First and foremost, we would just like to say - CONGRATULATIONS! If you’re reading this, that means you must have recently been engaged! It’s such an exciting season to be in and time is going to fly by faster than you could ever know. We truly believe marriage is one of the best things that has ever happened to the girls on the CJW team and love to celebrate with those walking into that season of life! As we are coming out of Holiday engagement season, we thought it would be insightful for recently engaged couples to know, as a planners, what we think you should do first!

We know that it can seem intimidating with all the Insta and Pinterest posts that filter around of the moooost perfect weddings. You might be thinking, “How do people even do that?” or “I don’t even know where to start!” You are not alone. It’s a very common feeling! You’ve probably never had to plan a wedding before but you know it requires a lot of thought and details you just know you’ll forget. We would like to share 3 things that we find extremely important to do first!

ONE: Celebrate.

Celebrate. You might be thinking “well, duh”. But you have no idea how many of our sweet couples get lost in the stress/daunting tasks, and they actually forget to cherish this moment in time. Our hearts break whenever we meet with a client who feels defeated before they even start. Our first question is always, “are you celebrating your engagement enough?” You are marrying your LIFE PARTNER! It’s the greatest moment of your life and it deserves every emotion of love, joy, excitement, and anticipation.

The biggest way to start stressing and loose the fun of planning is when you forget whyyyy you are getting married. Sooooo, this is permission to STOP planning and start partying! Like we said, the time will fly and you want to look back and remember how GREAT it was to be engaged. Slow down and live in the moment. It comes once in a lifetime with your person.

TWO: Hire a Planner.

Hire a planner. I know, I know, this one was pretty obvious that it was coming. HOWEVER, a well-seasoned planner on your side can truly make or break the process for you. We put this as number two, because like we said before, we meet so many clients who hire us out of pure stress. A lot of those stressers could have been eliminated if they had someone consulting them first. Whether that be with vendors, invites, budget, location, design, the fear of forgetting something, the list goes on and on. A planner truly lets you enjoy the process and help you reflect + find joy in the process. Our favorite quote from a bride recently was, “I didn’t know how meaningful this process would become for us.”

We also put this first because your planner will know a lot about your vendors. Especially the venue. We’ve had brides partner with us after booking the venue and once we get into the details of the day, the bride might not have realized some of the limitations of their venue. Some venues only allow beer & wine, some don’t allow items to drape from the ceiling, some venues have a 10:00pm sound ordinance, and brides had no idea until we told them. (And this isn’t always because of the venue. It can truly just be lost in the excitement of touring different locations and keeping all the information straight.) It’s important to hire a planner so they can assist you in finding a venue that works for YOU.

THREE: Book the Venue.

Book the venue! It’s important to keep an open mind with your venue. Depending on your area, there might not be enough venues to the ratio of couples getting married. Since the onset of the coronavirus, we have seen venues in our area booked out for up to 2+ years in advance. Remembering this day is about you and your partner is key during the search for a venue. It’s also unbelievable what you can do to transform a space with a little creativity. Having great vendors on your team that understand your vision is vitally important because nothing is ever as it seems. We have worked some magic in places before!

There are a lot of logistics to consider when finalizing location - like date, capacity, vibe, etc. Your venue can determines all of these things, so it’s important to book this before anything else. Even the style of photography you choose might need to change based on the venue. But we promise to be there guiding you through all of these details.

We hope these tips can be helpful for you starting the planning process! We would love for you to share with us anything that you found helpful! Make sure to tag us on socials: @courtneyjeanweddings

XOXO,

Your planning gals at CJWeddings