First Things First

Even though I had been waiting to get married and plan a wedding for 26 years, even though I thought I knew exactly where to start and what to do, I was actually terrified to get started. What actually did come first? I had looked at all the pictures, read all sorts of advice, but where should I start?
I wanted to believe I knew what to do on my own more or less so I just decided to go with my gut and instinct and just plan.
We knew we were getting married even without him hiring a plane to propose to me in the sky. (His proposal was actually pretty standard and simple because he is a shy guy and I didn't really need a big proposal...but I still cried and surprise, said yes.) We had made an appointment to see a wedding venue 2 days after getting engaged. It was entirely perfect. I had always dreamed of a garden wedding with candles and twinkle lights and a lovely intimate feel. Well, this place was beyond perfect.

Now imagine that at night with all the lights going? Talk about an amazing venue.
So there we had it. It was pretty much decided right away, by me, that this was the spot.
While some people might debate on whether to start with your guest list before picking a venue, I might disagree. Deciding on your guest list before you have a spot limits you immensely on your venue choices. Have an idea of how many guests you will have, but I advise getting your spot first. And making sure it's available...which our wedding was in January so thankfully, not a problem there.
Another piece of advice I offer: Salt Lake City isn't huge and weddings here are actually fairly affordable. (Not so with everywhere obviously) This being the case, it was still hard to find a venue in the actual city that was fitting my specifications and budget. So I expanded my search from the city limits and found this little gem. So if it's in your ability to drive a little farther, do it. It's your big day, people will drive a little bit to celebrate with you.