First Five Things To Do Once You're Engaged

Congrats! You and your partner have taken the next step in your relationship and decided to get married! Take a minute to soak it up, this moment. The newness of this next big step for you two together. Now, let’s talk about the first five things to do once you’re engaged!

My name is Jessica Hunt, and I have been a professional wedding photographer for eight years and published over 150 times in my career. Today I’m going to share with you my top five tips for what to do once you’re engaged! Honestly, weddings are WORK. It’s going to take a lot of planning and preparation to pull of the wedding day of your dreams.

1. CELEBRATE

No, seriously, I mean it! Take your time and bask in this. You and the love of your life are getting MARRIED! That’s huge! Don’t let the rush of your new life take away the magic of this moment for you. Look over at your soulmate, give them a big kiss, and bask in this moment! Be sure to let your closest friends and family know about this big step you’ve taken together, and get ready for the long road ahead!

2. PICK YOUR DATE

Before you can book any vendors like your photographer or venue, you will need to have your wedding date selected. Most vendors will not take retainer fees to book your wedding without a set date!

So, look over your calendar, talk with your family, and chat with the love of your life. Don’t rush on choosing a date, though! Think about the theme you want for your wedding and the seasons. Do you want a winter wedding or a fall wedding? How hot do you want it on your day? Think about your dream day and choose a date that will reflect that! You’re not restricted to just Saturdays either, don’t forget! Change it up, save a little money, and book for a Friday wedding! The first vendor you will hire and that will probably play a role in choosing your exact date is your wedding venue, so keep that in mind when deciding on your date for the wedding day.

3. CHOOSE YOUR THEME

What do you want your day to look like? Think about your color palette, think about the venue you have picked, and the season your wedding day will be in. Are you a more casual couple looking to have a brewery wedding day or does a formal, black-tie event fit your vibes a bit better?

This is a BIG DEAL. Choose what you want for your day and make it happen! You can choose for your day to look however you would like, but you just have to decide! If you’re unsure of what to select as your theme or even HOW to go about doing so, you and your future spouse may want to consider hiring a wedding planner for your event to help with things like guiding you on how to select a theme for your wedding.

4. BOOK YOUR VENDORS

Many wedding vendors book up to a year or more in advance, so as soon as your book your venue and have your date set in stone, you will want to start booking your other wedding vendors. If you have your dream vendor in mind, go ahead and inquire with them to start the inquiry process.!

Do research on your vendors, too! Have they worked on a real wedding like yours? Is the venue ready to handle all 300 of your friends and family? Make your decisions wisely and then TRUST your vendors, they are event professionals who know the most about pulling off a successful wedding day.

Make sure to scoop up your dream vendors as soon as you can, because if you wait, that photographer or venue may book a different couple for your date. Waiting to book with your favorite vendors could result in them being unavailable for your date! The sooner the better!

5. SEND SAVE THE DATES/INVITATIONS

You’ve posted a few pictures on Facebook about your engagement and changed your relationship status, but it’s time to let all of your loved ones that you’ve got a date. Do you want to make sure those you care about the most are there on your day, right? Since you’ve already got your wedding photographer booked by this time (RIGHT?? Wink, wink, wink! ), use your engagement photos for save-the-dates!

Not interested in save-the-dates? That’s fine! Skip ’em! Send out formal invitations a bit early, In fact, doing things early in this wedding business is NEVER a bad thing!

There you have it! I hope you enjoyed looking over the first five things to do once you’re engaged and ready to start planning your wedding day.

Meet Jessica Hunt

Jessica Hunt is a wedding and anniversary photographer serving passionate couples anywhere and everywhere. She has been photographing weddings professionally for 8 years and has been published nationwide over 200 times in her career. Jessica enjoys hitting the gym, binging true crime dramas, listening to political podcasts, and drinking too much coffee. When she’s not shooting weddings across the United States, you can find her curled up with her two cats and sweet pup watching the latest terrible action blockbuster. Get in contact with Jessica today to chat about your wedding day or anniversary photos!