newly engaged and completely lost

jodom65 · March 2014

It's so very overwhelming. Where did everyone start? We've set the date and chosen colors, but that's about it. We have ideas about our reception and a set location because we can get it for next to nothing. Neither my FI or myself want to get married in a church so we have to find a venue that is affordable. What do you ladies suggest I do?

Pellegcm · March 2014

For me, locking in the location was first and foremost. I spent a LOT of time googling for wedding venues in my area and figuring out which ones we could afford and then go look at. I don't know if that's considered the best way to find venues, but it was the best way for me!

Any other vendor you may want is going to ask when and where the wedding will be, so you're definitely going to need the official date and location :-)

caitlinmca · March 2014

For us, we started we the date obviously, then we went to colors but thats because I knew already and he had next to no choice in that matter. Then we moved on to the venue and photographer as the photographer we booked only does 1 session a week, so if he does a wedding on a friday, he won't do a saturday wedding, and if he does a saturday wedding he won't go book friday and sunday weddings and so forth.

The cake person we chose is my head boss of surgery at the hospital I work at so that was not a problem also she is helping design with decorations and my centerpieces. I already have my dress and veil bought and we signed with a tuxedo place as well as I attended two bridal shows and won some discounts that you had to decide within a limited time frame if you wanted to go through with them or not.

flyingfoxes · March 2014

I bought a dress first, lol. My FI is deployed so I had to start working on what I could alone. I would say venue first. You don't have an official date until you have a venue. Start figuring out what you want to spend, and looking at venues will help you decide on your budget.

Pellegcm · March 2014

qmda76 said: I bought a dress first, lol. My FI is deployed so I had to start working on what I could alone. I would say venue first. You don't have an official date until you have a venue. Start figuring out what you want to spend, and looking at venues will help you decide on your budget. Oh right - budget should definitely be first, before you start looking at anything else!!

Psych819 · March 2014

Yes set a budget first. Once you have your budget finding a venue will be easier. You will have a better idea of how much you can afford on your venue. Also, if your getting married outside of your venue like a church, make sure the venue and the church have the date available.

Nsoley · April 2014

I am also very lost. The only things that I have gotten done is knowing where my fiancé and I want to get married. He and I wants to get married on the beach but we want a small intimate but formal wedding I want to do all this by myself but I don't know where I begin

lindsayandethan2015 · May 2014

First a little background: I am a nursing student full time, and I work on top of that, so my schedule is very busy. FI and I have been engaged for a year almost already and still have a year to go. I wanted enough time to make sure I didn't feel rushed or overwhelmed. Once I was done doing most of my research and was ready to plan I knew that I would need a very well worked out plan of attack. Here is what has worked for me so far.

We went with booking the venue first. We knew that finding a venue within our budget that we both liked might be a problem as I am very picky. Once we found a venue we liked with a budget we like, we picked a date from what they had available.

After the place and the date, we needed to find an officiant. With a place, a date, and a minister to make everything legal, all the other stuff just seemed to be a lot less daunting. (Nice to know that no matter what else happened, we would at least have a marriage license when it's all said and done. Isn't that the point anyway??) Lucky for us my cousin just got ordained i guess? Not sure if that's the right word but he can legally marry people, which saved us about $400 from our next choice.

Next it was a toss up between photos and food for which we would book next. I knew both of those would be the largest expenses besides the venue and I wanted to get those out of the way. I found a photographer on the knot who we both liked, and she was having a special so we booked that to get the discount.

My plan of attack for what's next: 1. Food and alcohol, because let's face it, that's what our guests really want anyway. 2. Dress - this will give me time to lose a few more pounds and tighten/tone those less than ideal muscles I have been neglecting. 3. Cake - I put this after dress and separate from food for FI's best interest. Cake testing is his incentive to stay interested in all the things we have planned so far. He agreed that he would participate to the best of his ability for a minimum of no less than 3 cake testings lol. Once he get's cake, it's all over ;D

Once I get those three things checked off my list, I will know just how much money I have left in my budget for everything else, like flowers, decorations, can I buy bridal party dresses or will they need to pay, how much of this shindig do I need to DIY to get the look I want and how much can I afford to have a professional do. All of these things are negotiable to me. Cheaper and DIY decorations can be just as beautiful if not more so if the need to save arises.

Hope that helps you ladies who feel just lost with no way out. I know that's how I felt just not that long ago.

caitlinmca · May 2014

lindsayandethan2015 said:

First a little background: I am a nursing student full time, and I work on top of that, so my schedule is very busy. FI and I have been engaged for a year almost already and still have a year to go. I wanted enough time to make sure I didn't feel rushed or overwhelmed. Once I was done doing most of my research and was ready to plan I knew that I would need a very well worked out plan of attack. Here is what has worked for me so far.

We went with booking the venue first. We knew that finding a venue within our budget that we both liked might be a problem as I am very picky. Once we found a venue we liked with a budget we like, we picked a date from what they had available.

After the place and the date, we needed to find an officiant. With a place, a date, and a minister to make everything legal, all the other stuff just seemed to be a lot less daunting. (Nice to know that no matter what else happened, we would at least have a marriage license when it's all said and done. Isn't that the point anyway??) Lucky for us my cousin just got ordained i guess? Not sure if that's the right word but he can legally marry people, which saved us about $400 from our next choice.

Next it was a toss up between photos and food for which we would book next. I knew both of those would be the largest expenses besides the venue and I wanted to get those out of the way. I found a photographer on the knot who we both liked, and she was having a special so we booked that to get the discount.

My plan of attack for what's next: 1. Food and alcohol, because let's face it, that's what our guests really want anyway. 2. Dress - this will give me time to lose a few more pounds and tighten/tone those less than ideal muscles I have been neglecting. 3. Cake - I put this after dress and separate from food for FI's best interest. Cake testing is his incentive to stay interested in all the things we have planned so far. He agreed that he would participate to the best of his ability for a minimum of no less than 3 cake testings lol. Once he get's cake, it's all over ;D

Once I get those three things checked off my list, I will know just how much money I have left in my budget for everything else, like flowers, decorations, can I buy bridal party dresses or will they need to pay, how much of this shindig do I need to DIY to get the look I want and how much can I afford to have a professional do. All of these things are negotiable to me. Cheaper and DIY decorations can be just as beautiful if not more so if the need to save arises.

Hope that helps you ladies who feel just lost with no way out. I know that's how I felt just not that long ago.

I am in the process of doing my own centerpieces to save money. I used fake flowers and bought them at Hobby Lobby when the flowers go on sale 40-50% off.

saramarie86 · May 2014

My friend did ALL fake flowers except her bouquet and was able to resell all of them for 75-80% of what she paid for them. It's a great way to make some money back!

hmgiffor · June 2014

Start with a budget then move onto the reception. Those two things will make up the whole wedding and everything else will start to fall into place

hmgiffor · June 2014

Wow those look great! I just decided on fake flowers but I am not sure where to look. I don't like roses so I have to find other flowers that look great in real touch.

futureMrsMayhle · January 2015

I think we will go with fake flowers as well. I have seen a couple videos and stuff but I don't know how confident I am of the outcome.

newly engaged and completely lost

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