So - you’ve just got engaged. Congratulations! There can be lots to think about once you’re engaged, and with well-meaning family and friends offering advice left, right and centre it can all get a little overwhelming sometimes.

But fear not my newly engaged friends, help is at hand! Below are my tops tips to kick start your wedding planning journey in the best way possible. I hope you find it useful and good luck with your own planning!

1. Work out your wedding budget

Do you have savings you plan to use? Are family members contributing? Are you having a longer engagement to save up for your wedding? Money talks and it’s something you need to discuss and be honest about from the get-go. Be clear about what you want, and more importantly what you can afford to spend before you start booking suppliers. Your budget will also have an impact on many other decisions (which we’ll come on to later), so this is a really important matter to discuss from the beginning.

2. Consider what size of wedding you want

When newly engaged, it can be easy to inadvertently invite all your work colleagues and Facebook friends to your wedding, but be careful not to get carried away! The size of your guest list will be influenced massively by the budget you’ve set. So although you don’t need to have it set in stone at this stage, it’s important to sit down together and begin making a list of the people who you both absolutely want to be at your wedding and then go from there.

3. Figure out your priorities

Perhaps you’re both really into music and it’s important you have live music incorporated throughout your wedding day. Maybe you’re big foodies, and so you want to ensure the food you serve reflects that passion to your guests. I always recommend that my couples think about their top three ‘must have’ items for their wedding. In doing so, it can help with deciding how to allocate the budget better, meaning the items which really matter will get a bigger percentage, and the areas which aren’t as important can be cut back or left out altogether if you so choose.

4. Think about your wedding style

Start gathering inspiration and collating images that really reflect the look and feel you want to create for your wedding. Think about the things which are important to you as a couple and how you want to incorporate them in to your day. Pinterest is a great tool for this, but you can create your own mood-board via Google docs or start saving images you like on Instagram. However you choose to do so, creating a clear visual image will help when it comes to researching suppliers later on and deciding on those which are the right fit for you and your vision.

5. Do you need wedding planning help?

Planning a wedding takes a lot of time - on average about 250 hours, give or take. If you already have a jam-packed schedule then finding the time to fit in wedding planning can feel overwhelming. Or perhaps you’re just not that organised and the idea of having to plan your own wedding fills you with despair. If this is the case, then hiring a professional wedding planner is something you may wish to consider. As with any supplier, make sure to do your research. Getting the right planner is just as much about their ability and experience, as it is about you ‘clicking’ with them as a person.

6. Get wedding insurance

Although not a glamorous or exciting topic when it comes to wedding planning, I can’t recommend this highly enough. The amount of time, effort and money you will put in to planning your wedding is absolutely worth protecting. Whilst no-one plans for things to go wrong, life can sometimes have other ideas. Give yourself that extra peace of mind, knowing that should the worst happen, you’re protected.

7. Thoroughly research wedding venues in Scotland

In Scotland we are spoilt for choice when it comes to places you can get married - in fact, legally you can marry anywhere that you can persuade a celebrant or officiant to follow you! However, if you already have a good idea of your budget, guest numbers and style, then this will make it easier to narrow down your options. Other things to consider: if planning to have your ceremony and reception in different locations you will need to supply transport for guests. This also takes time out of your day for travelling, so be mindful of how far apart venues are if this is to be the case. Perhaps an outdoor wedding ceremony is your ideal choice - if so, make sure to check what the indoor ceremony options are at the venue. Make sure you’d be happy enough if your ceremony did have to take place indoors because of bad weather (this is Scotland after all)! Do your research and before visiting any venues, contact them to establish if they are within your budget so you don’t end up in love with a venue only to find you can’t afford it!

8. Choose a time of year to get married

Spring and Summer are still by far the most popular times of year to get married, and this mostly comes down to better weather (hopefully) and longer days. And for those with children, the school holidays make it easier for time away. However that’s not to say Autumn and Winter don’t have their own charms. I love the striking colours of Autumn, the sparkle and glamour of Winter - and with the shorter days during both seasons, fireworks can be a great evening addition to your celebrations. Take your time, and if possible visit any potential venues during the season you wish to get married so you can get a better sense of how it might look come your own wedding day.

9. Choose your wedding party A-team.

This is your dream team, the folks who are gonna help, support and be there for you on your big day. For some couples, picking their wedding party will appear to be a no-brainer. However, please take your time when making this decision! For example, you may only plan to have a small wedding, and therefore your wedding party would usually be smaller in keeping with this. If you have a big group of friends, this can mean tough decisions have to be made. Budget will also be a deciding factor in the size of your wedding party; the more you have, the greater the expense for outfits, flowers etc. Don’t forget there are many ways you can have family and friends involved in your day such as giving a reading, a speech, or being emcee throughout the day. Friendships can change over time too, so don’t rush into making this decision as soon as you’ve gotten engaged.

10. Enjoy being engaged!

Don’t just jump into wedding planning straight away; take time to revel in being newly engaged and let it settle in. Enjoy the congratulations, the cards and, if you decide to, even have a party to celebrate it! The wedding planning will still be there ready and waiting for you when you decide to jump in, so enjoy this wonderful time and the anticipation and excitement of all that is yet to come!

Fin Flükra is Catrina Duthie, a wedding planner based near Stirling, with a modern approach to Scottish weddings, and an unrivalled book of creative contacts. Looking for some help planning your own Scottish wedding? Don’t hesitate to get in touch.

10 Wedding Planner Tips to Kick Start Your Plans