Table of Contents:
- FAQ’s About Getting Engaged
- What are some good things to buy after getting engaged?
- How long after getting engaged do you ask your bridesmaids?
- What do I do when a friend gets engaged?
- What’s the first thing to do after getting engaged?
- What are some fun things to do while engaged?
- How soon after you get engaged should you start planning?
- 10 Things to Do After Getting Engaged
- 1. Celebrate by yourselves first
- 2. Plan a special date night
- 3. Tell your loved ones
- 4. Get your rings sized + insured
- 5. Dream about your wedding together
- 6. Start planning only after you’ve had time to celebrate
- 7. Think about potential wedding locations
- 8. Talk through your budget & priorities
- 9. Reach out to your top photographers + videographers
- 10. Pick your wedding party, if you’re having one
- 5 Things NOT to Do After Getting Engaged
- 1. Post about it immediately on social media
- 2. Start planning your wedding the next day
- 3. Go on Pinterest to find inspiration
- 4. Invite 300 guests right off the bat
- 5. Pick a date that feels rushed
WOOHOO – you’re engaged!! There’s now a ring on your finger, all the feels are still fresh, and you’ve realized you’ve just said yes to spending the rest of your life with your partner (whether you’re the one who proposed, or the one who got proposed to). But wait: now that you’re engaged, IT’S FINALLY HAPPENED, what do you do now?! You’ve made it to the right place, my friend – we’re here to walk you through the 10 best things to do after getting engaged, as well as 5 things NOT to do after getting engaged.
We hope this list helps ya feel confident in this exciting season of life that you’re now in, and that you leave feeling ready to CELEBRATE + plan the perfect wedding for you!
For a few of the 10 things we give you to do after you get engaged, we’re going to include mini sections for two different kinds of weddings: one section of advice for more traditional weddings, and one for smaller elopements. Follow along with whichever section suits the wedding day you’re planning together!
FAQ’s About Getting Engaged
First, let’s start this off with some questions we commonly see couples ask about getting engaged. In fact, these are so commonly asked that they were some of the first questions to pop up in that “People Also Ask” section of Google – so we figured we’d answer them while we’re at it!
What are some good things to buy after getting engaged?
One of the first things you’ll want to buy after getting engaged is ring insurance! Yup – did you even know that was a thing?? After all, you are spending a good chunk of money on gorgeous rings for the two of you, so hell yeah you wanna make sure you get those things insured! Skip down to this section of this post for more deets on that.
Some other things you may consider buying after you get engaged:
- A bottle of your fave champagne to shake, pop, and celebrateee
- Announcement cards to send to your long-distance friends & fam, if that’s more your vibe than making an announcement post on social media
- A meal at your favorite restaurant for a celebratory date, just the two of you
- A manicure to show off that glistening new ring on your finger 😉
- A couples massage to help you relax & breathe in the excitement together
How long after getting engaged do you ask your bridesmaids/men?
It’s totally up to you. If you’re having any sort of wedding party for your elopement/wedding, we’d recommend asking them as far in advance as possible, once you’ve decided who you’d like to stand by your side on the big day. This will make sure they have time to support you + help you, plan your bachelor/bachelorette parties if you’re having them, and especially time to save up some money – because being a member of a wedding party has costs that come with it, like buying your attire and gifts for the couple!
What do I do when a friend gets engaged?
SUPPORT THEM! If your bestie gets engaged, the first thing you should do is help them celebrate and show them your love & support. You can help them plan later on and dream up all the pretty wedding inspo once the engagement isn’t quite so fresh – for now, just be by their side, show your care for them (through words, gifts, quality time; whatever your love language is), and celebrate the hell outta them!
What’s the first thing to do after getting engaged?
That’s a great Q – you’re a few steps ahead of us! Skip down to this section if you’re already ready to find out the first thing to do after you get engaged 😉
What are some fun things to do while engaged?
This is a great question – because your engagement deserves to be FUN, especially fresh after you’ve said the big “yes!” It’s super important that you cherish this special season of your lives, and that you’re intentional about celebrating together in ways that feel fun + meaningful to the two of you.
Here are some fun things to do while you’re engaged to help you make the most of it:
- Plan extra special date nights – once a week? Once a month? Whatever’s realistic for you!
- Go on a mini getaway – take a little roadtrip one weekend and find a cozy Airbnb to stay in. Do what you love to do together: go on a hike, read & cuddle in bed all day, hang out with your pups, you name it. You deserve an escape from normal life and to celebrate in an exciting way!
- Go back to where you had your first date – and let the nostalgia absolutely take over.
- Hang out with your married friends – get their advice, ask what they would do/wouldn’t do if they were to plan a wedding again, etc. Real-life experience + tips from people you trust are always SO helpful.
How soon after you get engaged should you start planning?
We recommend taking as much time as you can once you’re engaged to let it soak in, and simply enjoy it together. Whether this means a few days, a few weeks, or a couple of months, allow there to be some time between your engagement & when you start planning to really be intentional together and be present in this exciting season of your lives together!!
10 Things to Do After Getting Engaged
Now, let’s move into what you’re here for: the 10 first things to do after you get engaged!
1. Celebrate by yourselves first
First things first: CELEBRATE! Can you tell yet that we’re big fans of really celebrating and enjoying the moment when you get engaged? 😉
It’s super easy to dive straight into wedding planning – trust us, we know how exciting it is! But if you get engaged and the next day, you start immediately planning all the things, it’s not too hard to get overwhelmed and stressed quickly by everything that goes into wedding planning. Yes, planning is SO exciting, but does come with a lot of work, energy, time, and money. So we really encourage you to take intentional time to celebrate together once you’re engaged. Enjoy the fresh feelings, go on fun date nights, take it allll in that you’re soon going to promise to spend the rest of your LIVES together!
For traditional weddings:
If you’re planning on having a traditional wedding that’s fairly far into the future (8 months, 12 months, 18 months, etc.), you have PLENTY of time to celebrate before you start planning. Take advantage of it by giving yourselves at least a few weeks, first!
For elopements:
If you’re planning on eloping fairly quickly, you may have less time to celebrate before you start the planning process. We REALLY recommend still taking a little while to enjoy the excitement before you head straight into elopement planning – even if it’s just a couple days or one weekend away together!
2. Plan a special date night
During this time of celebration, plan a special date night (or multiple!) for the two of you to escape a bit from your life and really take it all in together. Let this date be solely about celebrating and focusing on each other, and NOT a time to start wedding planning – you can start that soon enough, we promise!
Figure out a fun activity to do together, go back to the place where you had your first date, eat at your favorite pub, go on a lovely hike, do whatever the hell you love to do together and be super present + intentional with it.
This goes for all couples, no matter if you’re going to be planning a traditional wedding or an elopement!
3. Tell your loved ones
Once you feel like you’ve allowed time for your fresh engagement to sink in, and celebrated enough on your own, it’s time to tell your loved ones! You can do this whenever you’d like – it doesn’t have to be after a few months of celebrating. Do it whenever feels right to you, and whenever you feel like you’re both ready to allow people into this special season of your lives with you.
For traditional weddings:
If you’re having a traditional wedding, you’re probably inviting the majority of your closest friends & family – so when you announce your engagement, you can tell them how excited you are to celebrate your big day with them! They’ll be ECSTATIC and you can right away start to dream up your perfect day with your BFF’s.
For elopements:
If you’re going to elope with a smaller group of people, chances are you’re not inviting your entire family or group of friends – you may be keeping it more intimate. If this is the case, you may find it harder to tell your loved ones about your engagement if you know in your head you won’t be inviting all of them! It can be scary telling your loved ones they’re not invited to your wedding, but keep in mind you don’t HAVE to tell them yet – you can do it later on. Or, if you would like to tell them ASAP, do it gently and remind them that they’ll be there in spirit, and that you’re doing this to focus on yourselves! Hopefully they’ll be there to support you, or in time they’ll realize you’re doing what’s best for you.
4. Get your rings sized + insured
Now we’re talking about that glistening beauty on your finger: it’s time to get it sized + insured! We want to make sure your fancy new jewelry doesn’t fall off your finger or cut off your circulation, AND that it wouldn’t be a devastating loss if something happened to it, or if you lost it. Check out this awesome in-depth article by Brides Magazine about ring insurance to find out more about how to get the best insurance for your rings!
Do this whether you’re having a large wedding or a small elopement!
5. Dream about your wedding together, and what would be most meaningful
Alrightttt and it’s time to start DREAMIN’! Have a night or a date where you sit down together and start simply dreaming about your wedding. What it would look like in a perfect world, if money wasn’t an issue, if you could have EVERYTHING and EVERYONE you wanted. Don’t think too hard yet, and don’t let logistics/reality deter what you’re thinking. Just spit it out, write it down, and think through what would be most meaningful to the two of you!
For traditional weddings:
Some things to consider if you’re going to be having at traditional wedding:
- What traditions do we feel are truly meaningful to us?
- What traditions aren’t so meaningful that we don’t feel the need to include?
- How can we make sure our guest list is only filled with people we really want at our wedding?
- Would it be more meaningful to have a registry with items, or with experiences (such as money toward our honeymoon or activities for us to do together)?
- Do we want our timeline to look fairly traditional and strict, or do we care if we stray from the norm?
For elopements:
Some things to consider if you’re going to be having a smaller elopement:
- What meaningful activities can we incorporate into our day?
- What people in our lives would be the most meaningful to celebrate with on the day-of? Who will fully support, love, & encourage us?
- What vibes are we going for, and how can we pull those off through our vendors, guests, decor, and elopement timeline?
6. Start planning only after you’ve had time to celebrate
AGAIN: please please give yourselves time to celebrate. Once you’ve done that, then you can start the planning process: picking vendors, figuring out a date, talking through your budget, inviting guests, the list goes on.
For traditional weddings:
For larger weddings that will take more time to plan, and that may require a venue to be booked far in advance, we’d recommend trying to nail down a few good dates before anything else! This way, you can get your dream venue booked and will be able to get married in the season/time of year you want.
For elopements:
If you’re planning an elopement but have no idea where to start or what to do, be sure to check out our recent blog post, How to Plan an Elopement in 2022-2023: The Ultimate Guide!
7. Think about potential wedding locations
It’s time to start thinking about where the “I do’s” are going to happen!
Here are some questions to ask yourselves when considering potential locations, whether you’re having a traditional wedding or an elopement:
- What locations are meaningful to us & our journey together? (special date spots, favorite weekend hikes, places you’ve always wanted to go together, where you got engaged, etc.)
- What type of vibe are we going for with our wedding, and how can we make sure our location aligns with that?
- If you want to get married outdoors: what type of environment makes us feel most at peace/do we thrive in? What type of weather do we love and hate? Mountains, desert, forests, oceans, tropical, warm vs. cold, humid vs. dry, etc.
- Where can our loved ones realistically travel to?
- Do we want to be able to visit our location/venue before the big day, or are we okay with pictures/a virtual tour?
8. Talk through your budget & priorities
Let’s talk money, honey! Sit down with a glass of your fave drinks and get ready to talk about finances. It is SUPER important to have open, honest discussions about money when it comes to your wedding. You want to make sure you’re both on the same page and feel comfortable + confident about what you’re spending, and what you’re spending it on.
We recommend telling each other your top 2-3 priorities, and narrowing down a list of your top priorities as a couple (e.g. photographer, decor, your honeymoon, flowers, etc.). Have those be the pieces of your day you spend the most money/splurge on, and let the rest be DIY, or elements you spend less on! Get clear on what’s most important to each of you, how much money you have to spend on your wedding, and how to allocate it.
9. Reach out to your top photographers + videographers
Once you have a good idea of your venue and a few potential wedding dates, reach out to your dream photographers + videographers and find out their availability! It’s great to have a few dates in mind in case your dream vendors aren’t available for one of them and you want to make sure you’re able to hire them. Photographers and videographers usually book pretty far in advance, so it’s best to reach out as early as possible – trust us, we’re pros! 😉
10. Pick your wedding party, if you’re having one
Finally, if you’re going to be having any sort of wedding party, choose who you want to be a part of it and reach out to them! Make sure the people you choose are super special to you and are people you will be so happy to have by your side on the big day. Don’t choose anybody because you feel like you should, or like you owe them – this is YOUR decision!
5 Things NOT to Do After Getting Engaged
Let’s wrap up this blog post with a few things not to do after you get engaged!
1. Post about it immediately on social media
Give yourselves time to enjoy it & be present together before worrying about posting it on the ‘gram. Your followers can wait – this time is for the two of you!
2. Start planning your wedding the next day
We cannot state this enough: LET YOURSELVES HAVE TIME! If you start planning immediately, you leave yourselves no chance to take a breather and enjoy all the fresh emotions.
3. Go on Pinterest to find inspiration
Pinterest is great for inspiration, but not right away. Start dreaming up your day on your own, and picture what it would look like in your ideal situation. Later you can go on Pinterest for inspo, but if you go on there too early, it can be easy to just want to copy what others are doing and not really take the time to think through what your best day would be like!
4. Invite 300 guests right off the bat
Be super intentional with your guest list, whether you’re having a large wedding or a tiny elopement. Think through EVERY guest you invite – don’t just invite because you think you “should” or “have to.” You don’t want to invite everyone one your FB friends list only to end up regretting it!
5. Pick a date that feels rushed
Finally, don’t pick a date that’s too soon and will make you feel rushed in the planning process. Find a date far enough out that you’ll have PLENTY of time to plan and still enjoy the process, without having to scramble or panic to get everything done!
More Elopement/Wedding Planning Resources + Inspiration
If you loved this article about what to do when you get engaged, we’ve got even more gold for ya!! Check out our brand new elopement planning guide below, as well as one of our fave stunning Colorado elopements.
