You're Engaged, Now What? 5 Tips to Start Planning Your Wedding Day

Congratulations if you are one of the millions of couples to have gotten engaged recently!  You've probably been enamored with excitement and are ready to get the planning started. Check out my tips below on how to get your planning off on the right track.


1.    Call Your Immediate Family and Friends
Make the announcement to your closest family and friends. You definitely want them to get the news directly from YOU.  While you're at it, call up your bridal party too. The earlier you ask your friends to be a part of your wedding the better.

2.    Think About Your Wedding Style
If you're like most brides you may already have an idea of the style of wedding you want. If not, start thinking about you and your fiance's individual and collective styles, so that your wedding will be a reflection of both of you. For instance, consider if your style is more traditional, modern, or maybe glamorous. If you choose traditional, maybe you would like to marry in a church. If you consider yourself to be a modern girl, maybe you would consider marrying in a park, or museum just to name a few.

3.    Set a Budget
You and your fiance should have a talk about your wedding budget BEFORE you make any wedding plans. Be sure to bring in all contributors: parents, grandparents and anyone else who is paying for your wedding. Set a figure that is realistic, within your means, and agreed upon by all parties.

 4.    Consider a Planner 
If you are considering hiring a wedding planner, be sure to engage him/her at the BEGINNING of the planning process. This can save you so much time and money, I promise :-). We know the right people and places to connect you to and since we have planned more weddings than you, we can educate you on how to do things the right way! And remember, most planners offer different levels of service, so at the very least hire a planner for day of coordination, so that you can relax on your wedding weekend and not worry about the details. 

5.    Hire the Pros
This will include selecting a ceremony and reception venue, photographer, entertainment, caterer and more. If you choose to work with a wedding planner, he or she will be able to refer you to reputable vendors in each of the categories above, that fit your style and budget. If not, just remember that wedding professionals can get booked very quickly, so contact them as soon as possible.

I hope my tips will be helpful for you.  If you're interested in hiring a wedding planner, email me at raven@ravenj.com to get the conversation started.  Visit the website at www.ravenj.com.

Happy Planning!

Raven J.

5 Things to Do After You Get Engaged

Happy Holidays everyone!  If you didn't know, along with the Holidays comes a bevy of engagements! From Thanksgiving to Christmas, to New Year's to Valentine's Day, you can expect to hear of lots of couples getting engaged. If you happen to be one of those lucky people, read about my tips on what to do after your get engaged. 

1.    Call the VIPs
Yep, make the announcement to your closest family and friends. You definitely want them to get the news from YOU and not anyone else. While you're at it, call up your bridal party too. The earlier you ask your friends to be a part of your wedding the better.

2.    Think About Your Wedding Style
If you're like most brides you may already have an idea of the style of wedding you want. If not, start thinking about you and your fiance's individual and collective style, so that your wedding will be a reflection of both of you. For instance, consider if your style is more traditional, modern, or maybe glamorous. If you choose traditional, maybe you would like to marry in a church. If you consider yourself to be modern, maybe you would consider marrying in a park, museum or hotel ballroom, just to name a few.

3.    Money, Money, Moneeeey
You and your fiance should have a talk about your wedding budget BEFORE you make any wedding plans. Be sure to bring in all contributors: parents, grandparents and anyone else who is paying for your wedding. Set a figure that is realistic, within your means, and agreed upon by all parties.

 4.    Consider a Planner
If you are considering hiring a wedding planner, be sure to engage him/her at the BEGINNING of the planning process. This can save you so much time and money, I promise :-). We know the right people and places to connect you to and since we have planned more weddings than you, we can educate you on how to do things the right way! And remember, most planners offer different levels of service, so at the very least hire a planner for day of coordination, so that you can relax on your wedding weekend and not worry about anything going wrong.

5.    Hire the Pros
This will include selecting a ceremony and reception venue, photographer, entertainment, caterer and more. If you choose to work with a wedding planner, he or she will be able to refer you to reputable vendors in each of the categories above, that fit your style and budget. If not, just remember that wedding professionals can get booked very quickly, so contact them as soon as possible.
                                                                          

                           Happy Planning!
                                                            Raven J.                                   

Bling into Spring Promotion

Just for the brides and grooms, we have a  spectacular promotion through the end of March.  Not getting married, refer a friend or two :-).

Happy Planning!

Raven J.

5 Reasons to Hire a Wedding Planner

If you are recently engaged, you're probably wondering whether you should hire a wedding planner, or go at it alone.  Since engagement season is in full swing, we've come up with 5 great reasons to help you make your decision. 

1.  Experience:  Planning weddings is what wedding planners do.  They have the experience to lead you in the right direction, and help you make those important decisions, whether it be related to your budget, selecting the appropriate venue, or coming up with a menu that is sure to satisfy all.

2.  Vendors:  Wedding planners have great relationships with reputable vendors which will take the guesswork out of it for you.  A planner will not only be able to recommend trustworthy vendors, but those that fit your budget too.

3.  Creativity:  You probably have your wedding colors in mind, and maybe even a theme, but a wedding planner will take your ideas to the next level, helping you to have the wedding of your dreams.  Wedding planners will share all of the latest trends, plus help the bride and groom to incorporate their personalities into the wedding design, making it a one of a kind affair.

4.  Stress:  Who needs more?  With planning a wedding, it's normal to become stressed.  It only makes sense.  You're working by day, and trying to plan an event, with hundreds of details that you have never considered before.  By hiring a planner, you can outsource those tasks that stress you, allowing you to relax and focus on other things.

5.  Day of Coordinator:  If you decide to plan your own wedding, we highly recommend that you hire a planner to coordinate during the weekend of your wedding.  The planner will normally direct your rehearsal, and supervise your ceremony and reception.  This ensures that everything goes according to plan, and the bride and groom can relax, knowing that a wedding pro is handling all of the details.    

Happy Planning!

He proposed, you said yes, now what?

It's the most wonderful time of year! What time is that you ask? Engagement season of course.  I don't know about you, but couples around me have been getting engaged left and right.  How exciting!  Check out Glamour magazine's list of things to do once you say yes.  Did you get engaged recently?  What did you do first?  Tell us in the comment section.

You're Engaged! Now What? The 12 Things You Need to Do Right After You Get the Ring: Weddings: glamour.com



Image Via Glamour.com