Congratulations—you’re engaged! Now that you’ve found that special someone to build a future with, the most exciting time of your life is about to begin. Enjoy this moment and take time to remember the feeling.

ANNOUNCE YOUR ENGAGEMENT

You have big news—so pick the right time and place to let everyone know. Family dinners or holiday parties are perfect—everybody’s there to help you celebrate. You’ll have to tell some people over the phone, but try to share this news in person with as many as you can. It's not often we get to celebrate something so exciting! Once you’ve told those closest to you, think about your wedding date, or at least the time of year. Then, submit your announcement with an engagement photo to local papers.

DREAM YOUR PERFECT WEDDING

Most brides have pictured their wedding since they were very young. Now that your wedding is about to happen, let yourself dream again. Think of the perfect setting, see yourself in the dress of your dreams, hear the music, smell the flowers and imagine the cake. Aim for the things that make you happy without worrying about expense or practicality. When you develop your wedding plan, you can choose those parts of the dream most important to you and eliminate those that aren’t essential. In this way, you’ll come closest to the wedding you’ve always imagined.

GETTING ORGANIZED

Consider A Wedding Consultant.
If you don’t have the time to handle a lot of details, a wedding consultant can make wedding planning easy and will provide many creative ideas for you. A wedding consultant is particularly helpful in planning an out-of-town wedding.

CREATE A PLANNER

Keep all your notes, brochures, magazine tear-outs, ideas and contact numbers in one place. You can purchase a formal wedding planner at a bookstore, or a simple three-ring binder will do the trick.

Most importantly, have a system that works for YOU. Start brainstorming with your fiancé, friends and family.

Whatever your situation is, be sure to know how your wedding will be paid for before you begin your planning. It’s a lot easier to cut back in the beginning than later on.

THE GUEST LIST

Start building a complete and accurate guest list. Confirm spelling, zip codes and apartment numbers. Use this list not only for your wedding invitations and thank you notes, but to share with your shower hosts for their invitations. Ideally, a computer file would be the most convenient way of maintaining a database of names. If you don’t have access to a computer, an index card file also works well. Keep your file in alphabetical order with current address information.

You should also note on each card the following:

• Which showers should they be invited to?
• Have you sent an invitation?
• Have they responded Yes or No?
• Gift name and date received
• Date Thank You sent

Remember that you won’t know exactly how many guests you can invite until you decide on your reception location and know the capacity—but get started early because it’s a big job.