Becky's Brides is a Birmingham, Alabama based wedding planning studio creating joyful weddings full of Southern hospitality. Thanks for stopping by.
He finally popped the question. Your ring is absolutely perfect. You’re engaged, but now what? It’s time to plan, but where do you start? Today we are here to guide you on the path to happily ever after. So here are Becky’s Brides‘ seven steps to start planning the wedding of your dreams:
Photo: Allison Lewis Photography
1) Pick up the phone.
As tempting as it is to post a selfie with your new best friend, (as we all know “diamonds are a girl’s best friend”), hold off until you have personally shared the big news with those closest to you. Your friends and family may take offense if they find out your big news on social media. Once everyone important to you is notified, then you are free to shout it from the social media driven rooftops.
Photo: Victor Hanacek
2) Set a date.
As soon as the news hits the fan, get ready for everyone you know to start asking, “when’s the big day?” People like to feel like they are a part of the process, even if they aren’t. Having a target time frame will help save your sanity making the process a little bit easier.
Photo: J&D Farms
3) Set a budget.
Every wedding has a starting point, and with wonderful tools like Pinterest, it can be easy to want a $100,000 wedding without even knowing it. By setting a realistic budget, you’ll set the stage to what your dream day will have the ability to look like. This will also save you time later when you start picking vendors, cakes, food, decor, and all the other bits and pieces that will create your perfect wedding day.
4) Determine your style.
Dreaming your wedding day into reality may be one of the most exciting parts of planning. So run to Books-A-Million, grab as many wedding magazines as you can find, and during a veg session of as many reruns of “Say Yes to the Dress” as humanly possible, dive in and figure out what your personal style is. You’ll be amazed at how what you think you want, is not really what you want at all.
Photo: Joanna Ballentine
5) Start working on a guest list.
When it comes to your wedding, every person matters. Your day is all about you, but when it comes to planning, the number of guests is key to making sure you stay on budget, your venue and vendor picks can accommodate your needs, and that you get the most for your money. Tip: if you are planning a wedding on a budget, don’t feel pressured to invite everyone you have ever met. Every guest comes with a cost, so think through inviting that friend from 4th grade you only see on Facebook.
Photo: Joanna Ballentine
6) Hire a Professional Wedding Planner.
For many, the most important day of your life quickly will become the most stressful day of your life. This stress can 100%, absolutely, positively, be avoided if you think smart throughout the planning process. We hear all the time, “I want to be a wedding planner.” It is a great job, and in our eyes, the absolute best job. But one thing people often do not realize is, hidden behind the glam of creating a beautiful, successful wedding is a lot of work. Timelines, coordinating vendors, hours and hours of details and phone calls, along with some heavy lifting, are all big parts of our job. By hiring a Professional to help guide you (we would personally recommend Becky’s Brides) you will not only save your sanity, you’ll be ensuring that you and your fiancee will enjoy the process and your marriage will begin how it should, with open hearts, filled to the brim with happy memories.
Photo: J.Woodbery Photography
7) Relax, have fun, and enjoy the process.
The compliment we receive most often is that by hiring a planner, our brides were able to enjoy every moment of their engagement and planning process. Giving this freedom to our brides is the greatest feeling, and one of the many, many reasons we absolutely LOVE what we do. The moments leading up to your forever should be memorable, fun and full of love. Bask in those moments. You’ll thank yourself later, we promise.
Photo: Rob and Wynter Photography