What do i do?

View quoted message Great list!

Thanks!

View quoted message Yes! Already got one of those

Thanks!!

One thing to keep in mind while gathering all the information is getting a folder or binder to ensure all records are kept in case of anything happening.

There are a ton of things you need to do to prepare for a wedding.

1. Set your budget: create a table and list down of all expenditures: food, catering, music, decorations, etc.

2. Choose the place: outdoor or indoor, reserve a venue in advance and have a backup plan.

3. Give yourself time to find the perfect wedding suit/wedding dress.

4. Prepare a list of key people you want to invite. The guest manager app like Guest List Organizer can help you with it.

5. Decide on the wedding music playlist.

6. Choose a photographer, carefully read reviews about them, check their portfolio.

7. Select all the decoration details according to the style and theme of your wedding.

8. Don't forget to read about wedding scams to avoid getting into trouble and losing your money

View quoted message Ahhh, awesome advice! Thanks so much!! Just what I needed to hear! Everyone is saying just sit back and wait a year to start planning anything! But I dont think that will happen. We booked our venue last week



Thanks so much for your reply, big help!

Yay!! Congrats!
We arent getting married until September 2020. The first thing i did was lay out a budget and start picking my vendors. Make a spread sheet for all the photographers, reception venues, DJ's, etc. Comparing prices, amount of hours they offer (if applicable), and notes about what stands out about them to you. We got engaged in March and after doing the doing research I've settled on every single one of my vendors already. I also gave myself a deadline of the last day of this year to finish paying all the deposits and securing our Vendors so i dont have to worry about them getting booked up, or other small details for a while. What has been a major plus is knowing that prices go up every couple of years, I've gotten a few companies to make me up contracts right away securing their current prices. Doing this we were able to save on both video and our banquet hall rental as they've both gone up already! BUT the only thing thats been a problem is that some vendors only book one year out. So my advice is to reach out to anyone you like, give them your date right away. ask when they will be accepting bookings for your date, and then set a calandar reminder in your phone to reach out again at that time. Some people laugh that we've got it all figured out so early but really you give yourself the advantage of booking all the vendors you want instead of having to compromise your dates or vendors because theyre not all available at the same time. Don't let anyone make you feel embarrassed for planning so early like I did (so many backhanded compliments on how 'on top' of things we are). Time will fly and it will pay off in the end!!

View quoted message Awesome! Thanks so much for your help!

View quoted message Congrats to you as well! That is awesome, thanks for your reply!

Congrats and glad you enjoyed your engagement party.

For now, its a good idea to figure out your guest list and budget to see the venue you like and book for your date.

The stag and doe, bridal shower will come months before your day. That's something to worry until 2020.

First off, congrats on the engagement!

As for planning, I don't think 2 years is too soon. We booked our venue over 2.5 years in advance and we were able to get a nice package because we were so organized about it. I know I've kind of hopped around the chart like booking the venue, informally booking the bridal shower venue (mostly because I already work there!) and bought my dress with 2 years to go still. I'd definitely suggest nailing down the big things like budget and timeline first before tackling the checklist on the site here. Once you know what you want though, you're pretty much good to go!

I just recently got engaged as well, and my wedding date isn't until February of 2020 - a sold 18 months away! I thought that it was too early to start planning, but you would be surprised how fast thing book up! We had to bring our deposit in on the same day as another couple was interested in our date as well.

I would suggest focus on finding a venue for the first while, and then your photographer, because those can book up super quickly as well and it doesn't hurt to dress shop to get an idea of styles and costs ! Take it slow and enjoy the process!

Congratulations!

I'd say that your first order of business should be guestlist and budget. Then start researching venues and pick one (we put our deposit on ours 18 months pre-wedding, and SEVERAL venues didn't have our date available!). After that, you get into the medium details like photographer, DJ/band, officiant, florists, etc.

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Ok great! Thanks so much!!

View quoted message Save the dates go out first. I would send out invites when you know the locations and times or if you are doing something special. One bride had special I instructions since she was going to be married at a waterfall.

I think before a year is up. Although do some research or create a discussion. My engagement was only 7 months so I'm not sure about timing for longer periods of time

View quoted message How soon do you think invites should go out ?

View quoted message Thanks so much for reaching out!

We actually just booked our venue

First things first - if you are paying for the wedding, start saving! Figure out your budget, and make a plan to save enough to pay for the wedding, if you can.

Second - do some research! Where do you want your wedding? What venues are available to you? Some venues need to be booked 1-2 years in advance). What style of wedding do you want?

You need to start some research. The biggest thing is the ceremony and the venue. Bigger places need to be booked in advance. Also form a guest list. People need to book time off work or may have plans. The sooner they know where and when the better. I ended up giving my invites late 3 months before the wedding. Many people had plans or work conflicts

I agree with Erin. Try to look into the bigger things that are needed.

That way you are booking far enough in advance that you get exactly what you want and do no have to settle.

Pick a venue so you have a date secured and then go from there. Then you have a set date when booking other vendors. See what is out there, and see how many events they book.

For example: the company I have doing my hair and makeup only do a few weddings a month, so I made sure once I knew i wanted to book them I did right away regardless of how far in advance it was

I would say that the list that they provide here on wedding wire will help soooo much but just don't go based on the timeline that they give. If I were to book some of the vendors at the 8 month mark I would be pretty limited in what I could get. With that being said - plan away! Mainly get the big things out of the way like the venues, foods, drinks, officiant, dj. The decor, outfits, and the raffle prizes can wait until closer to those dates. Oh, and CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR ENGAGEMENT and welcome to the community!

Thank you so much for the reply!

We actually just booked our venue! And when we got engagement photos, we got a package that our wedding photos are included! So both of those are already checked off the list!

Congrats and welcome!

I would talk budget with your fiancé and then start looking at venues and photographers. Venues tend to book up quickly so planning that 2 years out isn't uncommon.