Just Engaged!

Find out what the first tasks to complete on your wedding checklist should be in this week's episode of From "I Will" to "I Do" with our special guests: Jess Levin of Carats & Cake, Hope Weis of Hope Weis Consulting, Terry Hall from Kleinfeld (because we know shopping for your dress is at the top of the list!) and Emily Reifel from CPS Events at The Plaza. Watch the show below or over at Google+:

If You Get Engaged On Christmas Eve or Christmas...

Don't forget to call the insurance company, if your fiance hasn't already, to add your engagement ring to your homeowner's policy.

With all the excitement of getting engaged making sure your ring is insured is probably not at the top of your list but it's important that this gets taken care of right away.

The January issues of bridal magazines are hitting stands this weekend if they're not already available so pick up a few and start tearing out pages for ideas.  Visit wedding websites and blogs and bookmark your favorite pages.

Don't think you need to plan everything in the next few days and weeks.  Take your time and enjoy your engagement.  There will be lots of fun bridal events to attend and parties to celebrate your upcoming wedding.

And as for your wedding dress, check your local bridal salons trunk show schedule to see which designers will be popping by with their latest collections.  You may want to wait until salons get the Spring 2011 dresses in before making your appointment because you'll have more to look through and try on.  They should arrive between January and early March.  The Fall 2010 and even Spring 2010 dresses will still be on the floor so you won't miss anything if you wait.

Just Engaged: What To Do First

I met a woman today who had just got engaged over the weekend and she was very excited but a little confused as to where to begin.

I told her she should register somewhere even if she only registers online and then goes to the stores in a few weeks.  It's important to create a registry because if friends and family want to get you an engagement gift it's better to have a few items on a registry then to receive unwanted gifts that you can't exchange or return.

I asked her if the ring was insured.  It was.

I asked her if she had any idea as to what type of wedding she wanted and she answered that she just knows that they want to get married in the next 6 to 9 months.  They don't want a long engagement.

These are some of the things every just engaged bride should think about.  The next steps should include:

Discussing your wedding budget with your fiance and both sets of parents to determine how much you can afford to spend on the wedding.

Looking at venues and thinking about possible wedding dates.

Subscribing to wedding magazines and start browsing wedding planning websites and blogs for ideas.

While you should wait until you book a venue to shop for your wedding dress, you may want to start searching online wedding dress galleries and designer websites to get an idea of the styles you like.

Draw up a preliminary wedding guest list to have an idea of how many people you are planning on inviting to the wedding.