Wedding Planning?
Monday, July 26th, 2010 at
4:00 pm
Jennifer H asked:
I’m not getting married for almost 2 years, but I’m horrible at planning things. I don’t have the money to hire a wedding planner bc I have a small budget. I know 2 years is a long time, but when should I start looking for dresses, venues, food? When is a good time to start the actual planning? I have no clue!!
I’m not getting married for almost 2 years, but I’m horrible at planning things. I don’t have the money to hire a wedding planner bc I have a small budget. I know 2 years is a long time, but when should I start looking for dresses, venues, food? When is a good time to start the actual planning? I have no clue!!
Tagged with: Dresses • Good Time • Money
Filed under: Wedding Planning
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you can start looking now if you’d like, it will give you lots of time to decide what you really want, what you can afford and how much money you need to save
you could always go with a small wedding you’ll be just as married, and might even enjoy it more
It is never too soon to start looking and pricing the wedding. Weddings do not have to cost a fortune if you look at other peoples weddings and talk to them.
Ha! Two years is a long time…but not in the wedding planning world. You’re in a perfect position to start planning your wedding right now. And I think that if you plan one thing every month you’ll find that it is actually more fun to plan for your big day.
Start with your ceremony and reception locations. They are typically the hardest to reserve. After that move to the photographer and wedding dress. Then wedding party attire. Create a free account on WeddingChannel.com or TheKnot.com and check out their wedding check list. It’ll give you the guidelines of what to do in different time frames.
Congrats on your engagement and good luck! Remember….have fun planning…it’s such an important day and you’ll want to enjoy it to the fullest!
You could start now… Look on wedding websites, like theknot.com, etc… A lot of them have programs that tell you what you should be doing at certain times… It will help you alot.. Just remember when you get your dress don’t expect you’ll be two sizes smaller or larger, expect to be yourself…. It might be best to wait a year or so to do that… Then you’ll have a better idea… You could start looking for venues now so you have a better chance of getting the place you want on your date… I would wait for food til closer to the day… You want to make sure the place is still open then…. Also if you have a friend that is good at crafts or organizational skills, maybe they coud help you and wouldn’t cost you…. Best wishes!!!
this should help you.
you dont really even need to start planning yet. but in a few months you can probably start…
Choose a wedding date. Don’t rush. Give yourself enough time. The best way to do this is to visit ceremony and reception facilities at which you would like to be married and have your reception. Choose a date based on availability. If you give yourself a year or more to plan, you have a much greater chance of booking your desired venue on your desired date.
Start a wedding file. This is a file or folder to keep all your wedding documents, contracts etc… Organization is the key to staying sane during the planning phase.
Discuss & Choose the style and formality of your wedding. Pick what best suits your lifestyle, personalities and budget. “Formal”, “Semi-Formal” or “Informal”. There is no wrong choice. This is your day and you should make it your own. This will also help in narrowing down which venues you will consider.
Put an announcement of your recent engagement in the local paper. This is optional, but is a nice touch and memento.
Decide on a wedding budget. Common sense dictates that you do not spend beyond your means. The last thing you want is to begin your marriage in major debt because of your wedding
Hire a wedding consultant if you plan to. Some brides choose to hire a wedding consultant to ease the stress of planning or because their schedule doesn’t allow enough time for planning.
Select a ceremony location. Keep in mind that reservations are sometimes booked over a year in advance, so if you find one that you like, put a security deposit down to hold the date. Always check the cancellation/refund policies first and have them in writing).
Select a reception site. Many times the ceremony and reception will be held in the same facility. If this is not the case, be sure that the ceremony and reception facilities are available on the same date. also keeping in mind that they sometimes book over a year in advance. Again, always check the cancellation/refund policies first and have them in writing.
Start shopping for a wedding gown. Custom gowns can take up to a year to prepare. Be sure to begin this process as early as possible. Sometimes the wedding gown can become a stress factor, so the more time you leave for this, the better. Keep in mind that alterations and final dress fittings can also eat up extra time. There are no refunds on wedding gown purchases, so make sure your selection is 100% what you want. You can also start looking for a coordinating veil and tiara.
good luck
and look at the link!
1-1.5 yrs ahead!! good luck!!
First thing is first…take yourself to a book store & purchase a Wedding Planning Binder…it’s a very useful tool. I actually made my own binder and I tabbed all the different things ie: Accessories, cake, church, decorator, DJ, Dresses, favors, flowers, guest list, invites, limo, photographer, reception, videographer, wedding party & misc…In each area I placed…photo’s, receipts and pertainant information… This really keeps you organized and it’s a must!! And it has a timeline too to guide you along the way. Congrats!!
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I would definatly start thinking about your # of guests…then start looking at venues. You have to know how many you’re accomediating. Then your theme & colors…and your Wedding is planned around that…:) It would also be a good idea to start breaking down a budget in a spreadsheet and see just what you can afford…
Well, you can start right now. Unless you live in an area when venues book years in advance, most venues will reserve a date up to about a year in advance, so you probably won’t be able to reserve a spot yet, but you CAN get a good idea of how much places for your ceremony and reception will cost you. When you’re given prices (if you are) make sure you realize that the prices you’re being given are for today–they will more than likely be higher for an event in 2 years.
Start working on a tentative guest list. Figure out who absolutely must be invited, who you’d REALLY like to invite, and who you’d like to invite, but the world won’t come to an end if you can’t invite them. Remember, you won’t be able to invite everyone, so prioritize your guests. It sounds horrible, but you have to do it.
You can also work on saving some extra money so that you have a little more budget money to work with. My brother and his wife each worked a 2nd job while planning their wedding–and that money went directly into the wedding. They weren’t major jobs–retail sales over the weekends–but they managed to save enough from that to really have a nice wedding. Remember to stick to your budget, it’s so easy to go overboard–if you pay cash for everything, you won’t.
You can also get an idea on dresses–look through bridal magazines, etc. Find out when bridal stores in your area have sample sales, trunk shows, etc. Generally, you can get a deal on a dress during those promotions, and that may be just how you find your dress. If you custom order a gown, some designers need 9 months for that–so plan that accordingly as well.
Whatever you do–DON’T ask people to be bridesmaids/groomsmen now–unless they’re siblings, and are obvious choices. Read through the questions here, and you’ll find more questions from brides about how she picked her bridesmaids, but now she’s just not close to one of them anymore, and doesn’t know how to “fire” her from her wedding.
Right now you should be in the idea gathering stage–start thinking about how you want the wedding to look. Go through magazines, websites, etc. to get ideas. Keep files of things you like, and things you don’t like. Remember, it’s supposed to be fun though–don’t get so wrapped up in it that you forget why you’re doing the wedding in the first place.
Best of luck to you, and congrats on your engagement!