You’ve gotten engaged, congratulations! Once the excitement quiets down a little, you might be wondering where to start with wedding planning. It can definitely be daunting at first, but I’m here to help!

Step 1: Guest Count, Overall Budget, General Location, and Vision

Before you can book a venue and other vendors, you’ll want to figure out a rough guest count size and overall budget. That way you don’t book a venue that’s too small (so you have to remove loved ones from your list) and you don’t overspend. You’ll also want to figure out a general area for where you want to get married so you know where to look for venues and other vendors. Consider:

Where your guests live - you may want to pick an area that’s closest to a large group of VIP guests (i.e. family)
Travel mode - if guests have to fly, you’ll want to pick an area close to an airport
Cost - popular cities like New York and Los Angeles tend to be more expensive places to have weddings

Also come up with an idea of what you want the wedding to look like. Do you want an outdoor wedding with lots of whimsical flowers, or an indoor wedding that’s elegant and sleek. This will also play into how you prioritize different parts of your budget.

Once you know those things, I suggest hiring a wedding planner who services the general location you’ve picked. Your planner will start with your overall budget and map out how much you should be spending on your venue, catering, photographer, etc. They can then help you with finding venues to tour that match your vision, budget, and guest count. If you are not using a planner, I highly recommend using websites like Zola, The Knot, and Wedding Wire because they allow you to filter by things like vibe, cost, guest count, and amenities.

Step 2: Book Your Venue

Once you and your planner decide on some venues, set up venue tours to see if you actually like the feel of the venue in person.

Here are some questions you can ask at venue tours (although if you’re using a planner, they probably already know some of the answers from their research):

What’s included in the venue price?
Do you have a preferred vendor list? Are we required to use any of them?
How long can we have the venue for?
What are the room capacities?
Can we get ready on site?
Are there any restrictions on decor?
What is parking like?
What staff are here during the event?
Can I have a rehearsal the day before?

Explore your options, but once you find one that checks all the boxes, book it so you have a date. There’s such a thing as choice overload!

Step 3: Book Your Vendors

Now that you have a date secured, you can start looking at other vendors. If you’re using a planner, they will help you figure out how much you can spend on each vendor category, keeping in mind the vendors that are most important to you. They will make recommendations based on vendors they’ve worked with in the past who fit your vision and budget, and will facilitate the entire process from inquiry through booking.

If you’re not using a planner, I highly recommend figuring out your budget for each vendor category, and then starting with your high priority vendors. High priority is different for everyone. I recommend booking the vendors that can only take one wedding per day like your media team (photograph, videography, content creation), entertainment (DJ, band), and catering. These vendors only do one wedding per day, so you want to make sure you lock in a good one. Then book other vendors in order of importance to you.

Hiring a great wedding planner can help you stay on track with what to do when. They help you navigate the planning process so it’s not overwhelming, leaving you to be able to enjoy your engaged era!

Vendor Credits

Photos 1-3:

Photo - Ricky Crystal Photo

Venue - Virginia State Parks

Florist – Little Cottage Collective

Photos 4-6:

Photo - Gracie B Photography

Venue - The Morehead Inn

Cake - Queen City Cakes