You said yes, the ring is on, and the first question from the family arrives: “So when is the wedding?” It is fine to say you do not know yet. Nothing has to happen fast after the engagement, and the best planning starts with a few days when nothing gets planned at all.
When you are ready to begin, here is who to tell, the first ten steps in an order that makes sense, and what can safely wait.
Enjoy it, there is no rush
An engagement is a small celebration in itself. Give yourselves a few days just for the two of you before spreadsheets and budgets move in. Your wedding can be in six months or in two years; that is for the two of you to decide.
The one thing worth not putting off: if you dream of a summer Saturday, start planning earlier. According to the Czech Statistical Office (ČSÚ), June to September together account for 62 % of all weddings in a year in the Czech Republic, so popular venues and vendors for those dates go first. More figures are in the article Czech weddings in numbers.
Who to tell and how
- Parents and siblings first. In person or by phone, not in a group chat. Parents who find out about an engagement on social media usually take it hard.
- Then your closest friends. Especially the ones you can picture as your witnesses.
- Social media last. Once everyone who would mind hearing it second-hand already knows.
- To the “when and where” questions, “we don’t know yet, we’re enjoying it” is enough. Nobody is setting your date for you yet.
The first 10 steps after the engagement
The order is not random. The size of the wedding, the budget and the number of guests build on each other, and only from them does it become clear what kind of venue and date you are looking for.
- 1. Agree on your idea of the day. A big party, a small family wedding or something in between? A castle, a barn, a hotel or a garden? Boho, elegant or traditional? A few sentences you both agree on are enough. They will save you a lot of debates later.
- 2. Set a budget. How much you will put into the wedding yourselves, how much your parents might contribute and where the ceiling is. The budget decides the venue and the number of guests, so it belongs right at the start. The budget planner shows what to build it from.
- 3. Draw up a rough guest list. Just an estimate for now: family, friends, colleagues. The number of guests sets the size of the room and a large part of the budget.
- 4. Choose two or three dates. Not one date, but a few options. Check when your closest people can come and whether the date clashes with holidays or other weddings in the family.
- 5. Visit wedding venues. Pick a few places that match your idea and your guest count and arrange viewings. Confirm a venue only once it is free on one of your dates. That gives you the final date too.
- 6. Choose your witnesses and closest helpers. In the Czech Republic a wedding ceremony needs two witnesses. Also think about who will help you with the organization and who will keep an eye on the schedule on the day.
- 7. Decide on the ceremony and call the registry office. A civil or a church ceremony? At the town hall or at the reception venue? Ask the registry office (in Czech matrika) whether the date is free and which documents you will need, especially if one of you is not a Czech citizen. For a church wedding, book a date with the parish office as well.
- 8. Book the key vendors. Photographer, videographer, band or DJ. The popular names fill their summer Saturdays far in advance, so contact them straight after the venue.
- 9. Let guests know the date. As soon as you have the venue and the date, send your guests a save the date, especially those coming from abroad. The invitation itself comes later. At the address of your wedding website guests will then find everything in one place.
- 10. Start in a planner. Keep tasks, budget and vendors in one place, not in ten notes on your phone. In the checklist you see straight away what comes next and how much is done, and you do not have to keep everything in your head.
What you do not need to sort out right away
Anyone who starts planning a wedding feels like solving everything on the first weekend. These have their time several months later:
| What | When it comes up |
|---|---|
| Wedding rings, wedding invitations | 9 to 6 months before the wedding |
| Wedding dress, menu, cake, flowers | 6 to 3 months before the wedding |
| Schedule of the wedding day, honeymoon | 6 to 3 months before the wedding |
| Sending the invitations and the link to the wedding website | 3 months before the wedding at the latest |
You can start collecting ideas for the dress and decorations right away, though. Set up a shared Pinterest board or a folder on your phone; it will come in handy later. How to choose invitations is covered in how to choose a wedding announcement, and the whole timeline is in how to plan a wedding.
Start in the WeMarry planner
In the WeMarry planner you will find a wedding checklist ordered by how many months are left until the wedding, from agreeing on your idea all the way to the day itself. You tick tasks off, add a note to each one, and some come with recommended vendors. Next to the checklist you have the budget, your vendors and the schedule for the big day. All of that is free. You can build and try out a wedding website for free too, and you pay once, when you publish it.
