What not to do as soon as you are engaged

Ladies hand showing off her engagement ring

So, your partner has popped the question and you said yes. Of course this is an exciting time and you want to shout about it to the world, but unless you are planning a very short engagement, what is the rush ? Enjoy this time and bask in your happiness as a newly engaged couple for a little first.

1. Unless you want to be bombarded with adverts and unsolicited messages on Facebook, don't rush to change your relationship status. As soon as you do, those pesky algorithms will flood your feed with what they consider "helpful adverts"

2. Don't rush out and buy your dress. Take some time to decide on your wedding style, our blog post "How to Define Your Wedding Vision" will help you get a clearer idea. There's no point choosing a dress and then realising it does not match your vision for your wedding day.

3. Accept help from friends and family and don't try and do everything yourself, unless of course you are creative and have the time needed to do it all. We did everything ourselves, except for our wedding favours, and although we loved spending time together as a couple getting everything sorted, we did need to be super organised and strict with our time.

4. Be strong, don't rush out and buy everything just because it says wedding on it. Once you decide what sort of wedding you want and what your budget, is then make a list. What does your ideal wedding day look like and how much would everything cost if you could have it all ? Then compare that to your budget and work out what you can actually afford. Our blog post "15 Wedding Expenses That You Forgot To Include In Your Wedding Budget" will help when setting your budget.

5. it is very tempting to start a diet immediately, but don't feel that you have to. Your partner proposed to you because they love you as you are, not how you may look in the future. If you decide later you would like to lose some weight before your big day that is fine, but bare in mind losing weight may also effect your choice of dress....another reason not to rush into buying something.

6. Don't book the very first venue you visit unless you have wanted to get married there forever and know it is perfect for you. Have a rough idea of guest numbers as there is no point looking at venues if they are going to be too big or too small for your numbers. Check out our blog post "11 Things To Consider When Choosing Your Wedding Venue" which may help you decide what you want from a wedding venue.

7. Most importantly, try not to stress about everything. This journey should be fun and all part of the experience of getting married. We all want our wedding day to be perfect, but if you spend too much time stressing about all the details it can quickly become a chore. If your budget allows consider hiring a wedding planner.....we would thoroughly recommend talking o Vikki at "Your Wedding Friend"