Newly Engaged

Start with your budget. That will determine what type of event and how many people you can host. Next step would be to secure a venue for the date and price that you want. Good luck planning and welcome!

There are several wedding checklists available online or apps. I’d suggest looking at several to get a realistic idea of timelines. The most important things to set first are your budget, guest list, and venue. Everything else kind of flows from there.

Contrary to what the magazines and websites say, start out with 3 things: your budget you are willing to spend without any assistance from family and bank loans, your vision of top 3 areas to focus on (good food and drinks guests don’t pay for themselves and great dj) and a great photographer for memories and cut out everything you don’t care about that guests won’t miss, and your guest list of your must have loved ones and their partners (if any, regardless of how long they have been together) and don’t invite anyone you don’t want in attendance who is invited only to make someone else happy. All those things need to be set in stone before you can look at venues.


Decide what type of wedding you want and can afford. There is a stigma at the present time that anything under $30-50k USD is not acceptable/valid/fill-in-the-blank because it doesn’t mimic an Instagram wedding. For example, in some social circles and families, a standard wedding, no matter what generation, is cake and coffee served in the church dining room or pizza delivery to the local park (for a non religious ceremony) and a full catered dinner and alcohol would be an unheard of extravagant expense and not done in that group, while another social circle or family would be scandalized for doing the same thing. If it fits your vision and budget, as long as you are making sure that everyone is hosted with enough food to go around and no one has to open their wallets during the party, then you are a proper host having a valid wedding and the naysayers who don’t agree with your ideas are not going to be on your guest list in the first place. So enjoy the grocery store cake and flowers and catered food from your local favorite date night restaurant that is within your budget at the local community center or Peerspace venue, and don’t stress over what others think.
Price out both all inclusive venues and blank slate venues. If you are on a tight budget, a venue owned by the parks department will be less expensive than an all inclusive that has hidden fees for food and other vendors (the low cost rental fee barely gets you in the door) and not a lot of flexibility if you have a specific plan. But some couples don’t mind having all decisions made for them. It just depends on what works for you and how much money you have to spend.

View Quoted Comment Thank you for the information !

View Quoted Comment Thank you for the tips !!

View Quoted Comment Thank you for the information!!