What Are the Next Steps to Take After Your Engagement?
Cheers, it happened, you’re engaged. Holy cow, right! Okay, okay, we know you have a million questions. Who do you tell first? Should you throw an engagement party? When do you go wedding venue shopping? When can you get cake tastings? After becoming recently engaged, you may be wondering, what the heck do I do now? Do not panic. Before you go into shock (or have a wedding planning panic attack), take a deep breath and calm down. You’ve got this! And we’re here to walk you through the next steps to take after your engagement.
You may have immediately thought to yourself, “Okay, I just got engaged. Now what?!” Well, fret not, lovebirds. There’s no need to panic. While planning a wedding is a process, it doesn’t have to begin the second your fiancé(y) pops the question. Everyone’s timeline is different and there is no designated timeline when it comes to planning your wedding.
1. Relax and Enjoy Your Engagement
Before you go Buy-The-Office for binders and start researching vendors, take a moment to celebrate this incredible milestone you’ve just reached. “Take the first few days of your engagement to spend alone with your partner. While you probably can’t wait to tell everyone you know, you deserve at least a few days to celebrate this new phase of your relationship privately,” explains McKenzi Taylor, owner and wedding planner of Cactus Collective Weddings & Electric Sugar Elopements. There’s no rush to get into wedding planning when you first get engaged. In fact, we recommend taking some time for yourself before the planning process begins. Plan an engagement moon if you have the time!
Keep in mind that if you’re going to be having a short engagement or are stuck planning your wedding within a time frame you don’t have control over, you may not want to procrastinate on planning. Do what you and your partner want to do, and not what you *think* you should be doing.
2. Announce the Engagement
The second thing you should do after getting engaged is tell the world your news. Some couples like to throw their news out to the public as soon as possible, while others wait for the perfect opportunity. (You know, go all soft launch on everyone à la Zendaya or Dua Lipa.) “Tell your close friends and family. Allow them to celebrate this milestone with you. Enjoy your congrats from your inner circle and celebrate with those who matter most in your daily lives,” Taylor recommends.
If you want to post about your engagement on social media, make sure to tell these people in person before making your engagement Instagram: your parents and immediate family, then your extended family, and then friends. Those in your “vip” circle will appreciate getting to congratulate you in person before the rest of the world knows.
3. Take a Ring Selfie
Yep. We mean take an actual selfie with your engagement ring on. While your engagement glow is still present, take some ring selfies to post on social media (or save for your private memories). Now’s the time to show off your ring!
4. Get Your Ring Sized & Insured
Want to know what to do after getting engaged? Get your ring sized and insured. While this may not be the most glamorous thing to do after popping the question, it is something you should do right away. If your engagement ring doesn’t fit you quite how you’d like it to, make an appointment with your jeweler to get it resized. You don’t want it spinning around your finger or slipping off and getting lost!
In case your ring does get lost, you’ll want to look into getting your ring insured. Just like you’d protect your belongings with your homeowners or renter’s insurance, you can add on jewelry insurance to cover your engagement ring. Many insurance companies offer jewelry protection as an add-on to your current policy, but you can also seek out companies that specialize in jewelry insurance. Do your research and see what works best for you.
5. Decide on a Wedding Date
The next step in the process is to choose your wedding day. Again, the sooner you jump on the lookout for dates at your dream venues, the better. You’ll have a higher chance of securing your perfect date if you look into it right after getting engaged versus wait a few months. You can choose your wedding date to be special to you and your partner. Maybe it would be sweet to get married on the day you two first met or first said “I love you” to each other. Another thing you may want to take into consideration is if your wedding will be during peak season and if you’d rather have your wedding during a weekday or weekend. All of these things can affect your overall price. If you have a special time or season in mind, we recommend crossing this off your after-engagement to-do list as soon as possible.
6. Take Engagement Photos
Schedule an engagement photo shoot! Not only will this allow you and your partner to feel more comfortable in front of the camera on your wedding day, but you’ll have photos taken of this special time in your lives. “Take engagement photos!! Capture this magical moment before you say ‘I Do.’ Not only will it be a reminder of your love, but it’ll allow you to get to know your potential wedding photographer,” Taylor suggests. We recommend choosing a photographer whose photos you absolutely adore; you’re going to be looking at them for many years to come!
7. Create a Wedding Checklist
After deciding on a wedding date, make yourself a wedding checklist. There are tons of wedding planning checklists out there, but if you want something more personalized, you can make your own wedding checklist on The Knot. Our tool will help you identify what you should be doing each month of the planning process. Try not to overwhelm yourself with a set deadline for when everything should be completed. There’s plenty of time to get little details finished before the big day. Trust us.
Pro tip: Once you make your checklist, make sure to store it in a safe place. You don’t want to misplace it!
8. Prepare Your Wedding Filing System
Here’s a helpful wedding planning tip: One of the first things you should do once you get engaged is organize your wedding materials. Many wedding planners advise their couples to create a wedding email address to use for all planning and vendor communications. This will help keep all of your wedding-related conversations in one Inbox.
9. Set a Budget
After you set your wedding date, one of the next things you should do is sit your partner down to decide on a budget. It’s important to come up with a set budget that you and your partner are comfortable spending on your wedding day. You’ll want to figure out how you plan to pay for the wedding as well. Will you and your fiancé pay for everything yourselves? If so, how? Are you planning on receiving financial assistance from parents? Have a serious conversation with your partner about the realistic amount you can spend.
10. Create a Guest List
When it comes to setting a budget, your guest list size will go hand in hand. Knowing how many people you plan to invite to your wedding will help you determine your venue and price range. Think about how many people you want at your wedding and create a list of those you’d like to invite. Some couples will start with a number that is most comfortable for their budget and work backwards. Begin by making a list of everyone you’d like to celebrate with on your big day.
11. Decide on Your Wedding Party
Having a wedding party is not mandatory. If you’d prefer a low-key wedding without delegating responsibilities to others, that’s totally up to you. Of course, we recommend having someone to share this special day with (you know us planners, we live for the wedding party member announcements). If you do decide you want a wedding party, you’ll want to designate who you’d like in your inner circle. How many bridesmaids and groomsmen do you want? Who do you think would best suit each role? Will you have an honor attendant? Figure these things out before popping the question to your wedding party.
12. Create a Wedding Vision Board
Still not sure what to do after you get engaged? Start a vision board! One of our favorite parts of planning is looking at wedding photos for inspiration. Whether you browse through Instagram, TikTok, or our favorite wedding planning resource, Pinterest, start collecting ideas that fit your wedding theme. Creating a vision board will allow you to really narrow down your wedding style. Not only will this be fun, but it will be extremely helpful for your vendors when you’re ready to share your wedding vision.
13. Venue Shopping
Once you have your date and theme locked in, you can begin your search for venues. Choose your dream wedding venue. Think about whether you want indoor or outdoor reception, if you want a large venue or more intimate and so on. Visit a few places you’re interested in; no need to commit until you’ve seen different options. You should speak with the vendors about your vision and see if your ideas can come to life at their venue. You don’t want to say “yes” to the first venue you see.
Keep in mind that your venue will also determine your wedding date. Many popular venues book months, if not a year, in advance. Just because you want to get married on December 9th doesn’t mean your dream venue will be available on your special day.
14. Create a Wedding Website
If you’re thinking, “Do I HAVE to make a wedding website?” Yes. Yes, you do. Not only will a wedding website keep all your wedding information in one place, but it will also help your guests with logistics. You can sync your registry to your site, track RSVPs, and answer commonly asked questions. There’s nothing worse than getting redundant questions from guests, a wedding website can eliminate those unwanted emails and texts.
15. Hire a Wedding Planner
Speaking of wedding planners…hi! When you know you want a planner on your wedding day, you should apply to work with one as soon as possible. Similar to venues, wedding planners get booked up quickly. If you don’t have a wedding planner secured after your engagement, you risk losing out on your dream planner!
16. Choose Your Registry
In addition to a wedding website, register for gift registries! Whether it be Macy’s, Target, Crate and Barrel, or all of the above…register, register, register! You want to have plenty of gift options for your guests.
17. Do Your Research
Now that you have your budget, guest count, and vision ready, you can start shopping around for vendors! Not sure where to start? Ask around! Talk to your recently wed friends and family to see who they used for their big days. You can also browse through vendor photos on social media to see if you happen to come across someone’s portfolio that catches your eye. Another great resource is The Knot Vendor Marketplace. We have thousands of hand-picked vendors for you to review before deciding on who to hire.
Reach out to vendors you and your partner are interested in working with and set up consultations to see if they’d be a good match for your wedding.
18. Have An Engagement Party
Are you still feeling overwhelmed on what to do after you get engaged. Throw an engagement party! We know we say this about everything wedding related, but you only get engaged once. Celebrate that!
19. Enjoy Yourself
Okay last one. We promise. Take your time and enjoy the process. While wedding planning can be stressful at times, remember you’re doing this with the person you love. Make sure to take your time and enjoy every moment! Congratulations on your engagement!