I recently came across a posting on Facebook where someone was inquiring on how they should start their wedding planning after their recent engagement. For some people, the planning process starts well before engagement, as they may have dreamed about a venue that always was special or appealing, or they envisioned a certain time of year like a fall or outdoor summer wedding. However, for others they may not have any particular ideas or visions about their big day, and therefore are a little overwhelmed with where to begin.
A great starting point is to visit a collection of venues that will be able to accommodate a wedding of your predicted guest count. A simple online search through popular sites like Event Source, Wedding Wire, or just simple google searches will generally produce a few options to start. Aim to include different types of venues, such as Banquet Halls, Golf & Country Clubs, Barns, Hotels/Inns, and Historic Homes etc. By going to see a representation of each type you will hopefully narrow down your search moving forward and help you to identify the feel and character you want for your big day. In some cases, the venue type will also determine the time of year you want to get married or vice versa. I find that once you know what you are looking for in a venue, you can then continue to seek out others of similar style and then compare to ultimately reach your other goals, such as date of availability, location and budget.
Once a venue has been determined, if you don’t feel this gets the ball rolling for you in the planning process, then I would highly recommend creating a vision board. Pinterest has become a fantastic tool to do this either by creating a board itself within the app, or by finding ideas and pictures and going the old school way of printing off and putting on a corkboard. Gradually as you print/pin more pictures you will see that between florals, décor, and colours your theme and vision come together. I think you will find that once this aspect is more clear in your mind, the rest starts to fall in place and you can start your full to do list of what is needed for your big day!
All that being said, if you are still finding it difficult, you may find consulting with others that have gone through the process, or a wedding consultant can help. There are an abundance of options and choices when it comes to your wedding, but it should be an exciting and fun experience to plan so don’t let yourself get overwhelmed or stressed. Try to enjoy every step of the process.
Happy Wedding Planning!
