What To Do After You Get Engaged
Congratulations! Getting engaged is one of the most exciting moments of your life. Whether you’re the asker or the asked, it is a special time for you both. As a newly engaged couple, there are many things probably swirling around in your heads. When and how should we tell our family & friends, where should we get married, how many people should we invite, what florist should we use. The list is indefinite.
However, one of the most important things I learned after I proposed to my now wife is that it is important to live in the moment. Planning a wedding can quickly consume your every waking moment. My wife was in her first year of teaching and as she prepared for her new career, she also spent many nights planning details of our wedding.
Right after we were engaged, we both decided to relish in the moment for as long as we could. That did not mean that we completely put off wedding planning as we were hoping to get married that summer which meant we only had 10 months to plan. However, we did decide to take things day-by-day and tried our best to stay relaxed. The list of things to do can feel overwhelming but there are a few important things we decided to do right after we got engaged.
Call your family and close friends. With the prevalent nature of social media now a days, it is tempting not to post a picture of your fiancée’s hand with the new bling however, I recommend calling your family and friends first before you post. They were more than likely there for the beginning of your relationship and it is important they find out over the phone rather than on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, etc. It shows them that you value their love and support as you embark on this new journey together.
Start to look at dates or at least months. Although you should still be relishing in the moment of being engaged, it is not a bad idea to start thinking about dates or at least months. After “Congratulations”, the next thing people will ask you is “When’s the big day?”. People like feeling involved when it comes to weddings (Sometimes too involved. They mean well, I promise). Is there a particular month that holds a special meaning for you both? Or a time of year where you just love the weather? If you start thinking about a rough date this allows you to come up with a vague yet specific answer like “We are thinking Fall of next year” or “Sometime early next July”. Setting a rough date is important because it not only gives you a chance to move on to the next step of thinking about venues but it also gives you the opportunity to narrow in on a specific day and send out Save-the-Dates as soon as possible.
Get your ring sized and insured. If you are lucky, your ring will already fit you perfectly but if it doesn’t, make sure you take it to get it sized as soon as possible. You may want to wait a week or two depending on the sizing as everyone will be asking to see that left hand (Wife’s advice: Make sure your nails are on point for the next two weeks following your engagement). In terms of getting your ring insured, if you have home owner’s or renter’s insurance, call to add the ring to your policy.
Start a Pinterest board. Pinterest is a great way to start looking at a variety of ideas you may want to incorporate into your big day. One thing I love about Pinterest is that it gives you the opportunity to create a secret board with just your fiancée/fiancé. This give you both the freedom to add ideas to the board that you like and discuss them as a couple. It also allows you to keep things a secret from your guests for a little element of surprise on the big day.
Plan a night out with just your fiancé/fiancée. After you announce your engagement, there is not going to be much “alone” time with your partner. This is especially true if you live in Manitoba and are planning to have a wedding social. The social quickly becomes the centre of everybody’s focus shortly after the engagement. This is why it is important to put some time aside to spend time with each other and make it a point NOT to talk wedding details (as difficult as that may be). There may be lots to get done but for just one night, it’s okay to put that all aside and remember why you got engaged in the first place – your love for one another.
The number one rule at the end of it all is to try and relish in all of these special moments you will share together. Your wedding will come and go in a flash and it is important that you live in the moment and be mindful of this special time.
All the best,
Alex + Sonia
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