Recently Engaged? Here are the First 3 Steps to Start Planning:

When planning your wedding, there a three steps to help you get going.  When followed in order they should really help you start you off in the right direction and ease your initial anxiety when it comes to planning your wedding.

1.  Sit down with your fiance and put together a tentative (very tentative) guest list.  Discuss your vision for the wedding.  Is it going to be small and intimate or a large celebrations?  Once you have a range of what the headcount could be, that allows you to continue to step two.
2. Next you will want to find a venue.  This is important as you will not really have a date set in stone until you choose a venue.  With knowing a tentative head count you will be able to narrow down your venue as some have maximums and minimums.  You will also need to think about your guests that will be traveling and the available lodging nearby.  This step can take a while as you may want to set appointments to view the venues to get a feel for them in person.
3. Now that you have a date set, the fun begins!  You will want to book your photographer next as they do book up quickly.  Always look for a photographer that includes the reprint rights, a second photographer and a payment plan.   These are musts to make sure you own all of your pictures after the wedding and two photographers will help you capture the entire day.

-Keith Phillips, Classic Photographers