The Post-Engagement Checklist

You're engaged! Congratulations, you're taking the next step with the person you love the most in the world and becoming a union. You may wonder, what do I do now? Don't let yourself get overwhelmed by newfound wedding stress and follow this post-engagement checklist!

1/ Get Your Ring Insured

One of the first things you should do after getting engaged is to get your ring appraised and then insured. This may potentially be the first time you've had such an expensive piece of jewellery that isn't reserved for special occasions only and the last thing you want to do is leave it in the nail salon, a restaurant bathroom or have it slip off your hand before you've been able to have it resized. If you're planning on proposing or you're dropping hints that you want them to pop the question then it would be smart to get the ring ensured prior to the proposal. It's going to be much safer in its box at the back of your sock drawer than on a hand!

2/ Spread The News

Start the phonecalls, post on social media, scream it from the rooftops! It's time to spread the wonderful news that you are soon to be betrothed; I would suggest telling the people closest to you (Parents/guardians, siblings and close friends) before posting it all over social media but to each their own! Don't make the mistake however of promising places in your wedding party or invitations to the wedding before having a proper discussion of the budget, guest list size and location of the wedding with your soon to be spouse, this is a sure-fire way to upset people later on!

3/ Bask In The Post-Engagement Glow

Revel in the excitement of being newly engaged and milk it for everything it's worth! You and your fiancé/fiancée are going to be the centre of attention for a few weeks after you've started to spread the good news to take the time to enjoy it and have fun. You (hopefully) only get engaged once so take full advantage of the warm fuzzy feeling.

4/ Get Your Ring Sized

Once you have the ring insured then it's time to make sure it's the perfect size for your hand, you don't want it falling off or cutting the circulation to your finger! Whether you're resizing the ring up or down there's going to be a cost and potentially a limitation to what they can and cannot do. Certain rings cannot be resized fully, eternity bands, tension rings and stainless steel, tungsten, or titanium rings are incredibly difficult to resize and in most cases, the changing of size can ruin it permanently! If you're planning to propose then you have two options, avoid these kinds of rings and buy a ring that the jeweller can guarantee being able to resize, then buy on the bigger side. Or covertly get their ring size, whether you borrow one of their rings that they regularly wear, enlist the help of a friend or family member or just ask!

5/ Discuss The Budget/Scope Of The Wedding

You don't have to set anything in stone yet but it's important to make sure that you and your fiancé/fiancée are on the same page about how much you want to spend on, where you want to have and how many people you want to invite to your wedding before you're too far into the planning process. You're a team remember! Break down the important aspects of a wedding and come to an agreement on the most you would be willing to pay for them, once you have a ceiling for spending them planning, later on, will be so much easier.

6/ Start To Roughly Draft The Wedding

Getting a good idea of aesthetics and necessities for your wedding day are important to have sorted from the get-go. You may need wheelchair access at your venue or a caterer able to accommodate specific food restrictions like allergies. You might want a huge wedding or want nothing more than a quiet elopement. Having a good idea of the important details means that you can plan the smaller ones accordingly. This also gives you a good idea of how you want to spend your budget and who you want to invite.

7/ Start Looking At Dates

You don't have to pick anything concrete but having a date is the first thing you'll need to book vendors (They need to know when you actually need them to work). You might want to get married on an anniversary, on a holiday or just have a specific date in mind, if so then great! Confirm that your partner is happy with this date and then start the process of planning! If you're not 100% then go detail by detail, if you want to get married in a certain season, if you want a weekend or weekday, if you want a year or two to plan and organise everything; breaking it down into certain aspects means you'll come to a happy medium much faster than just trying to pick a date out of the air and then hitting roadblocks later on in the planning.

8/ Plan An Engagement Party

If you don't want to spend the next month and a half going to dinner with estranged family members and coworkers then organise an engagement party! Kill two birds with one stone and meet everybody while throwing an absolutely savage party!

9/ Get Organised!

It's much easier to stay organised when you've put the building blocks in place from the very beginning. Keep a track on wedding finances by making a separate savings account just for the wedding that you and your partner can deposit money into monthly and can easily monitor where the money is being spent. Keep a list of things you need to do for different aspects of the wedding e.g. the dress, the venue, the cake etc. Wedding planning is as stressful as you let it be; so make sure you and your partner have an easy to follow and mutually agreed-upon system in play from the very first step!

10/ Get Your Nails Done

You may not have thought about it but you're going to be showing people your left hand on a regular basis for the next month or so. Get your nails done so your fingers look as good as your brand new ring! If you're not sure what to do with your nails then why not check out our bridal nail guide!

 

- Grainne