Wedding Wednesday: Engagement Photos!

It's been almost two years since I got engaged, and more than a year since we took our engagement photos, but other than a few teasers, I've never shared them on the blog. So, today is your lucky day! :)

Personally, I was way more excited about our engagement pictures than I was about our actual wedding pictures. Obviously, I loved the way our wedding photos turned out, but I have a theory about wedding photos: They are (almost) all pictures of a loving couple in a tux and a white dress. Yes, you can get pretty creative with wedding shoots, but I think engagement photos are where a couple's personality really comes through. Here are a few of my favorites from our November 2013 engagement shoot:

The First Ten Things to do After Getting Engaged

Obviously, you'll want to complete this checklist before starting any items in this post (or even before getting engaged, if possible!). But after the question has been popped, there are some things you should get started on fairly early if you want to have a stress-free planning process.

I've labeled this the "9-16 Months" checklist because I read somewhere the average engagement is 16 months long, but I know not everyone has the benefit (or curse, depending on your perspective) of a long engagement. Ultimately, I think these are the 10 wedding-planning items you should do first to avoid scheduling conflicts, set clear expectations and reduce stress, regardless of the length of your engagement.



1. Figure out your budget. Everything else on this list pretty much depends on this biggie: How much money do you have for your wedding? More importantly, how much do you want to spend? Now is also the time to figure out how much money (if any) your parents or other parties are planning to contribute, so you can all have the same expectations heading into the planning process.

The Only Wedding Checklist You'll Ever Need

I'm planning a short series of posts with helpful tips I learned while planning my own wedding over the past year, but before I begin posting any monthly checklists or what to look for in a wedding dress or how to narrow down your guest list, I thought it was important to start with the only things you really need to know before you get married: