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AKJFAKLDFJIEOF! YOU’RE FINALLY ENGAGED. HECK YEEEEEAAAS!!!  We LOVE hearing proposal stories and get teary eyed at all of them! Be sure to leave a comment below with yours, I’d love to hear ’em. Being engaged is one of the most exciting times as a couple and I want to help make sure it stays that way and you ENJOY this season! You deserve it. Oftentimes, this has been a moment you’ve dreamed of since you were a child.  I know first hand once you get over that initial “OMGOMGOMG YEAAAAS I am engaged” feeling calms down, the “Oh shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiet, we need to plan a wedding” starts to settle in…and it can get to be overwhelming! There are a lot of decisions to be made. Lot’s of opinions and endless choices.

I’ve been in your shoes and I definitely learned a few things I wish I knew then! I want all the newly engaged blissful feelings to last as long as possible. So, to help you skip the struggle, here are seven tips for newly engaged couples to help you savor this season of life! Time to grab a glass of your choice, ice cream, and dig in.

Need more help? I have tons of informational wedding blogs for you to check out right here!

SEVEN TIPS FOR NEWLY ENGAGED COUPLES

Tell your nearest and dearest then tell the world.

DUH! The biggest tip for newly engaged couples is share those in your close knit circle THEN tell the world.

Have an Engagement Party

The first soirée to celebrate the newly engaged couple is the engagement party! An engagement party is a great way to share the news with your closest family and friends! Some of my favorite local places in Dallas for Engagement Parties are: The French Room, House of DIRT, Sundown at Granada, Marie Gabrielle, The Woolworth, and Sixty Vines.

Savor Being Engaged For A Bit!

This is your permission slip to take some time and just enjoy it. Get some cute balloons that say “Engaged AF” or something fun! This is a very big time for you both, you have taken the first step in solidifying your relationship, and it deserves to be celebrated! Soak it all in, give yourself a few days, or even a couple of weeks to just sit back and enjoy the fact that you just committed to loving the same person forever! Don’t let the beauty of this phase get lost in the hustle and bustle of wedding planning.

 Decide what SEASON you want to get married. Then, choose a date around the venues and your personal availability.

Also, think about the time of day you envision your wedding. In the winter, you will be dealing with 5 pm sunsets and much earlier ceremony times. If you can’t imagine having the wedding over by 9 or 10 pm, consider a late spring, summer or early fall wedding since the sun sets much later.

You don’t have to take, or ask for, everyone’s opinions.

I am a biiiiiiiiiiiiig believer on making your day exactly how you want it rather than relying on the standards. Want a big fancy wedding? Or, is more a more intimate affair more your style? Or, do you prefer skipping the formalities altogether and eloping? DO IT! Oftentimes, everyone will have opinions and advice when it comes to your wedding. Sometimes, that advice will be helpful and totally appreciated! Other times, it’ll be unsolicited, awkward, overwhelming and make you feel pressured into taking it. The good news?

You have total control over what opinions you listen to. If you have expert event and wedding planners in your circle, they’ll most likely have great tips you’ll want to implement. However, if you have a relative who thinks your wedding is somehow their chance to live vicariously through you, simply smile and say thank you…then forget it happened. Unless you want to – you don’t need to take anyone’s opinions into account, and you don’t even need to ask for anyone’s opinions. Remember: This is YOUR day, and you only get to do it once!

Don’t spend every minute planning.

Weddings take tons of planning, time, and can give you countless stress headaches. But, it doesn’t have to be that way. The worst thing you can do is spend this sweet engagement season stressing and planning every minute of your free time.  Create a schedule. Break it into smaller chunks and tasks. Take your time and take breaks – and not just for a few hours. Set down your planning books, turn off your brain, and go on a date. Take a weekend trip to the mountains, the beach, or your favorite city. Try out a new restaurant in town. Grab a cocktail — or two. The only rule should be that you focus on your relationship and not the wedding. You’ll have plenty of time to plan, and you don’t want to get burnt out before the day is actually here!

This season of engagement only happens once. It’s an absolutely magical time and you don’t want to miss it! You’re not just planning a wedding at this time. This time should be about being in love, soaking up the excitement, and getting ready to start a brand new journey together.

Extra tip: Turn some wedding planning duties into mini dates. Cake tasting? Grab dinner afterwards. Looking at wedding photographers? Turn on your favorite Spotify playlist on, grab a drink, and sift through galleries together. The day of your engagement session turn it into a full wedding-planning day off. Have a drink beforehand and then, go to a fancy dinner since you’re already dressed up, right?

Get Inspired

Pinterest is an amazing platform to search for wedding ideas. Start an inspiration board and create subcategories to neatly organize your pins. If you don’t have a theme or color palette just yet, one may start to emerge by your pins. Oh, and don’t forget to follow along on Pinterest for some beautiful inspiration as well!

Hope these Seven Tips for Newly Engaged Couples helped ease any unnecessary stress! I know this is a lot of information to take in, but I hope that it helps you as you plan your big day and enjoy being newly engaged. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out and ask!

Kyrsten Ashlay Photography is a Dallas Wedding Photographer specializing in romantic, genuine, raw imagery for wildly in love couples.  I hope you found this information incredibly helpful while you plan for your upcoming Dallas wedding. To help you get started wedding planning – here are my top 40 Dallas Wedding Venues!  If you’re looking for a wedding photographer to capture your special day in Dallas or  the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, I’d love to hear from you! Or have you seen enough and want to book this Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex Wedding Photographer for your upcoming wedding or event?! Send me a note and let me treat you to coffee (or wine) – can’t wait to connect!