What to do after you say "Yes"

Most women would agree with me that getting engaged is the easy part of the planning process; the real challenges arise afterwards.

Once the ring is on it is not uncommon to just go about your business and enjoy your engagement without having to worry about dates and cards, anything having to do with the actual wedding. All of this is true until your families start to ask the question "So, when's the date?".

This is not so difficult to answer as long as you have clear communication in your relationship. So here are a few things to discuss once you get engaged:

1. Decide on the desired length of your engagement. There is no right or wrong regarding the length of an engagement, as long as you are both on the same page. Things to consider are career goals, economic standards, and plainly, when you both want to. This will facilitate answering the question "so when's the date?" and remove any confusion between you and your fiance.

2. Figure out how much you want to spend on your wedding. This is paramount when planning a wedding because there are many variables that must be accounted for like housing, honeymoon plans, and creating a savings plan. Once you have made a list of priorities it's much easier to allocate dollar amounts to each variable.

3. Based on your price point for the wedding, set a bar for the wedding. What I mean by bar is that you both need to be able to agree on the level or scale of the actual event. Do you both want a small intimate affair of 25 where quality is paramount and quantity is of less importance? Or, do you want a lavish affair of 250 where the quality is high and the quantity is even higher? This is important so that both of your visions can be met and neither of you feels like an outsider at your own wedding. Also, don't forget to include your family in these discussions because they may want to contribute, monetarily, to the wedding, and can help you decide on what and what not to include the day of your wedding.

4. Start looking for vendors. This is the last step because you should already know, by this point, how much you want to spend. There are many different price points when planning a wedding and knowing your price point will prevent you from wasting time visiting locations and vendors that are out of your price point (whether too modest or too extravagant).