I can’t believe it’s been almost a month since we got engaged! Among all the congratulations, excitement, wedding planning, talks about the future and what not, there has also been moments that were quite surprising to me…

As I’m adjusting to this new status and quite frankly – new life – I wanted to share with you a few things I learned along the way so far. I figured, if any of my experiences can help you avoid some moments of surprise or frustrations, I did something right.

5 Things I Didn’t Know Before I Got Engaged

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• The first thing I realized quickly is just how many special people we have in our lives. When Rapha asked me to marry him, we were just starting our Arizona trip. That’s why we decided not to tell anyone about this special moment until we get back home. Guys, those were some long 3 days! Monday was the first day we finally started telling our friends, and it wasn’t until Thursday/ Friday when we felt everyone who should know from us, now does.

• Speaking of friends, here comes the not so fun part. Sharing something like your engagement is a big deal so for the most part your family, friends or acquaintances will be SO happy for you. The thing we didn’t expect was just how many people will unknowingly invite themselves to the wedding. While we love everyone and wish they could be a part of our day, we just can’t afford to accommodate that many people.

• When’s the wedding? Ah yes, after your engagement, this will become the most dreaded question you hear. It’s especially frustrating if you just announced your engagement! Trust me, I would like to have a date set already as well. We simply didn’t even have time to look at the venues yet.

• Now, the wedding planning deserves its own separate blog post, but I wanted to touch on that, because guys – IT IS OVERWHELMING. Personally, I’m not so excited about having to make so many decisions in the coming months. I’m also not the kind of girl who has been thinking her whole life what her dream wedding should look like. Thankfully, we have an amazing support system and a group of friends who are willing to help with anything and everything. You know who you are!!

• To end on a good note, this last thing has been the sweetest thing I’ve experienced so far. Like I mentioned in my engagement story post, I never quite knew how I’m going to feel once I’ll have my love propose to me. Now let me tell you, it honestly is the best feeling in the world! The first week/ two honestly felt like a bliss. Every time I would call my now fiancé or look at my ring, we would both start giggling, smiling, tearing up – just feeling ALL THE FEELS. I can only imagine how we’re going to feel on our actual wedding day. Which by the way, still is TBD. 😉

Of course, there are many more things I could share in this post but these are definitely top 5 that I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. In the coming months, I’ll do my best to share updates on wedding planning as I learn to navigate this new arena. 😉 I’m definitely a bride to be that loves budgeting and inexpensive solutions, so look out for those under my new wedding category.

This photo shoot couldn’t be possible without these amazing ladies:

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Photos: Madison Lauren

Makeup: Molly Wilson

Hair: Whitney Anderson