Newly engaged! Tips & advice!

A winter wedding will be beautiful - and quite a bit more affordable, as most venues consider winter the "off season". Even though 2024 seems like a long way off, now is a good time to start looking at venues and getting in touch to see what their availability is like, as with the pandemic, a lot of places are fully booked WAY in advance due to so many rearrangements.

I'd also recommend sitting down and having a serious think about what you can afford, what you can save up in the time between now and your preferred dates, and what you've seen at other weddings that you love and would like to have yourself. You and your partner need to keep yourselves in mind and prioritise what YOU want, not what anyone else will try to pressure you into because "it's the done thing" or "it's tradition". We live in 2022, we can set our own traditions!

Try to make a list of everything you think of when you think wedding, and decide between you what you like and don't like. Outside the box thinking comes later, as you'll dig around on Hitched and these forums and all the many articles out there and find inspiration. Also, if you don't already have a Pinterest board, start one! It's much easier to get inspiration when there's an algorithm making suggestions based on things you like - especially when it comes to things like colour schemes and the little details that make the day