The question has been popped. You said yes. Congratulations! You have been creating your Pinterest in full force, but your still not sure what vendors you need to book and when. How to reach out to venues? So where do you go from here? How do you start to plan your wedding?

We have created the perfect wedding planning tool for you to use when you are in the beginning planning phase. We are going to give you the tools to begin strong and truly understand what is needed before moving forward to securing your vendors.

Step One: Pick a date!

Before you can begin any true planning you need to pick a date. Make sure you consider holidays, seasons, and important dates. If you don’t have a specific date in mind, choose an ideal month.

Step Two: Figure out if you want to hire a planner

Hiring a wedding planner is a good idea if you have very little of your own time that you can devote to planning your wedding. A wedding planner is a professional who knows the ins and outs of the wedding industry and will know what needs to happen in order to make your dream wedding become a reality.

There are different levels of service a planner can offer from full service to day of coordination. Reach out to them to see what would be best fit for your needs. If you are not sure if you need a planner go check out our blog post.

Step Three: Create a budget

If you have decided to hire a planner they will help you out with this, but if you haven’t use free tools to help make sure you are staying on track and not going over board!

Step Four: Book a Venue

Before you step foot in a venue- make a list with your partner. List 5 MUST HAVES and 5 NO GO’S. Make sure to create this list solely on your wants, not based on any actual venue. Only focused on the things you both want/don’t want out of a venue. If you have a planner share this with them- if not start your research based on this list. We recommend you find a venue with a minimum of your top 3 MUST HAVES.

Step Five: Save the Date!!

At this point you have booked your venue now you can send out your save the dates! Check with your planner (if you have one) to see if they are apart of any partner programs that will offer discounted prices.

Planning a wedding is a lot of work, but if you have taken these steps you can now start looking at each vendor you want to hire. Start sending out requests for quotes, asking your friends to be apart of your wedding and locking down your honeymoon travel plans. Just remember the best is yet to come, you will be marrying your best friend soon!!