With the Christmas season and the New Year sadly coming to a close, there’s sure to be a few new newly engaged friends! I remember when I first got engaged a year ago, I was a little overwhelmed with everything I needed to plan! We had a short engagement, so I knew there were so many things I needed to “do first”. So today, I’m sharing the first three things you should do after you get engaged!

1. Choose a wedding date

2. Choose your perfect wedding venue

3. Choose your photographer

Pick one of these 3 things that is the most important to you. Maybe you’ve always dreamed of getting married at a specific venue, or you have a favorite photographer that you’ve been following since you were 16, or maybe you want to get married on your grandparent’s wedding anniversary. Whichever it is, make sure you make that top priority by looking into that one first! For me, my wedding photographer was (obviously!) the most important thing to me. I contacted her first to see what dates she had available, then I planned our venue and wedding date around that.

If you’ve always dreamed of getting married at a certain wedding venue, check with them first to see what’s available. After you have a few dates in mind, contact your photographer to see what still works for them!

If you know you want to get married on October 19, 2019,  or June 27, 2020, for example, find a venue and a photographer that is also available then!

Or, if you’re like me, check with your favorite photographer to see what they have available first, then decide a date and wedding venue!

Once you have these three things nailed down, you have the main BIG things done! Trust me, there’s LOTS more to planning a wedding, but I promise you this is the best way to begin! Everything else will fall perfectly into place!