Enjoy Your Engagement!
Q: I’m newly engaged and it is not as fun as I had imagined. Help!
A: First off, CONGRATULATIONS! You are freakin’ engaged! I’m happy dancing, squealing in excitement over here for you—and I want to bring that feeling back in your life!
Tell me if this sounds right...you found your forever partner in crime. After dreaming of them popping the big question, they did it. They proposed! And you were elated. You couldn’t wait to shout it from the rooftops. But then came the questions and the well-meaning advice. With your head spinning, and with the pressure on, you jumped into wedding planning. Or the opposite, you halted in fear. I get it! Going from wedding dream to reality can feel like the weight of the world on your shoulders—and suck all the fun out of your engagement.
But I’m here to tell you that with three simple tips you can bring the fun back into your engagement!
Tip 1: Pump the brakes
When you’re excited about planning—or feeling the pressure to get on it—it can be easy to jump in feet first and then feel like you’re drowning. My advice: Wait! No matter how hard it may be, give yourself and your partner time to enjoy the fact that you’re engaged. Make your announcements. Tell your engagement story over and over again. Have an engagement party. Spend hours on end just staring at your engagement ring. Whatever makes you feel like a million bucks, do it! You won’t regret taking the time to soak it in, I promise.
Tip 2: Slow and steady wins the race
Once you’re ready to start planning, there’s no need to feel like you need to have a perfectly planned wedding right off the bat. The stress of getting it all done right away is a surefire way to kill the mood about the wedding! Instead, ease into it.
Start off by simply daydreaming about the day. Come together over a morning coffee or glass of wine at night, and share what you both envision for the day. Through these conversations, you’ll find yourself setting the stage for a fun planning process. And once you’re on the same page about your wedding vision, it’ll be much easier to nail down the basics: your guest list (every decision will be based on your guest count), your budget, and your priorities.
From there, focus on your larger pieces—the venue and the food—followed by your priorities and vendors that are in high demand such as photographers, videographers, planners, musicians, and makeup and hair. With the big pieces in place, you can breathe easily while you pick away at the rest of the to-do list.
Tip 3: Don’t make it all about the wedding
When planning a wedding, it can be easy to feel like your entire world revolves around the wedding. That every single conversation is focused on the details of the big day. Fair enough! There are a million and one decisions to make and only so much time to do it. But, you don’t want to let that take over your engagement. Instead of having a bunch of small discussions about the wedding, plan specific times with your partner dedicated to wedding planning. That way, both of your heads are in planning mode and you’re focused only on the tasks at hand. Then, just as importantly, take time with your partner away from planning. Go on a date, no wedding talk allowed. After all, you’re marrying your partner because you love spending time with them so...spend some time with them!
