Just Engaged?

Firstly a huge CONGRATS on your engagement from us at Coast wedding! Your engagement is an amazing time in your life and you should totally enjoy this whole crazy journey you are on 🙂

You’re engaged! Woohooo! This is a special time in your life, as you’ve found the person you want to commit to and your beginning to plan the course of the rest of your life. So now where on earth do you start with this whole wedding planning thing? There is just so much to plan! When to have it… where to have it… who do I want to invite…. who do I have to invite? How much is this all going to cost? It can be totally overwhelming. So what should you do once you are engaged? Here are our tips on what you should do if you are planning a Central Coast wedding.

Here are a few overall tips to get you started!

We have been on this whole engagement, marriage ride so are speaking from experience here 🙂 So first things first….

Tell everyone you are engaged!

You probably can’t wait to tell everyone – and you should – but before you jump on your phone and Insta and Facebooking your happy news, take a moment to contact close friends and family. They love you, they’ve been there for your other important moments, and they deserve to know from you rather than an impersonal media site. Pull out your phonebook and start making calls. Once you’ve contacted those people that matter most, you can call the newspaper, send out that mass email, and tweet away.

Enjoy everything – Planning a wedding can get a little overwhelming and stressful. Try to have fun with it and enjoy every part together as a couple. If things start to get too stressful, take a break from it. Do something fun together and come back with new joy and enthusiasm.

Make your wedding about YOU – well-meaning family and friends may try to push their opinions on you. Telling you when and where you should have your wedding, who should come to your wedding, what you need to do at your wedding. The two of you and your connection are the whole reason for the day so don’t lose sight of that and do things just because you feel you should. As a couple, make sure you talk about what your priorities are for your wedding. And ultimately…..HAVE FUN!

Set a tentative date

This can be done before you share the news as, inevitably, one of the first questions will be “when is the wedding?” Talk to your future fiance and plan a rough date. This is a date that can be changed at a later time if need be, but gives you a starting point for the planning. There are many things that have to be planned well in advance, such as location and travel arrangements for guests, so a tentative date allows everyone to check their calendars and begin those important processes. It will also help you begin preparing mentally, emotionally, and financially for the big day.

Our advice at the very least, is to at least pick a season and even a month. As you may have to be a little flexible if you want to get the wedding venue and even some key wedding vendors that you want. If you are booking things more than a year out, then you have a better chance of securing everything. If you are booking your wedding less than a year out, just be prepared to be flexible with the date.

Start a wedding fund and think about a wedding budget.

Big or small, you’re going to need funds for your wedding. A peak-season wedding will cost more than an off-season one, and there are other factors, like travel, that will contribute to the total cost of your dream wedding. Preparing financially is key in beginning to plan the actual event. If you and your fiance are paying, open a joint account and figure out a monthly amount you’ll each contribute. If you have family and friends helping you pay for the wedding, you can arrange for them to pay into a fund or sit down with them and discuss who is paying for what.

I know, I know not the most exciting thing to think about. But probably something you should put a little thought into before throwing yourself into planning your wedding. Before you start looking at venues or trying on dresses and falling in love, it is probably best to have an idea of how much you want to spend.

Finding the Perfect Wedding Venue

The first thing you should do is to choose your wedding venue. Your whole wedding day will be based around the wedding venue you choose. Have you always pictured yourself getting married overlooking the ocean or do you absolutely love a rustic country wedding? Think about the setting that you would love to get married, then look for venues within that theme. The venue is the canvas on which you can style your wedding to give it the look and feel that is you!

You will need to have an idea of the number of guests you plan on having, as that will be a huge factor in choosing a venue. Some venues can comfortably cater to 100+ guests, others are better suited to smaller more intimate weddings. Once you have decided on the venue you could be capped on the number of people you can invite. Which might be a good thing if you want to keep it small!

A wedding venue will also be the backdrop for your wedding photos and video. So you want it to look good, but also work with what you are after.

Choose a date for your wedding

Once you have chosen a venue, you need to lock in a wedding date in based on their availability.

Choosing a wedding date can be a personal decision based on many, many factors. Often it is based on when you can get time off work, or when family & friends are around. You might also try for a special date for the two of you like your current anniversary. I married my husband exactly a year to the day that he proposed 🙂 Your favourite season is also a great way to decide when to have your wedding. Be it the long warm (sometimes very hot!) summer days, beautiful autumn or springtime when nature is working its wonders, or the cooler winter months with its stunning afternoon light. you could see what dates your venue has free that season and work from there.

Find a Team of awesome Central Coast Vendors for Your Wedding

So this may be the first time you have planned a wedding. So choosing vendors for your wedding can be a difficult task unless you are already in the industry.

It is a great idea to get recommendations from any family & friends as they may have the first-hand experience with working with them. But please check out our Vendor Directory. We have tried to find the best wedding vendors who are in or who service the Central Coast region.

The first vendor we suggest you book is an awesome wedding photographer and then a wedding stylist or planner and an amazing celebrant. These guys book out quickly, so often it’s worth seeing if their availability matches up with dates that your venue is available.

Styling and Wedding Flowers

Once you have your venue, your date and a few key wedding vendors, you can start some more fun stuff. Styling and decorating your wedding.

Determine the style and look of your wedding you want but don’t forget to think of what flowers will be in season when you get married. An awesome florist/ stylist will be able to work with you to create the look you want with what is available.

Find the perfect wedding dress

Wedding dresses take time especially if you are looking at a custom design, it could take 6-8 months from the original consult. Think about the style of wedding you are planning does the dress suit it? Pro tip from us… try to find a dress that you move in unassisted and are still able to party with.

Engagement Photos?

Engagement photos are a great way to get a bit more comfortable in front of the camera and to get to know your photographer as well! Plus, they are really fun and a great way to celebrate your engagement. Pro tip from us… do the session somewhere completely different to your wedding location. That way you get photos that look totally different.

Is it too early to talk Honeymoon??

Planning your Honeymoon could even be more fun than planning your wedding!?! Planning your first holiday away together as a married couple… so exciting!!

Whether you are planning your honeymoon on the Central Coast, around Australia or overseas, we’ve scouted some amazing places to inspire you to have the most romantic or adventurous Honeymoon.

So, we hope we can inspire your Central Coast wedding and help you find awesome vendors. The most important thing is that you have fun and enjoy the ride!! ♥