First of all, CONGRATS! You’re engaged to the person you love and you both want to spend the rest of your lives with each other! Now for the fun and potential grief of planning a wedding with the one you love.
Here at Blackstock Country Estate, we believe that being engaged is an excitingly wonderful time in everybody’s life that should be cherished and not rushed. So here is what we think you should do before you dive headfirst and get all wrapped up in planning your wedding.
Getting married is a huge thing for some people. They spend their whole lives dreaming of how perfect their special day is going to be. This is why every decision you make needs to be well thought out and agreed upon with your partner.
Odds are that before you’ve even got to grips with the fact that you’re engaged there will be questions fired at you like when, where and what you’ll be wearing and when you plan on saying “I do.” So make sure you’re not hastily throwing out invites or making promises to people that you can’t keep.
Also, take some time out to admire the beautiful piece on your ring finger!
The worst thing that can happen to a team that’s planning anything is communication coming to a halt. You have to be open with your fiancee and have honest, open discussions about what you both want.
Try not to take full control or worse fall into the background by just saying yes to everything your partner says. This is often seen to be more damming than helpful by your fiancee as they’re asking because they want your opinion and help. Try and sympathise and get involved, don’t forget that it’s your big day too.
Planning a wedding can be incredibly stressful if communication is not held open, so prioritise this!
A wedding can cost as much as you want it to. So before you get all carried away and giddy at the thought of splashing the cash on a huge wedding speak to your partner. Work together and come up with a budget for your wedding day and try your best to stick to it. Spreadsheets are great for keeping a check on what is being spent!
The average UK couple is looking at spending anywhere from £18,000 to £32,000 but this isn’t what’s important. You can make any budget work, just make sure you have some saved up. However, if you’re not in the fortunate position to have a savings account set up don’t panic! Try to work out how much you would be able to save before your wedding and budget for that.
Nothing drives up your excitement like doing your research to create the perfect wedding. Apply to every newsletter, buy those expensive wedding magazines, take advantage of Pinterest and also Instagram. There are endless amounts of examples, ideas and inspiration for beautiful weddings, you just need to know where to look.
It’s typical for a couple to be engaged from anywhere between 12 and 24 months, but once again this is irrelevant. If you have a reason to not get married ASAP then you don’t need to. Choose how long you would like to be engaged for, before your big day.
It is typical for peak season weddings to be more expensive. This is due to the huge demand that venues are faced with around that time of year. So if you’re trying to budget then an off-peak season or mid-week wedding would be more financially viable.
When it comes to choosing where you want to get married, the world is really your oyster. Anywhere from tropical beach resorts to rustic romantic escapes, there’s a vast array of places to suit what you envisioned perfectly.
Here at Blackstock Country Estate, we have a beautiful countryside wedding venue set in the rolling South Downs of Sussex. Located within a 45-minute drive of Brighton, Blackstock is an easy to reach country escape. We host ceremonies, receptions and events in two cosy barns, surrounded by 70 acres of breathtaking estate. Rustic and rural, yet refined and romantic, we are surrounded by open meadows and peaceful lakes. Wild deer can be spotted on the grounds, among other wildlife roaming freely.
All this stunning countryside can be viewed from our two barns, one of which dates back to the 16th century. We are licensed for weddings and civil ceremonies for up to 150 guests, or can recommend some nearby historic churches. For receptions, conferences and parties we have licensed bars, the capacity for live music and can provide top-quality bespoke catering from our in-house team.
We also have luxurious accommodation for you and your guests. We aren’t a hotel, but will certainly be able to talk with you about our bridal suite, as well as all the other beautiful rooms you could book with us for your wedding.
Please get in touch if you would like to enjoy a dream wedding day at Blackstock Country Estate.
Or please download our brochure to find out more.
All of our Event Managers love what we do, creating magical days for all our couples and fabulous memories to remember forever. We would love to chat with you as well when you are ready to speak to us x
Just enjoy the experience. Relax and take time out to really think about and enjoy everything. Don’t rush into any decisions, but savour every moment.
Don’t stress about things you can’t change, like the weather! Don’t forget, your wedding will be talked about for years to come, so make it memorable, but don’t worry if not everything goes to plan – people love to reminisce about the fun parts!
This is one of the most important days of your life and so trust in what you are doing, what you choose and most importantly, if you have your wedding with us at Blackstock Estate, you can trust that we will make everything perfect for you…