Where do I start?

Question

I just got engaged, and I want to start planning the wedding, but I have no idea what I need, or where to start, or what to do!!! I got a few books, but they aren't helpful at all!! We aren't getting married for about 2 years, but I still want to plan! Please help!! Thanks!! :)

Answer 1

Start by figuring out your budget - weddings are expensive. If you know what you can afford to spend, and if any family members will be contributing financially - it makes things a lot easier when you are planning.

Decide what type / size of wedding you want - Big wedding? Small wedding? Formal? Informal? Themed?

Will this be a church wedding? If so, do you both share the same faith? Are there any required pre-marital classes required by your church? Or, will it be a civil ceremony? Will you write your own vows?

Go to bridal shows to get ideas.

Start looking at Bridal Magazines for ideas & helpful articles.

Buy a wedding planner - this is a binder with a calendar that will give you timelines for planning / reserving specific things, such as the reception hall, band, photographer, etc. It also will tell you when you should send out invitations - and provide advice for how to accommodate out of town guests. And.....don't forget about the honeymoon! Take as many notes as possible! Write down your ideas as they come to you!

Ask friends and family for ideas - and take any help that is offered!

Get references or recommendations on anyone you hire/contract for the event.

Involve your fiance in the planning - after all, it is his day too. Have regular 'meetings' to discuss how the plans are coming - and ask him to help in picking out items such as stationary, the cake, the music, etc.

I could go on and on - but I'm sure you get the point.....congrats & good luck!

Answer 2

Congradulations! I'm in the midst of planning a wedding as well. The way I did it was to pick a range of dates first. Be flexible! Try to be mindful of other things happening: Mother's day (flowers are 5x more expensive!), graduations, and other events that would cause people not to be able to attend.

With this range of dates, now pick a venue. You need to know your budget, since that dictates all decisions in the wedding. Try to get it locked in as soon as possible, but make sure its the right place since most have a non-refundable deposit.

From there it is a lot of details. You can plan it yourself if you have the time. If you don't have a lot of time, or your live far away from the venue, a wedding planner might be a good idea. I would certainly recommend a wedding planner for the day of the wedding. Most have packages for just that.

Good luck!

Answer 3

i just got engaged two weeks ago and im in the same boat it can all be so overwhelming we are looking at this time next year and haven't made any solid commitments to a hall or anything its a huge decision. Since it seems that you have a lot of time i would really do some research sit down with your partner for a "brainstorming session" jot down some things that are important to both of you and some themes and the general idea of the wedding that you would like to see. Then my advise is to really get word of mouth reviews on the halls/limo service/florist etc.. this will give you the best idea on what the service is like and since you have the time really make use of that luxury perhaps if budget is an issue you can think of some creative ways to save money or use this time to really plan your dream wedding. Another idea is to either buy (i recommend chapters) or get one online ezweddingplanner.com for a wedding planner it will give you a timeline tips and generally keep track of budget and ideas business cards and mostly keep you organized this way you feel like all your thoughts are organized. Best of luck to you and most importantly enjoy every minute it only happens once !!

Answer 4

This is how I start thinking and planning ahead for an event or something like it, though I'm not married (I'm just 19). Start in chronological order. So, for instance, you wake up on your wedding day,
1) have you set a date yet? then you get dressed,
2) think about who's going to do your hair and make-up and set up appointments, obviously the wedding dress comes first in all of this - finding a suitable dress, fittings etc. take a while. Then after that you go to the church,
3) have you decided on a location for the ceremony?
4) decorations and themes for the wedding according to season and preferance, then going through the ceremony,
5) who's going to be standing up there with you - matron of honour, maid of honour, bridesmaids
6) their dresses
then after the ceremony you have the reception, so
7) find a venue for the reception and figure out the decorations and menu; photographer; honeymoon and so forth and so forth. I find that if you go in chronological order you tend to miss less things and have a clear picture of what to do and what to get. Then when you're checking, you can use the same method to see if you've missed anything. And if you're looking for ideas in general, like themes and decoration tips, search the web, look at bridal magazines, ask friends and family, watch programmes and other people's weddings. There is a wealth of information that's just untapped at the moment. The important thing is that when you're doing all of this planning, you do it with your fiance because it's your guys' day and you should both be happy at the outcome. Hope this helps! Congratulations!

P.S. Please let me know if it's helped you! Thanks!

Answer 5

The first thing you need to do is figure out how much money you have to spend, a grand total of your money his money and parental donations that will be used ONLY for the wedding. This is the most important thing. Then you can estimate how much to spend on the individual elements (dress, reception, flowers, rings etc...)

Then decide how many people you want to attend. Make a rough list for you and your fiance then ask both sets of parents who they would like to invite. This number is gravely important...as you'll soon find out.

You will want to book the hall between the 2 and 1 year mark this is the next most important thing because it's the most expensive. Everything else is generally done in the year before.

Congratulations, and relax!

Answer 6

Congratulations!! :o) www.theknot.com & www.weddingchannel.com are fantastic resources for planning your wedding!!!

First, zone in a date or a few dates that appeal to you and your fiance. Keep in mind that certain months are more expensive than others (in the North East US, May/June/Sept/Oct are the most expensive months and Saturdays are the most expensive days... discounts are usually offered for Friday evening and Sunday weddings).

Second, put together a preliminary guest list. This will help you zone in on how many people you are going to invite. Having 100 guests or 200 guests will greatly effect the cost of the wedding and the location options that you have (not all venues accomodate 200 guests, for example). So having a rough idea of the number of guests will give you a lot of important information.

Next, put together a budget. What can you afford? Who will chip in and help with paying for the wedding? Consider all costs, from reception to transportation to photographers to attire.

Next, start scoping out ceremony sites and reception sites. Book both of them ASAP as they book quickly. 2 years may seem really early, but if you book your site then you know you have it and you can plan from there.

Next, you will want to figure out what kind of theme you want... color schemes, etc. Then start planning from there. As mentioned above, www.theknot.com and www.weddingchannel.com are very useful web sites. They offer planner check-lists, vendor information and all kinds of information.

Answer 7

Find the dress first. I wrote all the things down I wanted in the wedding and went from there. Look around at all the options. Talk to people about how they had there wedding and what they liked best about it. Write down all the things you hear that you like and see what you come up with. Good luck. Remember, it is your day and you can have whatever kind of wedding you want. Make it a fun and special day.

Answer 8

Absolutely the venue is the first thing to do. Its needs to be booked at least one year in advance ( 2 is even better).
I just got married 3 months ago so I am quite fresh with this.

Start by that, then you work on photographer ( they go very fast), we booked ours 1 year in advance, and his company already had two other weddings that day. Then DJ or band, especially if you have someone specifics in mind. That's the 3 most imp!!

The dress can wait till 6-8 months before, because in 2 yrs your likes might change....and your size.

Small touches can be worked on in advance, what colour scheme, decor( especially if you know the venue), gifts for guest, your songs, bridal party, flowers. Buy magazines, you might just see something you like. If you have wedding shows in your area, go to ne..they are great.,

Good luck and congrats!

Answer 9

First figure out your locations - ceremony and reception. Call and book them ASAP. Call a few halls in your area and ask them for recommendations on DJ's, Caterers, Photographers, Dress Shops etc.
Second listen to the radio and read the papers for Bridal shows and go to a few. They will give you ideas and you will get the chance to meet many people in the wedding business.
You are very smart to give yourself so much time to plan. Good Luck in all of your planning.

Answer 10

You start at the beginning. First, why the two year wait - that is just crazy. Don't do anything until a year before the wedding, in your case, because your taste, the trends, etc. will change by then - and you don't want to be stuck with stuff you've changed your mind about. Maybe just start keeping clippings of stuff you like.