Engaged? Congratulations! But now what?

Congratulations, you’re engaged! You’ve got a beautiful ring on your finger, a token of love from (hopefully) the man or woman of your dreams. But now what? Here’s my guide to the first steps towards your wedding or civil partnership and a wonderful future together!

Tell people

This is the fun, but possibly also stressful part if you’re worried about people’s reactions!

Hopefully, you’ll enjoy telling people and all the reactions you get will be positive.

woman drinking tea or coffee, talking to friends and family

Make sure your engagement ring is safe

Have your ring resized if it’s too big or too small for you. The last thing you want is your shiny new ring slipping off without you realising it! It may be advisable to get it insured.

Decide how long you’ll be engaged for

When Dave and I got engaged, we were only 18. He was still in college and I had a Saturday afternoon job, but was looking for work with more hours. We were temporarily living at his Dad’s house before it was sold. It was quite apparent that this was going to be a long engagement. At points, it felt like the wedding was never going to happen, it felt like we were engaged so long (5 years in total). Yet some people are engaged longer and are perfectly happy  with this.

So that’s the first step. Get an idea of whether it’s going to be a long engagement, or if you’re going to get married in a year, a few months, or a few weeks (I’ve heard of it being done!)

Set a date

If you can, set a date. When people congratulate you on your engagement, I found that one of the first things they ask you is when you’re getting married!

Discuss with your partner which year you both want to get married in as well as if there’s a particular time of year or a significant date on which you may want to make your vows.

My husband and I met on 26th June 2008 and I love that time of year, so although we couldn’t determine a year at the beginning of our engagement, we soon decided that we’d marry on that date.

Use Pinterest

If you don’t have Pinterest already, then you have to get it! I spent hours finding different ideas and pinning them, as well as beautiful pictures of hair, makeup and dresses. Pinterest is a fantastic place for wedding inspiration. I don’t think I could have planned quite as a wonderful day as I did without it! You can get started by having a look at my Wedding board!

Pinterest wedding board

Get saving

Weddings generally cost a lot of money, especially if like me you’re not lucky enough to have any photographers, florists etc. in the family. Even if you’re going for a low-budget wedding, it’s best to start trying to save some money as soon as possible!

save money hand

Have fun

Most of all, enjoy being engaged! Don’t get carried away too much with wedding planning, try not to get overly stressed about it and just enjoy being together.

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4 thoughts on “Engaged? Congratulations! But now what?”

  1. The thing I remember most about getting engaged was that I had felt very secure in my relationship, I didn’t feel I had any insecurity. However when that ring popped on my finger I felt even more secure in our relationship. It seems there was a last nugget of insecurity lurking somewhere which I only noticed through it last absence? If you’re recently engaged, enjoy it, it’s a wonderful stage in your relationship

  2. Within 3 months of being together, hubby and I knew we were going to get married, even though we were only 19 at the time. We waited another couple of years before officially getting engaged and then married a year after that. We always knew it would happen, though. It’s a lovely time because you start planning your lives together and dreaming. #brillblogposts

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