Your ring finger will never be the same again because HE POPPED THE QUESTION! Congratulations! This is the moment you have been dreaming of your entire life and it’s with the man of your dreams! Those moments of him getting down on one knee and proposing to you, you will NEVER forget, the excitement and tears will be forever printed in your mind.
Where were you when he proposed? Did he invite all of your friends and family or did he do it at a romantic dinner with just you and him? There’s a lot of different ways he could’ve proposed to you and well, that’s really what makes marriage such a beautiful thing. Because it’s unique to your love story and your experiences together.
Did you ask these questions before he proposed?
The location of the proposal should say a lot about your story but HOW he proposed is where the gold is. How did he do it? 75% of people get down on one knee when proposing to their loved one. That’s definitely a more traditional approach and with the vast change in wedding and engagement styles, getting down on one knee may not be the same way you were asked the question! They could’ve gotten your family together as they hold signs with “Will you marry me?” on it or had it written in the sky with smoke from a plane or even getting it printed on your favorite pizza topping.
There’s no right or wrong way to do it, as long as you felt special and after all love is all that matters. So, did you know he was going to pop the question? Or is he really good at keeping a secret? There are so many ways to drop a hint about the proposal or scratch that and just blatantly take you shopping for a ring to take out the element of surprise about the proposal.
But, hey you’re already engaged, let’s dive into the next 10 things you should do right after you’ve been proposed to:
- Try it on: Slide that bad boy on your ring finger! This seems to be an obvious first thing to do. Even though you were probably in complete shock and disbelief, it’s real and we do not have to pinch you! Soon as you have it on you’ll immediately see if he asked your friends your ring size before proposing because it will fit perfectly. It will also be the style of ring that you wanted. The amount of engagement ring styles and cuts of diamonds are ENDLESS but you can start off with comparing your ring with this list of the most trending engagement rings of 2019.
- Call your friends and family: You could hardly hold your excitement, so of course, calling your loved ones is the next thing you do! It’s almost like they’ve been dating your new fiance the same amount of time that you have. He’s at every family event and has even made it on last year’s Christmas cards. He basically is a part of your family but now it’s official, so you know how excited and happy they will be for you guys. This is the moment you can share all the details of how he proposed. It will be so exciting for your parents to hear this news before you move things to social media. Which brings us to our next point.
- Take a selfie with your new rock and fiance: This is probably the one day you would want your nails done out of the entire year! This picture is so important mainly because it will be used on all of your social channels, you’ll send it to all your family and you may even get it framed to have in your new home together. A recent study shows that one in ten couples have a professional photographer capture the actual proposal. This will cause that exact moment of the proposal and your reaction to being captured and captured very nicely. Take as many pictures as you can, this is an iconic day that will only happen once. If a photographer wasn’t in the budget or your boyfriends (at the time) forgot to hire a photographer you can achieve the perfect ring selfie by yourself.
- Change your status on Facebook: Okay, now this is the moment you’ve actually been waiting for. 60% of brides surveyed reported announcing their engagement on social media within the first 24 hours of saying “yes.” This is for all the people that you’d love to share the news with but they aren’t close enough to receive a call or text. You cannot wait for all your friends on social media to set that glorious notification pop up “Your friend got engaged today.” Let all the comments, likes and “Congratulations” come flowing in. This is your moment!
- Discuss the season you want to get married: Do you want an indoor or outdoor wedding? This is a really big decision especially depending on what city you live in. The season can clearly affect if you want it indoors or outdoors. If you live in an area that gets a lot of sunshine then you most likely would like to have the wedding in the summer or early fall. If you live in a city that gets a lot of rain you may want to consider a destination wedding or have it indoors. The fun part is that you can have your wedding anytime you like. Don’t feel pressured to get married during the typical wedding season, you can pick when you’d like to get married and from there you can determine if it will be indoors or outdoors.
- Start/Organize your Pinterest board: We’re almost positive that you already have a ton of boards created for your wedding. You’ve already picked out your style of wedding dress, table cloths and the shoes you will wear. Now it’s time to organize and connect your Pinterest with actual vendors and companies that can deliver what you’re looking for. This will help you begin to think of an estimate of your budget and how you will be spending the next year or so planning… Literally spending. It’s no secret that weddings are expensive, in fact, they greatly affect you and your spouse’s finances while you plan your wedding.
- Start thinking about your bridesmaids: Just like you, your girls have been waiting for him to pop the question for some time now, they might have already known that it was happening when it did. This is great, but it’s your turn to think about which girls will be by your side during this entire process. From the engagement to the honeymoon, every step! Your bridesmaids will be the girls who have your back and want nothing more than to see you happy. Coming up with a fun way to ask your bridesmaids to become your bridesmaid is also like proposing to your girlfriends. You know their favorite perfumes, handbags and Latte they order every day at Starbucks, so this will be a super fun step in this journey.
- Celebrate with your girls: Pop the champagne! It’s time to celebrate your engagement! Call all your girls up and plan a weekend getaway or go out for a night on the town. You can also consider planning an engagement party with your new fiance. This gives all your friends and family the opportunity to actually celebrate with you and get it on all the love that you both share. Be selective, only invite the people that mean a lot to both of you.
- Ensure the ring: After all, engagement rings can get crazy expensive and making sure you have insurance on this rock is very important and it will help you sleep better at night. This will help you avoid losing out a couple of grand if it’s lost, stolen or for that “oh SH*T” moment and it’s misplaced down the sink. One of the first steps that more insurers will ask for is an appraisal to get the value of your ring. From there you can look around to find some of the best insurance companies to ensure your ring with.
- Research wedding venues: Now, this is another fun part of the post-proposal, thinking of the aisle you’ll be walking down. Did you know the average attendance of a wedding it 136 guests? Can you immediately think about how your wedding venue will fit your guests? This number can really increase as you think more in-depth about this. Your fiance may have a larger family and would enjoy having your wedding at a local golf course, outside with beautiful scenery. If you have a beautiful backyard you can have it at your house, or have a destination wedding in front of a beautiful waterfall in Hawaii or make it quick in Elvis inspired chapel in Las Vegas.
Check out these free wedding planning apps
As you begin to work through all the above points, don’t lose sight of what you’re doing all this for! It’s to be married to your very best friend for the rest of your life! It’s beautiful and we know it will be scary and stressful at times. But once it’s all done and you’re walking down the aisle in your incredible dress and you both say “I do” it will be worth it!
Happy planning!
