Where to start ?

Congratulations on getting engaged.

I think the first thing you really need to do is sort your budget out. Have a think about how much you can realistically spend on your wedding. Once you have this it will help you make decisions going forward. For example my budget is just over £20,000, so we had this in mind when looking at venues. In the end we booked a £12,000 venue which includes our DJ, catering all our silverware, linen etc.

You should also prioritise things that you want at your wedding. As you may find you have to choose between certain things due to budget. So I would sit down with your other half and make a list of things you must have, things you ideally want and then things that are last priority. This will help guide your decisions later down the line and you can focus on the top priorities first.

For an idea of costs if it helps you I have put some of my costs below.

* Photographer £650 for the day (family friend)

*Videographer £1250

*Venue £12,000

*Decor (chair covers, bows and table runners) £180

* Photobooth £425

* Cars £525

* Cake £350

* Pianist £338

* Make up for myself and 4 bridesmaids £400

Also when you decide on what things you want to book, make sure you shop around. There are so many suppliers and quotes can massively vary. For example I was quoted over £2000 for a videographer but I kept searching and was actually recommended someone who did a friends wedding and he was almost £800 cheaper.

Try not to let it overwhelm you, it is a lot of fun to plan, just take it step by step and have fun putting your day together

View quoted message Many thanks for this it feels very overwhelming! We've recently brought a new house soo the budget is tight i think venue with food and drinks etc will have to be around 7k . Top end. I think we will also have to donit out of season as well. I had no idea how expensive things were !

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Yes out of season and on a weekday will reduce the cost alot. We are getting married on a Thursday and its £8k cheaper than if we had gone with a Saturday.

Do lots of research and you will find what you want. I spent so much time researching when I first started planning. Also get a wedding planning book because they have so many tips in them, which really helped me.

I bought this one and can highly recommend it: https://busyb.co.uk/wedding-planner-book

I live in a similar area and only been engaged about 3 months myself. I looked (didn’t view in person) Langstone Quays I thought that looked lovely too

Congratulations! One thing that helped us at the beginning was for each of us to choose our top priorities so we could focus on these (and spend more on them/less on other stuff). Eg for both of us, a good photographer was an essential. We also wanted to prioritise venue but weren’t so bothered about matching outfits for the bridal party (saved a fortune by only providing outfits for the kids!).
Also, don’t forget to budget for the real essentials - like the ceremony itself (just paid for ours and it was almost £500 (varies on your area and is cheaper if you dont want the registrar to come to you) but cant get married without it!!).
Good luck - and dont forget the importance of some non wedding time 🥳