6 Do’s & Don’ts For Newly Engaged Brides

So he popped that legendary question and now you have some extra sparkle on your left hand! It’s hard to do anything but stare at it all the time isn’t it? You have now entered another phase of your life! It’s an exciting phase with a lot of new things in store for you along the way! Maybe you have been so excited to start planning your wedding since you were a little kid. Maybe you are just now realizing the task that lies before you.

Never fear! We are here to give you a few tips along the way. When we thought about the vision for this post and how it could be most helpful to newly engaged brides, we thought about it from this perspective: If our little sister got engaged and we had to give her 5 minutes of advice or less about the planning process, what would we tell her?

This post was born from that discussion. So, for the next 5 minutes you are our little sister. These are our 6 best pieces of advice for you. We could give 60! But these are the 6 most important do’s and don’ts. You can take it from us, little sis!

Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff

We started with this one because it’s very important. You have to remember throughout this whole process that at the end of the day, you are marrying the man you have waited for your whole life! When you keep that perspective, it doesn’t seem like such a big deal if the flowers don’t turn out exactly as you envisioned. With that in mind, it doesn’t seem like the end of the world if the caterer you wanted is already booked. Those might seem like a big deal at first, but when you realize that those things pale in comparison to marrying him, they start to look like small things after all. Don’t sweat that small stuff, girl!

Do Set Your Priorities

There are a lot of things, big and small, to remember when you are planning your wedding. You have to book vendors including photographer, planner, DJ, florist, venue and many more. But you also have to do little things like buy a garter or decide what your vows will sound like. We recommend creating a list of your priorities from top to bottom. You especially want to do this for your main vendors as it will help you budget well. So if your venue is first priority (many times it is) then put that at the top. Then if your photographer (yay!) or planner is second, then put that down. Continue until you have made your list. There is a lot to remember and this will help you keep your priorities straight as you go throughout the process!

Don’t Be Afraid To Pull The Trigger

One issue some newly engaged couples experience is the ability to make wedding decisions. Once you have made your priority list, it’s ok to take some time with the first few, but don’t get paralyzed by the fear that you will make the wrong decisions. Too many times we have met with an amazing couple who clicked with us instantly but couldn’t pull the trigger, only to come back a month later wanting to book us and their date is already taken. That breaks our hearts because we know if they would have been able to pull the trigger when they knew we were the right photographers for them, they would be much better off!

Do Get The Right Team On Board

This goes right along with not being afraid to pull the trigger. We always tell our couples, “when you know, you know.” When you meet with possible vendors, sometimes you just connect with them and you feel it inside. We have had several of our couples tell us that when they left the consultation with us, they got in the car, they looked at each other and said, “Those are our photographers.” They knew they wanted us and they got the right photographers on board for them. Find vendors you like. Find people you trust. Find people who care about you. And get them on your team!

Do Take Breaks From Wedding Planning

Once you get into the wedding planning process, it can be like a tornado that just keeps getting bigger and bigger. You may never get out of it until the wedding is over and you may regret the fact that you never really took time to enjoy the process. So take a break every now and then. Go on a date and don’t talk about wedding plans the whole night. Just enjoy being engaged to your man. Trust us, he will be grateful to have a break as well!

Don’t Expect Everything To Be Perfect

Gasp!!! What?! Ryan and Alyssa, you don’t understand. I have been dreaming about and planning for this day. In my dreams it was perfect! Yeah, we understand this is not exactly what you want to hear. But remember, you are our little sister in this scenario. We are hitting you with a little blast of truth amidst the perceptions of wedding fairytales that are constantly bombarding you. We are not saying you won’t have the best day ever! We are just saying don’t expect everything to go exactly as planned. At our wedding, the florist forgot to make a cake-topper that she was supposed to deliver. That was such a small thing and not worth worrying about! But if you get it in your head that everything has to be perfect, that can be a dangerous place. Go back to the beginning and remember that your wedding day is all about the two of you getting to spend the rest of your life together. Enjoy the day with family and friends and you will have the best day ever!

If you want to see ever more tips for planning your wedding we have written a whole series on planning out your wedding timeline. See it here!