Congratulations on your engagement! You’ve probably already been asked so many questions… When are you getting married? Have you picked your venue? When are you going dress shopping? It can all get a little bit overwhelming and you’re probably asking yourself ‘What should I do first?’. Well, we are here to give you a list of your very first steps after getting engaged.
Choose what type of wedding you want
“All couples want their day to be special and that takes lots of planning… Firstly, take your time. You only get to plan your wedding once. So, make sure it is relaxed. Decide on the kind of celebration you want and don’t feel pressurised. Allow your wedding to be the way you choose.” – Our Dream Wedding
Here are some helpful questions DJ Stevie Dee suggests you can ask to determine the type of wedding you want to have:
1) Do we want a big wedding or an intimate wedding?
2) Do we want our wedding in a traditional hotel wedding setting or something different, like a castle, marquee or an exclusive wedding house?
3) Do we want to have a church wedding or civil wedding ceremony?
4) Are we going to be using our savings or borrowing money to get married? Do we think our parents are going to help?
5) Should we go on honeymoon straight after the wedding or will we have a short holiday and then go on a honeymoon later?
6) Do we want a summer wedding, autumn wedding or a winter wedding around Christmas?
Familiarise yourself with the legal requirements
Your wedding ceremony will be some time from now, but it is one of the most important elements of your day. Getting legally married in Ireland can be a little confusing and at times, overwhelming. The team at Eloping in Ireland have broken it down for you below:
First book your date, ceremony venue and Officiant/Celebrant.
Then contact the Registrar by phone to register your intent to marry (e-mail communication is permitted after this). If you do not reside in Ireland the marriage application can be submitted remotely (e-mail/post). This must be fully completed a minimum of 3 months before your wedding but it’s recommended to allow considerably longer than this.
If the marriage application is submitted remotely you will be required to meet with the Registrar in Ireland 3-5 days before your wedding to finalize the paperwork. The legal & paperwork fee is €220. This is payable directly to the Registrar’s office and it includes your legal marriage certificate.
Set a date and start planning
When you’re ready to start planning, ease your way in slowly. One of the first things you’ll do once you get engaged is set a date!
Here are a few things to consider:
Your venue – this is a bit of a chicken and egg scenario and there’s no right or wrong way to go about it. Either pick your date and find a venue that’s available or pick your venue and see which dates they have on offer.
The time of year – consider if you’re after a sunny summer wedding, a festive Christmas wedding, or something else.
Your engagement length – work out how long you’d like to be engaged for.
Any dates that are special to you – for example, your dating anniversary or your parent's wedding anniversary.
Find your wedding supplier dream team
Your wedding suppliers are the ones who are going to bring your wedding dreams to life. Now that you’re engaged, these are the suppliers you should search for first:
Ceremony and reception venues, Photographer, Videographer, Band and DJ, Wedding planner.
We’ve created a Service Finder to help you find all your wedding suppliers. Click right here and take a look! You’ll put in the details you already know, along with the suppliers you are searching for. Any supplier who fits the criteria and is available on your date and in your location will get in touch with you and send you quotes. No more tedious Google searches!
When choosing your wedding venue, keep this in mind:
“Before you pick up the phone to a venue, think about what your wedding priorities are. Make a list and ask your partner to do the same. Maybe your list includes have top-notch food and epic drinks or maybe you want to have as many guests as possible. Try and understand early on that EVERYTHING can’t be your priority so pick your top three and invest in those to make them the best they can be for you or for your guests and then look to save money in other areas to compensate.” – Planned by a Pro