You’ve just got engaged, congratulations! It’s a super exciting time in both your lives, so make sure to really relish every moment of it. Enjoy showing off your ring and celebrating with your friends and family who will no doubt be delighted for you. However, after the initial bliss has sunk in, you’ll soon realise that you have to start thinking about when and where you will get married. How many people will you invite, what will your budget be, and a million and one other questions which will start to run through your head. But don’t worry! In these early stages it’s important to try and get the broad strokes clear in your mind, once those are in place you can then start to get down to the details of your wedding day.

Of course, hiring an award-winning wedding planner, like myself is a great place to start. It’s my job to make your lives easier and bring your wedding dreams to life. If you’d like to chat about how I can help, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch. In the meantime, here are my top tips to help you start your wedding planning journey.

When you first get engaged be prepared for lots of, ‘have you set a date yet?’ questions from eager family and friends. Often you’ll be standing there like a deer in headlights not sure how to respond, but try not to panic. The first step in setting that all important date is thinking about what time of the year you want to get married – spring, summer autumn or winter and will it be this year, next year, or the year after and so on. Once you have these broad strokes decided, then you can start to narrow down a date that works.

This is probably one of the most important aspects of your wedding planning and figuring out your budget early on is crucial as it will have a bearing on almost everything else. Be realistic about what you can afford and how much you are willing to spend. There are always ways to be super savvy with your budget, but knowing your maximum figure is key.

Again deciding on your venue will be dictated to some extent by your budget. But of course that’s not the only concern. You need to decide if you want to get married in the city or the countryside, or if you want to get married in Ireland at all. You may have your sights on a wedding abroad, so coming to a decision on this early on is important as it will have implications for your guests, your documentation and the logistics.

This is another key element of your wedding and it’s one you need to decide on before you start thinking about venues. Decide if you want to have a church or civil ceremony. If you’re going for a church ceremony are you both of the same religion? If not, then look into the implications for your church ceremony. Will you be using the local church or some other church you both have you heart set on? Also decide if you want to get married outside, or in some other venue that needs advance planning.

Deciding who to invite to you wedding can be tricky. You may find yourself balancing family politics with your budget, so it’s a good idea to set out in your mind roughly how many people you want to invite and see how that tallies with your budget. The important thing is to be as realistic as you can and prioritise the list.

You may be the sort of couple who have never really thought about the type of wedding you would like… then again you might be the sort of bride or groom who has been dreaming about their wedding for many years and as such have a very clear idea of the theme and look for the day. If you do have a theme in mind, be it vintage, rustic, etc., then it’s a good idea to try and decide on this from the start as it will have a bearing on everything from venue to timescale.