By Alexandria Proko

When you get engaged, it’s a whirlwind.

So many of the couples that I work with go into their wedding planning thinking that they already know what they want. You may already have Pinterest boards dedicated to such an occasion.

The wedding day should be about you and your fiancé as a couple and should tell your story. Sourcing inspiration from sites like Pinterest is wonderful, but I never advice trying to replicate someone else’s day.

This week, I’m assigning all of you newly engaged couples out there with a bit of homework. I want you to go onto Pinterest – or play it old school and flip through some magazines – to get an idea of your collective vision.

While you might find details that you love, this shouldn’t be about choosing details. Really, you want to take some time to see what styles you each gravitate towards. Some might be rustic, others might be more classic and elegant. There’s plenty of room to fall somewhere in between.

Why do I recommend that couples start with this vision? If you’ve been following along the past couple of weeks, you’ve seen the start of our VISTA Venues and I’m sharing those because I know that venue selection is one of the first steps in the wedding planning process.

But, how can you hunt for a wedding day venue if you don’t know what kind of venue you’re looking for? If you go into this process blindly, you’ll easily get frustrated and overwhelmed because you’re going to have too many options.

On that note, if you haven’t already snagged yourself a Wedding Planning Binder, now is the time. Once you do start venue searching, you’ll have piles of marketing materials that you won’t want to lose. The binder is a great place to store them so that everything wedding-related stays in one place.

Narrow it down for yourself before you actually even begin by figuring out what that vision looks like for the two of you. Your wedding day vision encompasses the design, level of formality, overall feel, guest experience, etc.

Once you know what you’re both gravitating towards – and yes, you’ll get your first lesson in wedding planning compromise here – then you’ll be able to take the steps towards planning your big day.

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Check out previous VISTA Venue posts reviewing West Chester’s Faunbrook Bed & Breakfast and The Barn at Bournelyf.

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Alexandria Proko is the founder and creative director of Alexandria Catherine Events, a Chester County special events planning company. Her work is driven by a passion for ceremony, tradition and creating memories. She has been featured and has received accolades from Brides, the Philly A-List, The Big Fake Wedding, WeddingWire, etc. Allie can be reached via email at alexandria@alexandriaprevents.com.