“Engaged 2 Planning” - Wedding Planning for DIY couples
The moment has finally arrived…my wedding planning course is officially live!
Now I know I’ve only talked about my wedding planning course a little bit recently (see here), but what you might not realize is this idea has been in process since 2016. Yes, you read that right, 2016, as in almost a decade ago - in other words…
2016 is when I first discovered online courses and the concept of running a virtual business. It was the year I purchased my first online course from, which happened to be right around the time I had my first baby (that’s a lot of firsts in 2016). At night between when this baby went to bed (around 7pm) and when baby got back up to “dream feed” (if you don’t have kids - google it - it’s a whole thing) at 10pm, I would stay up and work on learning about online business. While I was exhausted in a way only a new parent can be, I was energized by this idea of a virtual business.
Of course life gets in the way sometimes and causes delays and reprioritizing…since 2016 there have been multiple apartments/houses (6 to be exact), multiple jobs, and then baby #2 in 2018.
Note to viewers babies do not always sleep peacefully - do not be fooled!
When I finally launched GHD in 2019 (3 years after that first online course I took), I spent a year getting it up and running (building socials and my website, doing design giveaways online, having styled shoots, etc.). Then in March of 2020, I launched my first online offerings (4 years after taking that first course). In a cruel trick from the universe, a global pandemic hit at the EXACT same time and everyone was worried about well…not weddings.
Throwback to the original GHD Logo (circa 2019)
In 2021, I returned to the corporate world and shoved my design dreams in the back of my desk drawer (literally, my notebook for all my GHD plans was in my desk). For a while, I thought it was over - my dream would die a slow death (and gather lots of dust) in the back of my desk drawer.
If you’ve ever met me in real life, you know I’m not one who gives up or lets go easily (relentlessness is one of my most intense qualities - good and bad). Even in my corporate job, I always found ways to infuse design and event planning anywhere and everywhere I could, but I still missed wedding design. Turns out it’s pretty hard to fit color palettes and mood boards into the health care industry.
By December of 2023, I knew I just had to breathe life back into my wedding dreams - even if that meant doing it on the weekends or evenings while working full time. I rebuilt my website (from scratch), started a weekly newsletter (ps you can sign up for that here), launched my blog, and began creating all kinds of freebies (quizzes, guides, PDFs) to help support couples with their wedding planning and design. All those resources are free to you here!
By fall of 2024, it became very clear to me that for my virtual wedding business and dream of creating a course to ever be more than a “hobby”, I would need to be able to work on it full time.
Then came the doubt (“What if I fail?”), imposter syndrome (“Am I even a designer?”), and reality (“Can I even record a course while my house is undergoing major renovations?”). Oh doubt, hello dear friend.
Well the universe must have felt bad for being such a punk to me (to all of us) in 2020 and it created a very clear path for me to exit my corporate job and thus here we are.
It only took 9+ years from my original dream to get to this point and honestly I’m okay with that. While it didn’t go how I thought it would originally back in 2016, the journey to this dream has been the exact wild ride I needed.
That’s the thing about life, it always works out the way it’s supposed to in the end (even if it seems like absolutely NOTHING is adding up right on the way there).
Now that you know a little more about the journey I’ve been on to get to this exact moment, I couldn’t be more thrilled to bring you “Engaged 2 Planning”, the online course to help guide newly engaged couples navigate from their engagement into the wedding planning process.
This course guides couples through the 3 Key Wedding Planning Decisions they need to make first (before starting on any design elements of their wedding). These key decisions include: wedding size, wedding budget, and wedding date.
Since I’m such a design nut though, I included a bonus module in the course to help determine overall wedding vibe/style, color palettes, and mood board inspiration (including how to make your own wedding mood board!).
Features:
-120+ Minutes of Video Instruction
-14+ PDFs & resources including:
Wedding Budget Tracker
Money Mindset Activity
Mood Board Templates
Color Palette Concepts
Wedding Vibe Guide
Wedding Invitation Discount Code
AND MORE!
A MAJOR benefit of this course is the amount of time it saves newly engaged couples who are DIY-ing their wedding planning. From a fellow DIY bride to another, I KNOW exactly how overwhelming and time-consuming planning your own wedding can be. With this course, instead of scouring Instagram, Pinterest, wedding blogs and magazines, everything a couple needs to get started with wedding planning is “gathered here” (see what I did there?), all in one place, for easy access.
The course is a one time $47 payment. I’m putting that out there because I am a fan of transparency and I personally like knowing these sorts of things up front. So there you are, less than $50 bucks (pretty sure the bonus section alone is totally worth the cost of the entire course).
Sneak peak of the course BONUS materials
Not ready to spend the money, but still need help planning? I’ve got you covered. Check out my FREE resources page and snag your copy of the Ultimate wedding planning checklist.
If you’re not getting married, but know someone who is - be sure to share this link with them!
Have questions about the course? I’m here for it! Email me directly at gatheredheredesigns@gmail.com and we can set up time to chat, text, or email.
I am starting this New Year out on a mission to help support all those lovers who made it official during engagement season with getting the wedding planning journey started.
Cheers to your engagement, the wedding planning to come, and dreams realized! I hope to see you in the course soon!
The holidays are here & so are the proposals
Engagement season, from November to February, sees nearly 40% of U.S. proposals, with popular dates like Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, and Valentine’s Day setting the stage for magical moments. This cozy, festive time is ideal for popping the question, with many couples involving family in their plans. Newly engaged? Check the upcoming mini-course to help you and your partner jumpstart wedding planning. Wishing you love and magic this engagement season!
Some of you might be counting down to the holiday season or eagerly awaiting the upcoming Super Bowl. Personally, I count down to something a little different…but with 100% the same enthusiasm - I countdown to engagement season!
November through February is what is referred to as “engagement season” or “proposal season” in the wedding industry. Basically from Thanksgiving through Valentine’s Day, proposals spread faster than a red wine stain on a white wedding dress. I LOVE engagement season and yes, I talk about it every year. See here for last year’s post about engagement season.
Around 40% of proposals in the US happen during this season. Now you might be wondering…
Why winter for proposals?
So why is winter the prime time for proposals? From my perspective, the season is basically tailor-made for romance. As Frank Sinatra croons, “It’s that time of year when the world falls in love…”
With holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, and Valentine’s Day all packed into a few short months, there are endless opportunities for couples to pop the question in a setting that’s naturally festive and intimate. Between cozy gatherings with family, fireside cups of cocoa, and snow-dusted backdrops, winter has a way of adding magic to any moment—and what better a moment to propose? It’s also a good 6-10 months out from “wedding season”(more on wedding season here), giving couples plenty of time to plan their special day before those peak warm weather months.
The role family & friends in proposals
In addition to the festive atmosphere, family and friend involvement has become part of engagements. Since the holiday season is also a time when families and friends gather together, it provides plenty of opportunity for couples to share this milestone with those who mean the most to them. Not to be a cliche, but I too said “Yes!” during engagement season in January of 2010 (see here for more on that story).
According to industry surveys, nearly 2/3 of people proposing involve their parents/family/friends in their proposal in some way. Whether it’s asking for them to capture the moment on video (you can always just tie a video camera to a tree in the woods like my partner did) or planning a family-filled celebration afterward - the more the merrier!
Most popular engagement dates
Thinking of an engagement season proposal? Here are the most engagement season days for proposals:
Christmas Day (12/25) – Christmas magic is in the air, and so are proposals! A true favorite.
Valentine’s Day (2/14) – The ultimate day of love, making it a classic for popping the question.
Christmas Eve (12/24) – Nothing like an early Christmas present!
New Year’s Day (1/1) – A perfect time to pop the question and celebrate new beginnings.
New Year’s Eve (12/31) – The excitement of midnight creates a beautiful moment for a proposal and the ultimate New Year’s Eve kiss.
Day before Valentine’s Day (2/13) – For those who want to celebrate Valentine’s as a newly engaged couple.
December 17th – The Saturday before Christmas Eve is ideal for a family and/or friend -filled proposal.
December 10th – Two Saturdays before Christmas, giving couples time to savor the engagement without being over shadowed by the holiday bustle.
December 23rd – For couples wanting to celebrate Christmas as a newly engaged couple
Personally, I think it’s a bit odd November dates didn’t make the list. I would think more couples would want to enjoy the whole holiday season as newly engaged humans. Then again, trying to split the holidays amongst families BEFORE you’re officially married can definitely pose a challenge.
What to do after the proposal?
So what happens after you say yes or after you pop the question? First things first - CELEBRATE!!! This is such a special time for you and your partner. Take a moment to enjoy it. Don’t let anyone push you into planning faster than you are ready. Chat with your partner and agree to how long you want to just soak in the engagement without discussing wedding plans. That way you’ll both be on the same page, when friends and family inundate you with “When’s the big day?” questions. Trust me, they’ll ask literally the moment after you tell them you’re engaged.
Once you’ve ridden the engagement high for as long as you agreed to, you might want some help with getting into wedding planning - that’s where I come in! Later this month, I’ll be launching my Engaged 2 Planning mini-course. This mini course will help guide you through the 3 key decisions you need to make in order to get your wedding planning off on the right foot.
The course will include slides, videos, and PDFs to help make your wedding planning journey easy. Know someone who is newly engaged? Be sure to share this post with them! They can sign up for the course waitlist through this link.
With so many moments designed to bring people together in the coming months, engagement season has become a beautiful reminder of how family, friends, and love come together to create unforgettable memories.
So, get ready for love to be in the air and social media to be full of engagement announcements because Engagement season has arrived, and with it, all the magic, excitement, and sparkle that comes with celebrating love.
Happy Engagement Season!!!
The #1 Key Wedding Decision
Wedding require a lot of decision making. The easiest way to get through it? Start with the #1 Key Wedding Decision that will make all your other wedding decisions that much easier. This one decision will have a snowball effect on your wedding planning.
Weddings require a lot of decision making…like A LOT.
You make one decision about your venue and you feel pretty good about it, you feel accomplished. Then just as you go to let out a sigh of relief, 12 more wedding decisions pop up that require your immediate attention. If wedding planning was an arcade game, it would be whack-a-mole.
To make all the decisions easier, I like to encourage couples to start with the “key decisions” of their wedding. While I could chat all day about wedding color palettes, which is a decision that will need to be made eventually, it’s definitely not a “key decision”. By focusing on the key wedding decisions first, it will help create a solid foundation for you to design the rest of your wedding from.
I feel so strongly about this that the entire first module of my online Wedding Design 101 course is dedicated entirely to the five key wedding decisions that help set couples up for success with their wedding planning.
Today, I wanted to share the #1 Key Wedding Decision I would encourage you and your partner to make first. Are you ready to learn what this magical key decision is?
The #1 Key Wedding Decision is determining your wedding size (aka your estimated guest count). I know, I know, it’s not the most glamorous of the wedding decisions you’ll be making, but I promise you this one decision has a domino effect on all future decisions.
Knowing your wedding size will help you narrow down the scope of what’s possible for your wedding. Here are a couple of ways this key decision will help kick start other key decisions.
Venue Selection - Knowing your estimated guest count, will help you narrow down which venues you want to consider. For example if you end up with an estimated guest count of 250, that quaint rose garden in the heart of the city will no longer be an option. Many online venue searches allow you to filter by wedding size and location. Knowing your wedding size can definitely help narrow down your list of venue options.
Budget Range - Once you know your wedding size, you can start to get a better sense of your budget. Most caterers will have a per guest rate fee. In a 2022 study of wedding costs, couples paid an average of $75 per guest for catering (not this does not include the costs associated with an open bar). Let’s go with the $75 per guest average. If you know you’re having a wedding of 150 people, you could budget $11,250 (150 x $75) for catering costs. Did you just throw up a little? I know $11,000 is a small fortune. This is just an estimate based on averages. You should know my ENTIRE wedding cost less than half that catering bill. Take a breath. It’s going to be okay.
So how do you start getting an estimate of your wedding guest count? You and your partner will each need to make a list of who you want to invite to the wedding. It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3…
List all guests you consider “mandatory” ; these are the people you feel absolutely must be at your wedding (siblings, parents, etc.)
List all close friends and family members (cousins, best friends, roommates, etc.)
List any additional guests you want to invite, but wouldn’t be devastated if they didn’t make it (co-workers, friends from college, clients, etc.)
Once you and your fiancé each make your own lists separately, go through them together and remove/add anyone else you might think of. Then, total it up. If you end up with way more people than you wanted, remove the guests from list #3 and see what your total is then. Still too many? Remove guests from list #2. Do this until you feel you’re at a number that feels good for both of you.
Need a visual? Of course I have you covered! See here for an easy to use template to help make your 1-2-3 wedding guest list.
“When it comes to weddings, size definitely matters!”
I promise if you take the time to prioritize making this key wedding decision first, it will make the rest of your planning so much easier!
Want to learn more about all the key wedding decisions? Get on the waitlist for my Wedding Design 101 course.
Have other wedding related things you need help with? Reach me directly at gatheredheredesigns@gmail.com!
Happy designing!
~Amanda Jean
