RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
{via Rebecca Yale Portraits}
It's true what they say: time flies when your'e in love! To think I got engaged over 7 months ago doesn't seem possible. I still have the same excitement as the day it happened. I still look down at my left hand to make sure the ring is still there. I get giddy anytime we check something off our wedding to-do list. I guess that's what it's all about though, right? With the holiday New Year bringing so many engagements {Congratulations!} I wanted to share a few of my tips - or rules - on being engaged.
{Note: I am by no means a wedding professional, but just a girl that is attempting to plan her wedding with the love of her life. I am doing so without the guidance of a hired wedding consultant and am on a budget - as we are chipping in a large portion of the costs! So, these tips are more things I've learned on this journey - take 'em or leave it.}
Stop. Pinning. Start Doing. I wish I had learned this one earlier on. Chances are you already have a Pinterest account. And if you are a girl that plans to get married someday, of course you have a Pinterest board filled with tons and tons of wedding inspiration. Am I right? My point being, thanks to this incredible addicting tool, you may already have a feel for what you want or your idea of the perfect wedding. However, it's not just about you. I started pinning away franticly when we got engaged when I should have focused my energy on discussing what we wanted our day to look and feel like together. Once I got the hint that my guy actually wanted to provide input on this, we started talking through our ideas and building our own vision of the day as a team.
On another note: Pinterest can get very distracting. Instead of getting overwhelmed by all the amazing wedding images out there, focus on a to-do list and add deadlines for you to meet. I now only turn to Pinterest for specific wedding needs {i.e. bridesmaid gift ideas, hairstyles, etc.} and only pin items to a 'hidden board' that allows me to edit, edit, edit and stick to my exact theme.
Enjoy The Journey. At your Own Pace. The hardest part of planning the wedding was deciding on the date. After getting engaged, we made a mutual decision to slow down and enjoy the moment. No big plans were made until two months after. This allowed us to host a fun engagement party, celebrate with just the two of us over date nights and share this special time with family and friends. There wasn't any feeling of being rushed or overwhelmed, as we didn't jump right into planning. And looking back now, I truly am so happy we took the time to just enjoy being engaged.
Once the date was set, we realized that it would be a long engagement {15 months to be exact}. Many of our friends were getting engaged and married within a year or even less! However, with no big reason to tie the knot so quickly, we ended up picking a date in a season that we absolutely love and at our favorite venue. Ultimately, it's important to decide which is more important the date vs. the venue.
Worry Less. Make it Fun. Once you dive into planning, it's easy to get overwhelmed. From the more serious discussions on the budget to collecting addresses in order to send Save the Dates. Every decision seems like a "big one" when it comes to planning your wedding. This is something that would stress me out to no limit, as I felt that need for everything to be absolutely perfect. However, if you focus too much on trying to make it just so, you lose the fun of it.
To stress less, I have relied on a few things: my fiance for support and to talk me through it all, my bridesmaids and family for their assistance and by hiring amazing vendors who ensured my vision would come to life regardless of how things played out. This is most important when it comes to the photographer/videographer, florist and venue coordinator. If all else fails, wedding planning is always complimented best with a glass of champagne! Cheers.
Any other things I missed that you want to know about being engaged or the wedding planning process? I'd be happy to share my thoughts advice.
It's true what they say: time flies when your'e in love! To think I got engaged over 7 months ago doesn't seem possible. I still have the same excitement as the day it happened. I still look down at my left hand to make sure the ring is still there. I get giddy anytime we check something off our wedding to-do list. I guess that's what it's all about though, right? With the holiday New Year bringing so many engagements {Congratulations!} I wanted to share a few of my tips - or rules - on being engaged.
{Note: I am by no means a wedding professional, but just a girl that is attempting to plan her wedding with the love of her life. I am doing so without the guidance of a hired wedding consultant and am on a budget - as we are chipping in a large portion of the costs! So, these tips are more things I've learned on this journey - take 'em or leave it.}
Stop. Pinning. Start Doing. I wish I had learned this one earlier on. Chances are you already have a Pinterest account. And if you are a girl that plans to get married someday, of course you have a Pinterest board filled with tons and tons of wedding inspiration. Am I right? My point being, thanks to this incredible addicting tool, you may already have a feel for what you want or your idea of the perfect wedding. However, it's not just about you. I started pinning away franticly when we got engaged when I should have focused my energy on discussing what we wanted our day to look and feel like together. Once I got the hint that my guy actually wanted to provide input on this, we started talking through our ideas and building our own vision of the day as a team.
On another note: Pinterest can get very distracting. Instead of getting overwhelmed by all the amazing wedding images out there, focus on a to-do list and add deadlines for you to meet. I now only turn to Pinterest for specific wedding needs {i.e. bridesmaid gift ideas, hairstyles, etc.} and only pin items to a 'hidden board' that allows me to edit, edit, edit and stick to my exact theme.
Enjoy The Journey. At your Own Pace. The hardest part of planning the wedding was deciding on the date. After getting engaged, we made a mutual decision to slow down and enjoy the moment. No big plans were made until two months after. This allowed us to host a fun engagement party, celebrate with just the two of us over date nights and share this special time with family and friends. There wasn't any feeling of being rushed or overwhelmed, as we didn't jump right into planning. And looking back now, I truly am so happy we took the time to just enjoy being engaged.
Once the date was set, we realized that it would be a long engagement {15 months to be exact}. Many of our friends were getting engaged and married within a year or even less! However, with no big reason to tie the knot so quickly, we ended up picking a date in a season that we absolutely love and at our favorite venue. Ultimately, it's important to decide which is more important the date vs. the venue.
Worry Less. Make it Fun. Once you dive into planning, it's easy to get overwhelmed. From the more serious discussions on the budget to collecting addresses in order to send Save the Dates. Every decision seems like a "big one" when it comes to planning your wedding. This is something that would stress me out to no limit, as I felt that need for everything to be absolutely perfect. However, if you focus too much on trying to make it just so, you lose the fun of it.
To stress less, I have relied on a few things: my fiance for support and to talk me through it all, my bridesmaids and family for their assistance and by hiring amazing vendors who ensured my vision would come to life regardless of how things played out. This is most important when it comes to the photographer/videographer, florist and venue coordinator. If all else fails, wedding planning is always complimented best with a glass of champagne! Cheers.
Any other things I missed that you want to know about being engaged or the wedding planning process? I'd be happy to share my thoughts advice.
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