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If you made it here, you’re left hand is probably feeling a little heavier these days, so CONGRATULATIONS are in order! Wedding planning can be an overwhelming process (shout out to all the wedding planners out there!!), but it doesn’t have to be. Sometimes getting started is the hardest part, so this post will help you find which way is up in order for you and your fiancée (is it normal to say that yet?) to plan the day that you’ve both been dreaming of. First things first…

1.     Prioritize your vendors. Each couple has different priorities on their wedding day. My suggestion is to discuss with your fiancée and choose your top three. Distribute your budget around those top three priorities.

My priorities were: photography (this was before I was a photographer, by the way!), my dress (because every girl wants to be the most beautiful on her special day), and Caleb really wanted a great dance floor scene so we needed to have a great DJ. Even though the photographer I fell in love with was outside of our budget, we knew that was the most important thing to me on our wedding (aside from actually, you know, getting married, of course!). So we took from our floral budget, which was not as important to me, to compensate for the photographer of my dreamssss (love you long time, Hannah Chen!).

2.     Select a venue. Venues book out quicker than anything else! If you have a dream venue in mind, chances are other brides have dreamt of it too. Venues can book out up to 18 months in advance, so it’s important to make this one of the first tasks.

When selecting a venue, ask alllll the questions. Do they do their own catering? If not, is there an approved list of caterers that can work on site? Do they supply tables, chairs, linens, plates, and cutlery? What dates are available? If you plan on having alcohol at your reception, what is their alcohol policy? Can they host ceremony and reception?

3.     Determine a date. Based off of the venue’s availability, choose a date for your wedding! The date is important to have in order to book the remainder of your vendors (including photographer!).

Lastly, just enjoy wedding planning. Remember that the marriage is the most important part of the day. Use the planning process to get to know your future spouse even better. I had no idea that Caleb would prioritize dancing…in fact, I had no idea that he had any interest in helping the planning process at all. So it ended up bringing us closer together because we had to work together to put our special day together.

Once you’ve made your priorities, happy planning! Also, shameless plug: I know where you can find a great photographer. 😉