Just Engaged? A Professional’s Guide to Your First Wedding Planning Steps

The weeks after getting engaged are exciting, emotional, and often overwhelming. Many proposals happen between Christmas, New Year’s, and Valentine’s Day, which means newly engaged couples are suddenly searching for guidance at the same time.

Where do we even start?

Wedding planners, photographers, DJs etc. agree that the early planning phase shapes everything that follows. The steps below are what experienced professionals recommend so planning feels intentional instead of rushed, especially for couples planning weddings here in Muskoka and surrounding areas where availability and seasonality matter.

Get Your Priorities Straight

Talk about priorities before details. Before setting dates, venues, or budgets, I recommend starting with a “what’s important to us” conversation. Not what’s important to your friends or family. Ask each other:

• What matters most to us?

• Do we want a simple legal formality, an intimate elopement, or a big ole party?

• A relaxed and fun atmosphere? A classy, bougie formal affair? An adventurous elopement?

• Traditional? Yes, no, or maybe a little?

• Do we want to include personal touches that make the day uniquely ours?

• What would make it feel meaningful, even if other details were kept simple?

Identifying top priorities early on in the process helps couples avoid unnecessary stress and compromises as you move through each planning stage.

Choose a wedding date with flexibility

Setting a date is one of the first base-decisions, but I always recommend flexibility rather than rigidity.

Your date may hold personal meaning, or it may be influenced by season, availability and budget. In regions like Muskoka and Simcoe County, our shorter wedding seasons create higher demand for popular venues, causing dates to book up quickly. Being open to a range of dates, or even strategic weekdays, can open up more venue and vendor options.

Locking in a preferred season or preferred date range early gives you direction without limiting your choices. Here’s a post I wrote about the best months to get married in for our area.

Set a realistic budget range

Your wedding budget should not be a single number - think of it as a “doable range”.

Early conversations about “how much” and “where the money is coming from” are essential. Will you be contributing yourselves? Will family be involved? Clarity about money reduces tension later.

Professionals often note that flexibility, guest count and priorities matter more than the total number itself.

Draft a working guest list

Guest count and budget go hand in hand. Rather than starting with a random number, make a list of the people you truly want present to witness your marriage. From there, you can refine based on venue capacity and budget range.

Research venues early

Once you have a sense of season - guest count and overall vision - you can begin researching venues.

I recommend touring a small shortlist and asking detailed questions about logistics, timelines and restrictions. Venue choice affects everything from guest experience to food options and photography timelines.

From a planning perspective, the venue is the backbone of the day. Here’s a list of Muskoka’s Best Wedding Venues to get you started.

Book your photographer early

Once your venue and date are secured, I recommend making key vendors such as photography, DJ, planners etc. a priority.

Highly sought-after vendors book early and chemistry matters as much as talent. You’ll be spending a lot of time working with them over the coming months so a good relationship is crucial. Well-established photographers often book a minimum of 12 months out. For popular dates and venues I generally book 14 to 18 months in advance.

Beyond availability, photographers play a key role in shaping timelines, lighting plans and flow. A good wedding photographer will share their wisdom and experience in helping you shape your timeline allowing you to maximize your time together.

Create a simple planning checklist

Once your date or venue are set, a checklist helps planning feel manageable.

Lucky for you, I’ve created a checklist to help get your started and keep you going right up to your I Dos. You can check out my Ultimate Wedding Planning Checklist here. Professionals caution against setting unrealistic deadlines - the goal is steady progress, not pressure.

BE ORGANIZED FROM THE BEGINNING

Wedding planning involves a lot of communication and documentation - more than most couples expect. After 15 years of shooting weddings and working with hundreds of couples, here are a couple quick suggestions

• A dedicated wedding email address to streamline communication

• One central place for contracts, receipts and other important documents

FAQ - What to Do after getting Engaged

Here are some rapid-fire FAQs to kickstart your wedding planning after you get engaged.

• Do we need a venue before hiring vendors?

  It’s helpful, but not necessary. The venue determines your date, capacity, logistics and sometimes which vendors are available. Booking a venue first prevents conflicts and rebooking later. That said, it’s not necessary - I’ve booked many couples over the years who didn’t have their venue yet - but wanted to lock down their photographer right away.

• How long does it usually take to plan a wedding?

  Generally, engagements last 12 to 18 months, though timelines vary based on season, location and guest count.

• Is an engagement photo session worth doing?

  I strongly encourage engagement sessions because they give couples a relaxed, low-pressure way to get comfortable in front of the camera and build trust with me well before the wedding day. Most nerves come from not knowing what to expect. Almost every couple says the same thing afterward - they arrived feeling nervous, then quickly realized the experience was far easier and more natural than they thought it would be.

• How soon should we book a wedding photographer?

  Most experienced photographers recommend booking as soon as you have a date or strong venue shortlist. For popular dates I often book 14 to 18 months in advance. If you know which photographer you want, book them right away.

• Is it harder to plan a wedding in Muskoka?

  Weddings in Muskoka and cottage country have shorter seasons creating higher demand for those limited dates. This makes early planning and flexibility so important.

If you’re newly engaged and still figuring out what the next steps look like, this is often the right time to start a conversation. Even early questions can help bring a little more clarity and confidence to the planning process.