Black and white photo of newly engaged couple holding hands

SOAK IT ALL IN

Enjoy this time celebrating your engagement with friends, family and your new fiancé, because once you get into wedding planning mode it’s going to be pretty consuming. You’ll only be able to call him your fiancé for a short amount of time so say it often. Annoy all your friends, blast it on social media, flash that ring at every opportunity, be that girl.

PICK A DATE

If there’s a sentimental date that you’re absolutely set on, perfect. If not, consider what time of year you’d like your wedding to be and keep your dates flexible so it’s easier to find a venue with availability. Keep in mind that planning a wedding during the height of summer means you’ll be paying substantially more and have a harder time finding a venue and vendors. Weekday options are also a way to save some money and lock down the vendors you want. My personal favourite wedding dates are in fall when the temperatures drop a bit and everyone’s busy schedules settle down.

PICK A VENUE

Many popular wedding venues in Calgary are booking two and three years in advance so don’t wait to start touring and chatting with your favourite venues. The more popular a venue is the more you can expect to pay. Some out of the box venue ideas are, your favourite restaurant or bar, your family property, a friend’s backyard.

LOCK DOWN YOUR VENDORS

Post covid everyone in the wedding industry is extremely busy and booking very far in advance so please don’t wait to reach out. Start talking to married friends about what vendors they used and their experiences with them. Start creeping your fave vendors on Insta and narrowing down which ones have the style that you’re looking for. Make sure that you meet and talk with each vendor prior to booking , either in person or virtually. Choosing the right vendors will ensure that your day runs exactly as you’re imagining. These are the most important vendors to lock down right away:

Photographer (obviously)

Planner or day of co-ordinator (in my opinion it is absolutely essential to hire one of these)

Officiant

Hair and makeup

Florist

* all wedding vendors are equally important but in my opinion these are the ones that book the furthest in advance

Bride gets makeup done before her wedding in downtown Calgary, Alberta

GO DRESS SHOPPING

Gather your girls and plan a shopping day. It can take a year or more if you’re ordering a dress, so book your shopping appointment ASAP. There are some amazing bridal shops in Calgary that have a wide range of styles and budgets.

BOOK YOUR ENGAGEMENT SESSION

Most photographers include a complimentary engagement session when you book a wedding package. This is a great way to get comfortable being in front of the camera, get to know your photographer and have some nice photos of the two of you to use for your save the dates or wedding website. I always recommend trying to book your hair and makeup trial for the same day as your engagement session so you can get an idea of how it will photograph on your wedding day.

START PLANNING ALL THE FESTIVITIES

Some of the parties and celebrations that couples like to have prior to the wedding are an engagement party, bachelor and bachelorette party and bridal shower. These are a good opportunity to work with some of your wedding vendors like your florist, hair and makeup artist and photographer.

Bride and groom take tequila shot during their wedding ceremony at Bearspaw Golf Course in Calgary, Alberta

KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON

This is such an exciting time but wedding planning can be consuming, stressful and expensive. Try to keep things in perspective. Your wedding is just one day of your life. Carve out time with your fiancé where do have fun and do activities that take your mind of wedding planning for a bit. As I mentioned earlier I believe that its essential to have a wedding planner or day of co-ordinator. This will take so many little details off your plate and allow you to enjoy the process.