YOU ARE ENGAGED! NOW WHAT?

• Happy New Year to everyone! You made it to 2014! What is the buzz for 2014? Many people got engaged in 2013, especially during thanksgiving, Christmas, and new years and there will be more to come for valentine's day! You are engaged, now what? You are happy, excited ,overwhelmed, received so many phone calls, text messages and your fb page is buzzing non stop! You stare at the ring over and over and after the initial shock wears off you are thinking, what is next? Here are some tips for your next step.

1. When the buzz wears off about your engagement, still enjoy it and take your time! As a planner, what i notice is so many people rush the engagement process and they don't enjoy it. Couples are planning weddings in less than a year. Couples automatically get pressure from family and friends with questions such as: did you set a date, where is the location, what are your colors, how big is the wedding going to be? etc...

2. Don't skip the engagement process. Many couples skip the engagement process because they are on a tight budget and sometimes feel it's unnecessary but actually it is. This is the time to get all your collective ideas together and bond friends and family. Include the save the dates, and engagement party.

3. Save the dates and engagement parties on a budget! Don't forget planners are also great to help you with the engagement process! Tips on including save the dates and engagement parties are:

• Find a photographer that is new to the industry and looking for experience. They can do your engagement pictures at a lower price or sometimes free! This will save you a ton of money. You can use the more experienced photographer for your wedding day!
• When photographers are giving you package options for your engagement pictures, choose the smaller package. Remember it's not your wedding day yet and you only need a few poses to pick from and the best one for your save the dates!
• Be creative with your save the dates! Find a graphic designer that will do it for a reasonable price and they are working on their portfolio to get the experience. Places such as vista print have reasonable prices where you can upload your picture and be creative with your own design.
• So many couples skip the engagement party or gathering! This is a great opportunity to join forces with family and friends and to announce your wedding party! Have a potluck party where you have everyone bring a dish, paper products, and alcohol, this will cut down on your budget!
• Have the engagement party at a club house or a close friend or family house member to save money on venue fees!
• Keep the party simple and nice, remember you still have to plan the wedding!

4. Last but not least, don't rush the process! We all understand couples have different goals and challenges in their life and some people want to get hitched right away but again enjoy the process and if you want a nice wedding the average time to plan is a year to a year and a half.

*Congratulations again to all the newly engaged couples and Selections Entertainment looks forward to service you!

www.selectionsent.com