I’m Engaged… Now What? 10 Things To Do Right After You Get Engaged
First of all — congratulations! 💍
Getting engaged is one of the most exciting moments in your life. It is such a beautiful season filled with celebrations, joy, questions from family members, endless screenshots from Pinterest, and suddenly… a hundred tabs open about weddings.
And while it can feel slightly overwhelming at first, I always remind couples of this: wedding planning should be enjoyable. It is not about ticking boxes perfectly or rushing decisions. It is about creating a day that feels like you both!
As a wedding cake designer, I often speak with couples at different stages of planning — some enquire the week after getting engaged, while others come to me much later once the greater details are secured. Over the years, I’ve learnt that the couples who enjoy the process the most are the ones who start with a good foundation and build their wedding around what matters most to them.
So if you’re freshly engaged and wondering where on earth to start, here are my top 10 things to do after getting engaged.
1. Take A Moment To Actually Enjoy Being Engaged
Before diving into spreadsheets and supplier research, pause for a moment.
Celebrate with your partner. Tell your friends and family. Go out for dinner. Have an engagement shoot. Enjoy the season you’re in before immediately moving into planning mode.
I always think this period goes by so quickly, and it deserves to be savoured.
One of my favourite ways couples celebrate this season is by ordering a wedding cake sample box and making an evening out of it together. Pour a glass of wine, sit together, discuss your dream wedding ideas, and start exploring flavours you both love. It’s such a fun and relaxed way to begin the planning journey.
2. Set The Overall Vibe Before Booking Everything
One of the biggest mistakes couples make is booking suppliers before understanding the feel of the wedding.
Before anything else, ask yourselves:
What do we want this wedding to feel like?
Formal or relaxed?
Editorial and modern?
Romantic and floral?
Party-focused?
Intimate and food-led?
Your wedding style should influence every decision moving forward.
For example, if you are entertainment-focused, you may want to prioritise an incredible live band or DJ and build the evening around music and atmosphere.
If you are detail-driven, you may naturally lean towards investing more into florals, stationery, tablescapes, and of course, the cake design.
If you are a food lovers, your entire day may revolve around guest experience and multiple food moments throughout the day.
There is no right or wrong — but understanding your priorities early makes decision-making so much easier later on.
3. Book Your Venue First
Your venue is the anchor for everything else.
Your date, location, styling direction, and sometimes even your supplier choices will all stem from the venue. Once you have secured your venue, everything else begins to fall into place naturally.
My biggest advice? Choose somewhere that genuinely reflects you both as a couple rather than simply following trends.
And always think practically too:
Guest travel
Lighting
Seasonal weather
Catering flexibility
Space for entertainment
Cake display area (of course!)
I have a fantastic blog post here all about wedding venues!
4. Secure Your Photographer Early
Photographers often book up incredibly quickly — especially for peak spring and summer dates.
Your wedding photographs are one of the few tangible things you will keep forever from the day, so finding someone whose style you truly love is so important.
Look through full galleries rather than just Instagram highlights, and don’t be afraid to enquire with multiple photographers before deciding, but not too many!
I have some awesome wedding photographers linked here!
5. Think About Your Florals Earlier Than You Think
Florals completely shape the atmosphere of a wedding.
Your florist helps bring movement, softness, colour, texture, and personality into the day. They often work closely with your stylist, stationer, and cake designer to create a cohesive look.
If florals are important to you, book your florist sooner rather than later — particularly if your wedding falls within peak wedding season.
6. Don’t Leave The Cake Too Late
Now for my favourite part — the wedding cake.
A lot of couples assume the cake is one of the final things to think about, but I actually recommend booking your cake designer around 6–9 months before the wedding, especially if you are getting married during peak season.
At Bloom and Crumb, I also have many couples who secure their date a year in advance simply because they don’t want to miss availability.
One thing I always reassure couples about is this: booking early does not mean you need to know every detail immediately. In fact, I allow couples to make changes to the design up until around two months before the wedding day.
So if you haven’t finalised your florals, colour palette, or styling yet — that’s completely fine.
The most important thing is securing your date.
Your cake is not just a dessert. It becomes part of the visual storytelling of your wedding. It sits within your tablescape, your styling, your florals, and often becomes one of the most photographed details of the entire day.
At Bloom and Crumb, I work closely with couples to create cakes that feel elegant, intentional, floral-inspired, and genuinely reflective of their wedding aesthetic. From modern textures to pressed florals and delicate piping details, every cake is designed to feel beautifully cohesive within the wider celebration.
And honestly? Planning your cake should be one of the most enjoyable parts of wedding planning.
Cake tastings, flavour discussions, design inspiration, floral ideas — it’s such a lovely part of the process.
7. Look Beyond Recommended Supplier Lists
Venue recommended suppliers can be incredibly helpful — but don’t feel limited to them.
Some of the best supplier teams come together organically through your own research. Look at Instagram, Pinterest, blogs, and real weddings.
Find suppliers whose work genuinely excites you.
8. Speak To Previous Clients
This is such an underrated tip.
If you are investing in a wedding supplier, do not be afraid to ask about previous client experiences or read reviews carefully.
You learn so much from hearing how suppliers communicate, problem-solve, and work on the actual wedding day.
A beautiful Instagram feed is lovely — but professionalism and experience matter just as much.
9. Build A Wedding Day Timeline That Makes Sense
One thing couples often underestimate is how important the wedding timeline is.
Think carefully about:
Food timings
Guest flow
Drinks reception length
Entertainment transitions
Cake cutting timing
Evening food
A well-paced wedding always feels more relaxed and enjoyable for guests.
If you’re food-oriented, I always recommend including multiple eating moments throughout the day — guests absolutely love it.
10. Remember That Wedding Planning Should Be Fun
It is so easy to become caught up in comparison or pressure during wedding planning.
But your wedding does not need to look like anyone else’s.
The most memorable weddings are always the ones that feel personal, intentional, and reflective of the couple themselves.
So enjoy the process. Save the Pinterest photos. Book the tasting. Get excited about the flowers. Have fun discussing cake flavours at midnight together.
This season is special — and it goes by quicker than you think.
Ready To Start Planning Your Wedding Cake?
At Bloom and Crumb, I create elegant, floral-inspired wedding cakes for modern couples across London and the Home Counties.
Whether you’re newly engaged or already deep into planning, I’d love to help bring your wedding cake vision to life.
Enquire today to secure your date, discuss design ideas, or order a wedding cake sample box to celebrate your engagement in the sweetest way possible ✨
Stunning photos by @elliemac.photography
