Just Engaged: Your First Wedding To-Dos

So you're engaged. What next? You might think planning a wedding is as simple as picking a few colors and a location. Well, not exactly. Once the excitement of the new engagement fades and you start doing your research you will see that planning a wedding can be a huge event.

The first steps after engagement should be setting a date for the wedding and deciding on what your budget will be. My soon-to-be-husband and I decided that we would pay for our own wedding. Our budget was not extravagant but we were still able to have a very classy and elegant wedding.

Once you have the date and budget down then you can start a rough draft of your guest list. This list will probably change a lot over the next few months, but that's ok. It's important because you want a ceremony and reception site that will hold everyone comfortably.

At this point some couples choose to send out Save the Date cards. I didn't do them because I planned my wedding in two months. If your wedding is more than a year away then a Save the Date card would be nice way for your guests to know to pencil in your date.

Now that you have established some of the basics, it's time to start looking for places to hold the ceremony. We were members of a church and so that is where we had our ceremony. My aunt was going through seminary and was allowed to officiate. No matter what your preference, be sure to start calling and visiting potential ceremony sites six months to one year in advance. Have a few backups just in case your first choice is not available or falls through.

Things to consider when choosing the reception site: guest list, are you serving a meal, is catering provided, will you serve alcohol, will there be dancing, table set up for meals, and distance from ceremony site. When confronted with all of these choices, I decided to have my reception in a hotel ballroom. I had a personal wedding coordinator and she made sure everything was taken care of. The hotel provided almost everything. All I had to do was pick colors, meal choices, center pieces and table arrangement. I made my own wedding favors and brought in an outside DJ and photographer.

When all of the big ticket things are booked then you can start worrying about the smaller details like colors, decorations, table settings, party favors, bridesmaid dresses, groomsmen attire, flower girl, ring bearer, DJ, Photographer...wait...did I say smaller details?

Planning a wedding is definitely no joke! After going through it myself I can see why so many people choose a destination wedding in Vegas!