So, you've just got engaged to your best friend and partner, now what? In today's Limelight blog post, we're going to look at a few simple to-do's that can make the start of the wedding planning process much easier for you and everyone else that's involved.

Put together a reasonable timetable - The moment you start to tell loved ones that you just got engaged there first words out of their mouth will more than likely be...."congrats! I'm so happy for you!" and if they're not, then shame on them. However, after all of the well wishes flood in, everyone will want to know when is the wedding and unfortunately you can't be certain until you've got other aspects, like the venue, sorted out, It's important to pick a decent sized range for you and your fiancé to think about.

Gather inspiration and select your style - Although you may have dreamed about your wedding day since childhood, the wedding industry is ever changing and new ideas are constantly gaining and losing traction. Be sure to take some time and explore what options are out there when considering the style of your wedding, use resources like The Knot and Pinterest to build or tweak your style. It's also a lot easier to tweak your wedding early on in the process than it is days before the big day, so unless the late change is absolutely necessary, try sticking to your original plan.

Create a budget - This is a vital step in the wedding planning process and needs to be addressed no matter how little fun it may seem like it will be. Sit down with your fiancé and start getting some concrete numbers on how much the two of you can spend, then talk to everyone that will be contributing toward the budget and get concrete numbers from them too. Even after this is done it's probably best to try and stay under budget as best you can.

Get your venue - The venue is one of the most important aspects of the wedding and will also allow you to determine another crucial part of the wedding planning process, the date. If you're going to use a consultant be sure to put this step at the top of your list as it can also be a tad stressful if your timetable doesn't exactly match up with the venue you really want. Also, always ask venues about catering as that could knock two steps of the wedding planning process out with one consultation.

Consider your guest list - If you've got a good idea of your budget and venue then you will want to consider another crucial step in the process, the guest list. Pick out a rough estimate of how many people you want at your wedding and see if that matches up with the venue you've chosen. Next, pair down your list to match the venue's capacity. You will also put a ton of time into making sure that the seating arrangement is in order and everyone (or almost everyone) will be happy with those they're seated next to.

Now you have got a few good tips on how to get the wedding proposal off to a clean start. If you're still unsure about where you are in the process, give Limelight a call and set up a consolation. We would love to assist you in any way possible and using our wedding planning program, have the means to do so with complete ease.