Five months ago, Thomas and I got engaged – woohoo – and I have to say, it has been interesting being on the other side of all of these events. After years of putting the client first, we suddenly were the clients. We were on the receiving end of the endless questions – “When’s your date? Where are you getting married? Who is going to take your photos?”

I’m going to do a blog series with tips for brides – I’ll fill you in on lessons I’ve learned and tips along the way.

So, beyond taking time to just enjoy being engaged before you run full force into planning and checking your spam folder (because sometimes good emails end up there) – my first tip is about priorities.

We’ve all got some sort of budget to work with and your priorities will set the stage for the day. Before you get quotes from vendors – take a week and think about what is important to you both as a couple.

Pick two or three priorities. These three will be the areas where you’re willing to splurge or go above and beyond to make them happen. You can cut back in a few other areas to make your priorities stand out.

Our three were photography, decor details, and making sure our dogs could be included in our day.

We knew we were willing to make sacrifices elsewhere to work with our priorities.

Here is a little more insight into our priorities:

• It goes without saying that photography is important to us. We’ve got a whole story about that decision – but you’ll hear that soon in an upcoming blog. Photographs are one of the only things we’ll have left at the end of the day. Personally, we didn’t want to split that budget between a videographer and a photographer. We wanted to hire a kick ass photographer because that was our priority. I rarely watch movies. I don’t watch TV. We weren’t going to get value out of a DVD that sat on our shelf 364 days a year.
• Decor details. I’ll blame photography on this one too. I’ve spent hours looking through styled shoots and I love how unique details can make a wedding. But I’ve also heard about how too many DIY details can be stressful – and surprisingly expensive. We’ve hired a stylist (think interior decorator for weddings) to take our vision (made up of a handful of pins – not hundreds or thousands) and make it come to life. She’ll ensure that there is consistency and that there are meaningful details to represent us. Plus, she already owns so many fun goodies – we don’t have to spend our time hunting for them.
• Our dogs. Oliver and Canon have become a big part of our relationship and we wanted to make sure they could celebrate with us! You know what that meant? Crossing some of my dream venues off of the list. But that’s okay – because exchanging vows with our pups at our feet means more to us than a waterfront view, a beautiful garden, or a historic home.

Those are our priorities that set the stage for a lot of our decisions going forward. Next post I’ll be diving into picking a color scheme and using pinterest to help guide you but not overwhelm you. In the future, I’ll also be talking about how we picked our photographers, what to look for in a venue, and how to get the best “getting ready photos” on your wedding day.

Heck, if you want to share your own experience – I’d love for you to be a guest blogger and share your own insight! Shoot me an email at emily[at]theganeys[dot]com.

Hugs!