Getting engaged is a fabulous time. It is exciting and wonderful. When you finally find that one person you want to spend the rest of your life with, well nothing really compares to it. However, at some point, usually fairly early, the glow starts to fade and you realize you have a wedding to plan. So where to you start? Here on some tips to get the wedding planning ball rolling.

So what should you do first? One of the first things you should do is tell the persons closest to you about your engagement. Start with your parents. If at all possible, the parents should be told in person, with both of you present. After your parents you will need to tell other close family members, friends and then everyone else. There are different methods to announcing your engagement. Some popular methods include sending out formal announcements, having an engagement party or creating a wedding website and announcing your engagement and upcoming wedding details on the website.

The next thing you should think about is the guest list. Not just who might come but coming up with a final guest list rather quickly. It is important to have a finished guest list as soon as possible because it affects many areas of wedding planning. The amount of guests will affect the overall cost, the size of the ceremony and the reception and who gets notification of your engagement.

Another item which must be tackled, may very well be the most agonizing – the wedding budget. You really need to know how much money you have to spend on the entire day. The budget covers everything from the reception (including food, alcohol, seating, decorations, cake and entertainment) to the clothing, jewelry and stationery. You should come up with a number and then break it down into each category. Make sure you can afford everything you need but at the same time make sure you have enough to cover expenses.

You and your fianc should also sit down and discuss each other’s ideas of what you want the wedding to be like. There will undoubtedly be some areas where you do not see eye to eye on. You will need to discuss those areas in particular and compromise. Use this exercise as practice for years of comprise you will have together in your marriage.

Lastly you are going to have to choose the wedding date, the ceremony location and the reception location. People usually choose these three things together because you want locations which are relatively close to each other and ones which will fit into your wedding theme or feeling. Both locations need to be available on the same date.

All of these activities are part of big decisions. The good news is once you make the beginning decisions, the rest of the wedding planning will go more smoothly! Congratulations on your engagement and good luck with your wedding planning.