The First 9 Things To Do After Getting Engaged

First of all—Congratulations!

This is such an exciting time for you and your new fiancé. There’s a sense of wonderment—they finally bit the bullet and asked you and now you have this super nice piece of jewelry. And also a sense of impending doom. There’s literally so much to do between now and when you tie the knot. But not everything has to be done right away.

Here are 9 things to do within the first few weeks after getting engaged.

1. Enjoy the moment

First and foremost, before you do a thing, sit and enjoy the moment with your now fiance. Not only did they buy a ring and work hard to plan this day for you, but it’s also a huge moment for the two of you. Celebrate you before bringing anyone else in on it. Love them, thank them, and dream about marital bliss with them. You won’t have this much peace in about five minutes when you start snapping pictures and telling everyone. And even if you’ve already announced it, remember to take a step back every once in a while and appreciate each other.

2. Call your parents and close friends and family.

Make sure you tell everyone you’re closest to before posting on social media. Maybe not your entire contacts list, but definitely everyone that would be disappointed to learn about it on social media. Family members and close friends deserve a phone call over a text. This is big for them too!

3. Insure your ring.

While it may not be at the forefront of your mind, it’s a good idea to talk to your insurance provider about insuring your ring. Your homeowner’s insurance will only cover so much, and often doesn’t include high-value items like that 5k ring. You definitely want to be protected in the event something detrimental happens.

4. Draft a guest list.

This won’t be your final list by any means, but it’s a good idea to go ahead and start getting an idea of how many people you want to invite to your wedding. We suggest breaking it down into at least two categories: your A-list guests, everyone you absolutely must have there, and your B-list guest, everyone else that you would like to have there. This way, when your potential venues and vendors ask you how many people, you can say you plan on inviting X number of people and they can fill in the rest.

5. Set your budget.

This is super important before you start too much planning. Things can really start to add up for a wedding and you don’t want to fall in love with a venue before realizing that it’s several thousand dollars outside of your budget. Having an idea of how much you want to spend from the get-go is a lifesaver later on. Make sure you have a thorough discussion with everyone contributing early in your planning process. For more tips, see our blog post “How to Set a Realistic Budget.”

6. Start thinking ideas.

When, where, themes, colors, etc. There’s so much that goes into planning a wedding, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Writing out some of your must-haves and getting inspiration from Pinterest can be a good way to nail down your wedding style. This way have some direction before you jump headfirst into planning. For example, if you know you absolutely want an outdoor ceremony, then that will narrow down your date and venue.

7. Research.

Do as much research as you possibly can. Having a clear idea of what you want and how much it is going to cost helps with your budget and the sticker shock later on. Plus, it will give you an idea of what to expect from the vendors in your area, so you can look at several different vendors before settling on one.

8. Pick a Date

Or at least a season to aim for. Your venue will be one of the very first things you book, so as soon as you can settle on a date, you should be looking around at your venues and adjust the date if need be. There are several factors that go into choosing a wedding date and if you want our take, we have a blog post on that, too: “Things to Consider When Picking Your Wedding Date.”

9. Think about help.

Planning a wedding is hard. Plain and simple. So, it’s usually a good idea to have some help, whether it’s close friends and family, a wedding planner or both. It’s a lot to juggle by yourselves and you’ll definitely need some people in your corner when things start getting crazy. A word of caution, though: try to choose friends and family members who will help, rather than hinder you. They need to be supportive of your decisions 100 percent—or at least very good at gently telling you your ideas are terrible. Here’s more on “Drafting Your Dream Team.”

No matter what you do first or how long your engagement is going to be—you got this! We are rooting for you! We know how tough this time can be on your mental health and your relationships with loved ones, so try not to stress too much. Give yourself plenty of time to get stuff done and take breaks to enjoy this time with your new fiancé. You’re embarking on a new journey with your partner and its important to keep that in the forefront of your mind—even when you’re pulling your hair out over cake tastings.

It’s still a little ways off, but it’s never too early to consider the details. With all that stress piling up, do you really want to worry about your groomsmen?

Featured image by Avistoria Photography