You’re engaged! Now what?

WOW! It happened! He asked. You said YES! And now it’s time to start planning. Here’s a quick start guide for your first steps.

1. Determine a general vision for your wedding day. What city? How many guests? Inside or out? Time of year? And the big one: Budget. Have the hard conversations now.
2. Choose a venue. The first wedding vendor selected is generally your venue. You might have more than one: one for the ceremony and one for the reception. Once selected, together you will determine a date. That date will, of course, be based on the availability of the venue and you!
3. As you select a date, keep in mind that SOME – not all! – but some will offer a discount for days of the week other than Saturday and months outside of high season. High season for weddings in Savannah is March – May and September – November.
4. Next, you’ll want to select a planner or coordinator. You’ll have several options to choose from, including a full event planner to day-of coordinator. Most brides realize at some point in the process that they need some degree of help.
5. The photographer and videographer (about 25 percent choose a videographer, too) is generally next. I generally book 9-18 months in advance, but I have dates available in shorter time spans, too.
6. Next you’ll want to start working on the timeline for your day. Your photographer, planner and venue owner/manager will all have a part to play here. Your venue(s) will give you start and end times, generally. And your photographer will walk you through options such as having a first look or not. (First look is when the bride and groom see each other before the ceremony allowing more photos to be taken earlier in the day.) And you’ll also look up sunset time for your wedding date, being certain you allow adequate time for outdoor portraits before dark.
7. Next you’ll have a small glass of champagne. Because you got through the first steps. And you’re still engaged. And you deserve it, honey. You know what, that bottle will go flat, so pour a big one. Invite me over. I’ll ask you to sign my contract after the third glass. And you won’t even see that clause about providing me the leftover icing from your wedding cake. Cheers!

Contact me for more! I’ll share a list of other trusted Savannah vendors from vendors and planners to hair and make-up artists, florist, cake bakers, caterers, officiants and DJs!