.png)
You’re Engaged! Now what?! | A Wedding Planner’s Expert Advice
You're engaged, excited, and overwhelmed all at the exact same time! Most likely, you've never done this before, and the thought of where to begin sinks in. These are our top 6 things to do first!
1. CELEBRATE!
Grab a glass of bubbly, invite your besties & fam, and throw an engagement party to celebrate that you found your forever person! Post your fave selfie to IG, maybe even create a cute hashtag to along with it, and share your about love to the world!
2. DECIDE ON A BUDGET
The hardest conversations you'll have throughout your wedding planning journey will involve money. Sit down and write out your non-negotiables, top priorities & vendors you're willing to splurge on. As a starting point, we recommend to our couples to budget $500 per guest as a starting point. This is all inclusive minus attire, rings & honeymoon. This gives you an approximate overall budget to work with. Have more specific questions regarding your budget?? Book a planning date with us! We offer 1 hour or more consultations to talk about whatever it is you want!
3. HIRE A WEDDING PLANNER
After setting a budget (or before! we can help with this too!), find your new bestie - a wedding planner & designer! We help you take all your ideas, Pinterest boards & turn it into a unique event that reflects who you are as a couple. We offer a variety of services to best fit your needs & budget. But our favourite is working with couples right from the beginning! Helping plan everything, design the entire day, & be your support day-of. Send us an inquiry - we can't wait to hear from you & how we can help plan your special day!
4. BOOK YOUR VENUE
If you haven't already done this - do it now! Venues are booking faster, and further out than pre-Covid times. So reach out to those top 3 venues you fell in love with - now! Things to consider with booking venues: no two venues are the same & comparing their prices is like comparing apples to oranges. Writing out your priorities of what's important for your venue to include & allow can help when all the information becomes overwhelming. Better yet - hire us to help you find the perfect venue! We understand the details of those proposals & contracts & what the pros & cons of each are. Let us help you understand the details too!
5. PURCHASE YOUR GOWN
Current lead times for a custom ordered wedding gown is 8-12 months. So book that boutique appointment & have fun finding the dress of your dreams! Don't have that much time until the big day?? Find a sample sale, or buy off the rack! Some designers also offer rush fees on orders - ask your local boutique if they do on the dress you fell in love with!
6. BOOK YOUR VENDORS
If you don't have a wedding planner to help with this (did you know planning a wedding on average takes 300 hours??) - we suggest starting what we call your vital vendors. Catering, Photography, Videography, DJ/Band, MUAH, & Officiant. These vendors often have the largest lead times & book up quickly. To avoid disappointment when your top choice photographer is already booked for your 2023/24 wedding, reach out as soon as you can!
Hopefully you feel a bit more confident on where to start with planning your wedding now that you're engaged! Remember - enjoy these season as much as you can! This is one of the most unique times of your entire relationship. Soak it in & happy planning!!
Olive & Co. is a wedding planning & design company based in Calgary, AB & beyond. We create fresh, authentic & thoughtfully curated events. We specialize in high end, unique events for modern, bold, stand-out couples. Everything we do, we'll do it at 110%, giving our best to every event, project, shoot, or design. We're BIG dreamers, nothing is too crazy, hard, or impossible. Our goal is to leave you feeling blessed, relieved, and with a bit more sleep and rest than when you started planning/thinking about your wedding day! Also, we love a good party.