Someone just proposed marriage to you. First - congratulations! Second, I bet you're lost. What do you do now?!?!?!

Beginning the journey from engagement to marriage is quite a process. One of the first things I will tell you to do is to enjoy your engagement. Throw a dinner party with your favorite people. Go to a bar and have one of you scream aloud - "We're engaged!" and wait for the cheering. Go to a normal event with your family and surprise them with the news. Create a cute video for social media. Or, celebrate with just the two of you doing your favorite things and talking about what your marriage will be like. In fact, I really encourage you to do the last one no matter what.

After celebrating, your next step is to start planning. And it starts with ideas. Think about things like:
- Whether you want a wedding or to elope!
- If you're eloping, what does that look like? The local courthouse? With or without family and friends? What would you wear? Are you celebrating with people afterward?
- If you're traveling away for your elopment, where are you going? How will you get there? Where will you stay? How can you get legally married there? Are people coming with you?

If you're doing a wedding, well, that's where I come in as a coordinator!
Ideally, hiring a planner or coordinator is your first best step. Why? Because we can help you with everything else afterward, and you don't have to worry about what's next or how to do it. We're experts, so we can give you the best advice, how-tos and what to-dos (better than your grandma, or mom, or best friend, or cousin, etc). I know you love your family, but unless they are wedding professionals, they will have opinions and want you to do it "their" way. As a coordinator or planner, I don't have that bias. I want your wedding to be YOUR WEDDING. So think about that.

You'll find lots of timelines online, but the first step is kind-of a twofer:
- You need to figure out where you will have your ceremony and where to have your reception,
- What date your wedding will be on

Some couples are really tied to a particular date - 02/02/2022, or 06/06/2026. for example. If that's the case, then you might have to shop around for a venue that has your date open.

If you're not tied to a particular date, then your choices are much larger! Look at indoor venues and outdoor venues, if weather appropriate. Do you like the feel of the venue? Can you imagine your wedding there? Does it fit all the guests you want to have? What rental or contract criteria do they have that will limit what your wedding can have, do, or be?

More on picking out a wedding venue here. A venue is simply the place where something happens.

Once you have your venue, it's a matter of selecting all of your vendors. Vendors are people who buy and sell goods and services. In the case of a wedding, these vendors are wedding or hospitality related. Vendors you will need to consider for your wedding include, but are not limited to this list:
- Attire
- Hair & Makeup
- Rentals
- Photographers
- Videographers
- Stationers
- Calligraphers
- DJ
- Musicians
- Catering
- Florist
- Bartending
- Officiant
- Dessert

You can find all kinds of tips on my Instagram. I also follow a lot of vendors in Oregon, so take a look at who I follow, some of my posts, or whose videos or photos I repost! You can also send me an email  to ask about local Eugene/Springfield vendor recommendations.