your day.

9. Book Your Photographer & Videographer – For most weekends in peak months, I’m booked out 12-24 months in advance — and this is true for most in demand or experienced wedding vendors. If you have one you’ve had your eyes on, reach out sooner rather than later. And if theres one you would REALLY like to work with, see #4.

10. Decide on a Theme & Style – Choose a color palette, aesthetic, and overall vibe of your wedding. Pinterest and Instagram are my favorite places for inspiration. You can get down a deep rabbit hole here, so be careful and remain realistic. Also be aware of ‘styled’ weddings. These are weddings that aren’t actual live events, rather, a staged wedding for vendors to collaborate and create, but you will likely see some of them online when doing your research. One quick and easy way to spot a styled wedding is the lack of guests and/or family members. These can sometimes set unrealistic expectations for an actual live event.

11. Start Dress & Attire Shopping – Wedding dresses can take months to arrive and alter, so start early. I’ve heard some horror stories. So avoid the stress and get those dresses and suites ordered sooner rather than later. Businesses are people too, and they make mistakes. Give yourself some room for error.

12. Book Your Other Key Vendors – Caterer, florist, DJ/band, officiant, makeup artist, and hairstylist. Picking out all of your vendors can get overwhelming. Just remember, it’s a marathon, not a sprint. Take a night a week with your fiancé to research vendors in the area you’re getting married. Keep a list of the top 2-3 and start reaching out.

13. Create a Wedding Website – Share important details, RSVPs, and registry information with guests. Zola is a good place to start.

14. Set Up a Registry – Select gifts, experiences, or honeymoon funds for your guests to contribute to. The same village that helped raise you is likely going to love looking through your registry. Most stores have registries, so your options are virtually limitless.

15. Send Out Save-the-Dates – Give your guests advance notice, especially for destination weddings. This is one of those things you should get done early in the planning process, or as soon as you have your date figured out. Some couples opt to do this before picking their venue if they’re not set on one. You’ll sometimes find quite a few people won’t be able to make it, or everyone can make it. Either one can sometimes impact where you’re going to get married.