Getting Started

Once you have announced your engagement, finished making the phone calls, noticed your Facebook posts have quieted down, and collected your first stack of bridal magazines, its time to dive-in to the wedding planning process.

Before you do, may I recommend writing down your engagement story. I know you've told it about 100 times now, but write it down. Then have your fiancé write their version down. Create a place where you can keep any pictures, cards, flowers, meal receipts, facebook wall posts, really anything from the day together. I would include your families' reactions with your engagement, as well as what you did when you told your best friend, etc. etc., so years from now you can go back and relive/share details you may have otherwise forgotten.

When you're ready to crack down and start to plan your wedding, the first topics I recommend tackling with your fiancé include (in no particular order):
- When you would like to get married (season, roughly 2-month window)
- Where you plan to get married (area)
- Who you would like to share your wedding with (guest list)
- What your budget is ($ available to spend on everything wedding related)

The answers to all four will effect the others' answers. Once you have an idea of when, location, size, and maximum amount you wish to spend, you can move forward with the process. I wouldn't recommend falling in love with an exact date, since the venue you choose may not be available that day and give you an alternative date based on their availability.

If you are on this blog, you have probably have decided your location is going to be Cleveland. If you have a time frame, capacity needs, and budget in mind, I suggest planning the below aspects of your wedding first. I strongly recommend looking at the items below before looking into anything else (sorry, no dress shopping yet..) as they are hard to replace and book up quickly.
- Reception site
- Outside caterer if necessary
- Ceremony site if not at the same as your reception site

This time is a good time to look online to see what kind of bridal shows are coming up in your area. Do a quick search online or go websites like Today's Bride, Wedding Wire and About.com to see what your options are. Bridal shows can be fun- invite your mom, fiancé's mom, best friends, etc. to attend with you and grab a bite to eat afterward. They also are a great way to introduce yourself to the wedding world and open your mind up to the whole process. Many people who have not been involved in the wedding process before can be unaware of wedding costs; bridal shows can help provide price ranges for every aspect of the wedding when it comes to creating a budget, too.