When to start the planning??

Question

I got engaged a few weeks ago and my fiance and I are waiting until I am done with my degree to have the wedding... probably around july 2010. When should I start planning things??? We are having engagement photos done next week for the newspaper announcement but other than that we don't know what needs to be done when. Thanks for the suggestions!

Answer 1

Well you have lots of time, so you can take things slow.  Start with coming up with a guest list (just for numbers, names can change) and a budget.  Then you will know how much to save up each month to be able to afford the wedding.

You don't really need to book things/put deposits down until a little over a year before.  But because you want the summer you may want to do some research on venues now and call and ask about how fast they are booking.  There is nothing wrong with securing things early.

My fiance and I booked our venue and put the deposit down to secure the date about 1 year and 3 months in advanced (because our date was booking up at some places and we really wanted to get our first choice).  Now we are just taking time off wedding planning until we hit the official year mark to book and put deposits down on things like the band, photographer, etc.  Some of the deposits can be like $1000, so you don't want that sitting in some else's pocket for like 2 years when you could be earning interest on in in your bank account.    

After your date is secure, one year is plenty of time to get everything else booked/planned.  You don't want wedding burnout by the time the day roles around because planning a wedding for 2 years would make me sick of it!

Answer 2

You can't start too early. If you set a date (probably step 1), you can plan everything ahead of time from there. It's the best way to make sure you get the venues and the vendors you want.  

Answer 3

As soon as you've set the wedding date and have decided on where you would like the ceremony and reception to be you should reserve those venues for yourselves.

If you're getting married in a busy wedding season let's say from May to October, those places will get booked fast. Best time frame is 12 to 18 months before the wedding, but if you're ready to do it now, why wait and take the chance they will get booked by someone else in the meantime.

About 12 months before you should book your photographer, band or DJ, and wedding gown.

In the meantime make some lists for yourselves, and start a file or journal where you can keep all information.

Answer 4

I would most definitely figure out what style wedding you want because that typically  the hardest thing. Do you want to be modern or traditional? beachy or formal? Backyard BBQ or lavish affair? Some of those decisions are tough because it could be more than one style you're looking for, but once you decide that, it will keep you focused and on track (i.e.  you can eliminate endless possibilities because they don't go with your style/theme).

Then set your date/start looking for a venue. You can do this at any time. Popular venues start to book years in advance, so this will ensure you get the venue you want with your date you want. However, don't send out any save-the-dates until you have signed contracts with your venue and caterer. Things always change, so I would wait until about a year away to send those out.

Then you can start to look for other vendors like photography and DJs. I wouldn't start this more than 12-14 months before your date, though. Unless the photographer is really high in demand.

The rest will come naturally. Most people start to plan their wedding about 12-14 months before, so you still have a LOT of time. Enjoy your engagement. Have fun with your pictures, and maybe see if you can have a family get together in the meantime so the families can have fun and get to know each other more.

Answer 5

I'm planning a wedding for June of 2010. My fiance proposed mother's day weekend of this year. I'm doing a cinderella theme, so i decided to go ahead and start planning stuff now. I also figure the sooner I figure out stuff like food, reception venue, dj, photographer, etc. the less stressed I'll be the six months leading up to the wedding. I've already got my cake baker booked, actually. (I want a pretty extravagant cake, so I had to find someone in my area who could actually do it.) Even though it's not for 2 years, I'm pricing stuff like food and photography already, just so I can make sure I won't be over budget. Yes, prices are likely to change in 2 years, but they're not going to change by thousands of dollars. Don't devote all of your time to it, but you could start doing some stuff now. Actually you might want to do some stuff now depending on where you live. I live in a smaller town in Ohio, and most churches and halls here don't book more than a year in advance, but if you live in LA or NYC, you might want to start looking now.

Also, I wouldn't put your engagement announcement in the paper just yet. Alot can happen in 2 years, god forbid, and most newspapers usually do them 6-8 mos. in advance.

Answer 6

While  I agree with Mia to a point, I find no harm in starting a notebook, jot down ideas, tear out pictures from magazines, etc. of the things that you like.  Things change every season, they come out with new and better styles, and you want to have the latest things at your wedding so don't tie yourself down to toady's "in" things just to find out that in April of 2010 they came out with something that you just HAVE to have!

Have fun... start your notebook... set your budget... and start saving your money!  Weddings are expensive!

Answer 7

now.

it is only 2 years away.

pick your date and start calling around.

My sister in law is getting married in 2010 and they already have the date, colors, caterer, cake toppers, ring pillow, flower girl basket, and some other things.

Answer 8

Start planning know thats almost 2 years, so you can do a little at a time without being stressed out over school/wedding. There are some really one planning site like theknot.com and stuff. Congratulation  

Answer 9

wait until you are done with school than start planning.

Answer 10

It never hurts to be prepared.  You should start making your lists of things to do to make sure you are ready when the big day comes.  For example you could start making out lists for invitations and start looking for a church/place to get married, also a reception hall.  Start thinking about what everyone is going to wear, and looking at dresses and tux's.  Also you are going to need a photographer.  Congradulations

Answer 11

Right now you should be looking at reception locations and starting to plan out a budget and guest list. Get an idea of what you want but next year you can start with the little things.

I'm getting married october 2010 and I was surprised how many vendors were taking bookings now. It helps to start as soon as possible but you don't want to get too caught up in it. Two years gives girls like us lots of time to relax and really think things through. But the big thing to do now is budget and figure out how much you need to put away from now till then in order to afford your dream wedding.  

Answer 12

I would pick a date first and go from there. Pick out the biggest things first and reserve/ pay for them now. Like, location, dresses, tucs... etc. Get all the sizing and stuff done now (alterations can always be made later.) Don't worry about cake and invites food all that till it gets a bit closer. Good luck and congrats. I hope you have a wonderful wedding!

Answer 13

It's never too early to start.

My brother is getting married in July of 2010 & so far they have their date set and the church & reception hall booked (as well as blocking off rooms at the hotel). My brother is living out of state, but, whenever he comes home to visit, they work on it more. In December they are going to start to work on their colors/scheme & music play list, as well as interviewing photographers.

I also agree with the girl who said that people will get bored with it if you talk about it this far in advance. So, I would suggest that you just keep things to yourself for that reason & because you do not want to tell everyone something only to change your mind (as you will most likely change your mind about a few things over time)

Answer 14

please don't be like one of those people that start planning a wedding 2 years before because by the time you get to the wedding everyone is so bored of hearing about your wedding

set a date and then start a year before