I’m so excited for the first installment of our new weekly feature: Engagement 101. The wedding planning process can be joyful, happy, exciting, and fun, but it can also be confusing, stressful, and difficult. That’s where our StudioWed vendors come in! I’ve polled them, asked questions, and generally picked their brains for what to do when you get engaged. Whether it’s when to hire your florist vs. when to hire your band, etiquette, trends, do’s and don’ts, and more, we’ll discuss it here for Engagement 101!

So call all your friends and family with the good news, post a picture of your ring on Facebook, and then learn all about the wedding planning process from us!

Planning a wedding can be daunting, especially when you have other things going on in your life. Enter a wedding planner! From Katy of Sashay Events: “Sometimes you need a planner to help you with every step along the way, including finding your venue, but other times, you just need someone to support the decisions you have made as you approach your wedding date.” Planners can be involved from start-to-finish, designing the overall look of your wedding along with the other duties, or they can step in later to help finalize contracts, manage your budget, construct a solid day-of timeline, and help the wedding run smoothly.

So when do you need to hire a wedding planner?

Wedding planners can be hired as far as a year in advance. Since they can only work one wedding per day, good planners tend to book quickly.

What should you look out for when hiring a wedding planner?

Katy of Sashay Events explained it this way: “When interviewing potential planners, be sure to understand exactly what they are offering you and that they meet your specific needs. You want to connect with a planner on a personal level, feel confident in their ability to represent you, and carry out your wedding day as planned.

Wedding planners eat, sleep, and breathe weddings! All of the things, like timelines, budgets, and dealing with all of the small details, that seem so overwhelming to you are all part of the job to planners. If you can’t hire a full service wedding planner, definitely look for a day-of or month-of wedding planner. You need someone there on the day of to keep calm, execute your vision, and remind you to breathe and soak in the moments you planned all year for!

StudioWed Wedding Planners:

Lemiga Events, Michelle Gainey

Sashay Events, Katy Cobb and Alyssa Olson