Engaged... Now what?

You've just gotten engaged and you want to scream it from the rooftop, but once you have texted/skyped/facebooked/etc everyone you know what comes next?

If people you know are anything like the people we know then most likely the first question you hear is "so when is the wedding?"

There are plenty of women out there who have thought long and hard about their wedding day, and there are plenty who haven't, but I'm sure most people haven't really thought long and hard about where they want to start.

I don't think there really is any hard or fast rule when it comes to step one of planning a wedding. There are people who think the venue is most important or others might think the dress or food, but really it comes down to what you think is the most important. Obviously there are going to be a couple of things that need to be decided upon fairly early on in the planning process - such as the venue, in case it becomes unavailable, but really if the first thing you want to do is rush out and buy your dream dress go right ahead!

All that said though, probably the most important thing you and your partner can talk about in the early stages of planning your wedding is the budget. Some of you may find that family or friends are wanting to contribute, others may be covering the cost themselves. Whichever scenario you find yourselves in, it is really important to discuss how much you are willing and able to spend and try to stick to that amount. You only have to watch any wedding-centric program to see that it's very easy to overspend on things. So it is definitely worth sitting down with your partner, and anyone else that is wanting to contribute, and draw up a budget. You can always go back to your budget and make any changes if you need to, but if you have something written down and something you can go back and refer to, it may make it a lot easier to keep track of how much you're spending.

Lastly, one thing I have heard a lot of people say is "enjoy being engaged", and I wholeheartedly agree. Enjoy it! Enjoy calling your partner your fiance, enjoy telling people you're engaged, enjoy admiring your gorgeous ring.. Enjoy this happy and exciting time in your life!