Hey 2024 Brides: Do This First!
So, you just got engaged… YAY! Cue the confetti and pop the champagne because your life is about to get SUPER exciting. 🎉🍾
As a wedding planner, there’s truly nothing that I love more than seeing proposal posts and engagement sessions pop up on my social media feed.
It’s such an exciting time of life, but that excitement can quickly turn to stress if you’re not careful.
After you scream, “YES” and soak in the fact that this is really happening, there’s a chance that your mind starts to be flooded with allll of the things you need to do before your big day.
And what makes it even worse is when you don’t have any clue on what to do FIRST.
When should you book the venue? Go dress shopping? Send save the dates? Ask your best friends to stand by you?
There’s a lot of decisions to be made!
But my goal as a wedding planner is to help ease some of that stress for you – whether we’re directly working together through one of my services OR if you’ve simply stumbled across my blog – my hope is that you can find the answers you need to say “see ya” to the stress and instead continue soaking in all of the joy that this season brings!
So, with that said, if you’re a 2024 bride (or if you’re reading this beyond 2024 and you’re newly engaged), this blog post is specifically aimed to help you know what moves to take FIRST.
And then after that, I’ll guide you on what to do next.
Let’s dive in. ⬇️
The FIRST Thing You Should Do When Wedding Planning
Once you have that ring on your hand, you of course start to dream up all of the fun things that your wedding day can bring.
For some people, they want a destination wedding and start researching all of the possible locations. For others, they’ve known their dream venue for YEARS and can’t wait to book it.
A lot of brides jump straight to the bachelorette trip – Nashville? Scottsdale? Tulum?
And the groom? Well, he usually is just along for the ride. (Okayyy, not always true, but traditionally speaking the bride usually does most of the heavy lifting when it comes to planning and that’s totally okay!)
But here’s the problem with all of these FUN plans…
Sometimes you jump straight to those without recognizing the not-so-fun, yet VERY important parts of the planning process that often need your attention first.
Don’t get me wrong – the majority of wedding planning IS fun. But it would be silly of me to say that determining your budget is equally as fun as dress shopping. See what I mean?
The GOOD NEWS is that I always suggest we get the not-so-fun (yet super important) task out of the way first…
And that has everything to do with the amount that you’re willing and able to spend for your big day!
Yep, that’s right – STEP ONE of wedding planning is setting your budget. 💸
And it’s for good reason, so hear me out.
Picture this: you’ve been scouring Pinterest and dreaming up your wedding day. You’ve saved tons of ideas and you’ve even found the *perfect* venue to say “I do!”
The time comes to actually book your vendors and take action on your ideas and you’re met with quotes and prices that are WAY out of your comfort zone.
You didn’t expect that…
So now, instead of feeling excited, you’re stressed the heck out and discouraged, wondering how you’re going to bring your vision to life in a way that feels good for you financially.
⤴️ that is the very opposite scenario of what I want for you.
Which is why we’re going to set your budget FIRST, so that you know exactly how much you can spend in different areas.
How To Set A Realistic Wedding Budget
Knowing that this is the first step, you might be wondering HOW to do this realistically. And since I want you to feel at peace during the entire wedding process, we’re going to make this super simple for you:
First things first, assess your finances.
In order to set any kind of budget, you first have to determine how much you can realistically spend and this number will look different for everyone.
When picking this number, consider your personal savings, contributions from family, and any additional funds (like work bonuses, etc.) that you plan to allocate specifically for your wedding.
I’ve seen people have weddings as low as $5,000 and some as high as $50,000. There’s no magic number when it comes to setting your wedding budget, it really just depends on YOUR personal scenario and how much you WANT and CAN spend.
Once you know your number, it’s time to prioritize and allocate your expenses
When it comes to wedding planning, there’s a general rule of thumb that I encourage people to follow when it comes to allocating funds for certain areas.
Again, this can change based on your specific scenario and what you decide to include, but generally speaking, I would start here:
Venue, Reception Catering + Bar: 40-50%
Photography + Videography: 15-20%
Entertainment (DJ, Band, etc.): 10-15%
Flowers + Decor: 10-15%
Attire + Beauty Services: 8-10%
Wedding Planner: 8-10%
Favors, Gifts, Cake: 3-5%
Miscellaneous + Vendor Tips: 3-5%
Remember, these percentages aim to serve as a guide, NOT a strict rule.
Depending on your budget, you may find that you need (or want) to spend less in a certain category or omit a category altogether.
Additionally, you may find that your venue choice has amazing package options that includes your food, beverage, and decor, so you don’t have to spend extra on those things. If that’s the case, I HIGHLY recommend taking advantage of those!
Track your spending
Once you have your expenses prioritized and allocated, the most important thing you can do is TRACK your spending every step of the way!
This will ensure that you stay within a percentage range that you’re comfortable with and you always know how much you have left in your budget.
You can track your spending in various ways – if you’re a pen to paper type of person, do that!
Otherwise, I would suggest using a spreadsheet or other budgeting tool, so that you can easily pencil in your expenses and can automatically see where you’re at.
For my clients specifically, I use a tool called Aisle Planner to help you easily keep track of all of these things!
Regularly review, adjust, and be adaptable
Lastly, and maybe most importantly, I always encourage my wedding planning clients to be adaptable throughout the planning process!
I know it’s easier said than done, but the truth is that you can’t be prepared for everything. There will most likely be unforeseen circumstances and expenses that require you to review your budget and adjust where you can.
If you prepare yourself for that now, you’ll be less surprised later!
The Ideal Wedding Planning Timeline
And there ya have it, the FIRST (of many) steps in your wedding planning timeline.
Regardless of how far out your wedding is, I encourage all couples to start here in order to save some of the stress down the line.
Once you have your budget mapped out, you can move on to some of the more exciting things on your list – like bridesmaid proposals, bachelorette planning, dress shopping, and more.
And for a step by step guide on when to do all of those things, CLICK HERE for my 12 month wedding planning timeline for a stress free wedding day!
Oh and P.S. If you’re located in Georgia or Florida and are on the hunt for a wedding planner to help bring your best day ever to life, CLICK HERE to connect to see how we could potentially work together!