He popped the question. You said yes. Hooray! You're engaged!
Here’s
what to do next (you know, right after you call your parents, his parents, your
best friend, updating your FB status and announcing your engagement on Twitter and toasting each other with a glass of bubbly)
Set The Date (Even
If It’s Not 'the’ Date)
There
are 3 basic things people will tell/ask you as soon as they know you are
engaged...
a. Congratulations
on your engagement
b. Let
me see your ring
c. When’s
the wedding?
That’s
a lot to deal with considering you've only just announced our engagement. Save yourselves some stress by having a
tête-à-tête about ‘when’ you both want to get married. Do you see yourself having a summer beach
wedding or are you thinking more of a white winter wedding ? This will help you both come up with a ‘time
frame’ of ‘when’ you want to get married.
No
one will mind if you respond with ‘we’re thinking about Summer 2014 or Spring
of 2015’. In fact this lets your
immediate friends and family make a mental note of your wedding and gives you
and your fiancé (yes it is official now) a direction towards your wedding
planning.
Location Location
Location
Once
you’ve honed in on a season of when you want to get married; the next thing you
want to think about is ‘where’. Do you
want to have your wedding in the city you and your fiancé have grown up in
? Would you prefer a destination wedding
within the same country you are based in ? What about a vineyard in France or
Italy ? Or a beach resort in Thailand ?
For
couples who have passed the test of a long distance relationship – it’s
important to pick a location that is easily accessible (flight, train or road)
for your friends and family to be a part of your big day.
Guest List
You
don't need to have the names finalised but it does make sense to work out
exactly how many friends and family you want to invite. The size of your guest list has a huge impact
on where you choose to get married and on the final budget.
Before
you start putting a number on how many guests you want at your wedding; ask
both your parents about whom they’d most want to invite. After you have their “dream” lists (which may
include their long lost friends and people you barely recognize), you can add, edit
and trim it down without offending them.
AKA
Helpful hint: Ask your parents to prioritize their wish guestlist by breaking it into
tiers—it’ll help you make cuts later on.
Budget
It's
very easy to get carried away when planning your dream wedding, and before you
know it you've spent a small fortune (on paper). So, to save your sanity, we at AKA suggest
that you take this approach instead:
- Sit down with your fiancé, both your parents and anyone else who might be contributing to your wedding budget.
- Find out exactly where all of your money is coming from and what the total amount is that you have to spend.
- That is your wedding budget.
The
average Indian wedding (over 3 days) costs starts from approximately $ 75,000
or Rs 50 lacs onwards. Decide on a
budget and then stick to it as much as you can. If you overspend in one area, work out how
you can economise elsewhere.
DIY or Wedding
Planner ?
Now,
last but not least, depending on if you are the do-it-yourself bride or if you
need a little help, sometimes just sitting down with a planner for a
consultation makes everything seem a little more clear and they can start you
off in the right direction. There are
the brides that are just lost and have the picture in their mind, but with the
help of a planner it can come to life, even in a three hour consultation. A
planner offers you security and assurance that it will be done accordingly as
well ensuring you are staying within YOUR BUDGET.
Review
the elements of your wedding that'll take a little planning—negotiating with
bakers and caterers for the best prices, finding the ideal venue, organizing
party favors—and figure out if those are tasks you want to tackle alone or if you'd rather hire a wedding planner (stress reduction and a little time-saving
sounds nice, right?). Keep in mind that
a wedding planner will cost money, so make sure the option fits into your
budget before you give it serious consideration.
AKA
Helpful Hint: Let the planner know that
your budget includes hiring them and let the pros’ get back to you on how to
make best use of your budget towards your wedding.
These
are just a few tips to get you started and help take a little bit of stress of
the initial stages of planning your wedding.
Our heartfelt congratulations to you and your fiancé. Please feel free to call us for a complimentary consultation.
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