Where do i start when planning for my wedding ( which by the way is in Dec - 2007)?

Answer 1

Budget, budget, budget. Followed by reception location, ceremony location, caterer, photographer, music, officiant, dress, bridesmaids dresses, flowers, tuxes, cake, and honeymoon. That's a super basic list. Check out theknot.com. They have a comprehensive checklist that tells you what needs to be done month by month and you can even add your own stuff to the list like tastings and appointments. Good luck and happy planning. By the way, for a December wedding, you really should get on it. That's cutting it a little close. Go ahead and order your dress ASAP to avoid any mishaps.

Answer 2

First off, start now! ;)
Everyone always says that the first thing you should do is determine your budget. I have no idea how that's done myself. I didn't know what stuff cost when I was first engaged. NO idea what the cost of cakes were, I thought I could get a cake for $50, lol. Reception sites, food, dresses, invitations, etc. I had NO idea. How can you budget for things you don't know about?

I say first, pick a day and look for reception sites that you like. If you are planning to get married in a church and have your reception elsewhere, try and talk to them soon so you can get the same day. I booked my church before knowing for sure if my desired reception site was available. Not a good thing to do. It was booked. So I took the next available day, which was a month later and then was able to change my church booking.

The very first thing I did was buy my dress though, lol. I bought my dress the very next weekend after being proposed to. I just went to look but got sucked in by my dream dress.

Once you have your church, reception site and date of course, you're pretty well ok, lol. That's what I found anyways. Then work on getting really good deals for everything else. With your D.J, talk to family, friends, co-workers, see who knows who - they can be expensive. Same thing with photographers. Invitations, buying them online from certain places can be a relatively inexpensive way to go then going to a local store and ordering them there. I went to a wedding store and ordered mine, only because I loved the invitations though. Also, if you're gonna be paying TONS for stamps, get pretty ones for weddings. I got burgundy lilies, which happen to be some of the flowers I'll be having, and burgundy is one of my colours.

As far as flowers go, check out your grocery stores flower dept. They have awesome flowers and designers most of the time and you can get them cheaper and just as gorgeous!

All the other stuff will come along.
Good luck! :)

Answer 3

Establish your budget first with your parents, etc. Then get yourself a binder and tabs. Label each tab for a part of the wedding (i.e. flowers, attire, ceremony location, decorations, etc.) Start collecting photos of stuff you like from bridal magazines (Martha Stewart's weddings is the best in my opinion) and wedding websites (i.e. the knot, etc.). Keep these in your binder in the appropriate section. This will help narrow down your ideas when talking to vendors. Also go to a Home Depot type store and pick up a few paint swatches of your chosen colors. This is a great place to mix and match colors and shades and it's free. :) Keep those in your binder too. This will help when looking at ribbon, or selecting bridesmaid gowns. Make a point to work on something each day and accomplish one or two goals per week. (See wedding time-line attached). Start off with finding your locations (ceremony and reception if you don't have something in mind already. This is most important. December can be tough with office holiday parties, new years etc. Good Luck!

Answer 4

talk with your fiancee and decide what parts of the wedding are a must have. ie. church, big reception. little reception, how many people you have to invite. Then see how much money you have to do this (from you/him, parents, etc.). And then look for a church/minister/officiant that fits what you want and get their available dates in dec. Then look for halls/reception sites and figure out which two will work together for you guys. (make sure to pay attention to if the hall provides a caterer or limits your food options, and that it will fit in your budget). Then book both.
Look for a bridal shop that has lots of catalogs that you can order from, or that you can custom design your own if you want, and order soon, you need time for it to get here or be made and then time for alterations.
Then look towards booking your band/DJ and caterer.
Then look for your invitations and order them (soon to give time if there was a mistake and have to be reprinted before you are supposed to send them out 1 month before the wedding date) You might also want to order "save the date" cards and send them out asap since December is also a big month for traveling and you want to let everyone know before they decide on other travel plans before they get your invite.
Choose your wedding party and ask them, then look into their attire for the wedding, and the tuxes for all the men.
Then look for your cake.
Then relax and start shopping for your accessories and decorations. (now that all the major stuff is done with!)

Congrats!!!

Answer 5

1) Go to www.theknot.com. That site is a great starting point for researching vendors and ideas.

2) Get bridal magazines to get ideas for your theme, colors, etc. One of the most meaningful things I did, I got from a magazine. I put 3 small locket size silver frames tied to my bouquet that had small pictures of people who had passed away, like my grandfather and my fiance's grandparents. It was very meaningful and sweet.

3) Once you have the big picture, sit down and start making a list. It'll be easier if you do it in Word so you can save it and then make changes throughout the process. Your list will start out short but believe me, as you learn more, your list will grow.

4) Start researching vendors (florists, photographers, caterers, locations) then narrow it down to your top 2 or 3. Most photographers have websites these days w/ their portfolio and even their prices so that makes researching very easy. Caterers and florists don't list their prices because it varies so much.

5) Establish a budget....that will help you in eliminating some vendors. For instance, if your budget is $10k, then you shouldn't really hire a photographer that costs $5k!

Once you have your list, that will help you establish a timeline.

Hope this has helped. If you have any questions, feel free to email me.

Answer 6

Start today.
Set a date.
Determine your budget - this is most important.
Hire a wedding/event planner - worth every penny. Your bridal shop can help you find one.

Oh and be sure to talk to your tax advisor about the kinds of documents you'll need in order to file your taxes properly. Even though you married in Dec - you will be filing Jointly. Make sure this suits your budget.

Answer 7

Book the officiant/minister and the church right away, to assure your date and make sure there is enough time yet to still get the pre-marital counselling. Next is the venue, caterer and band - sometimes they are booked quite far in advance. Plus, with you wanting the wedding in December, places will be booked for holiday events. Then come the invitations, your gown, attendants clothes, decorations, favours, cake, etc. -- and you go on from there!
Good luck to you!

Answer 8

1. Budget
2. Guest list
3. Location
4. Vendors

All the while, look for a dress, select your wedding party (if you decide to have one) and decor.

Also, remember that December is a busy month for Xmas parties, so it'll probably be best to choose a site that has it's own caterer as opposed to selecting an outside caterer.

Answer 9

secure a ceremony/reception location right away, before things you really want get booked.
The other things are not quite as pressing as that. Next of course, would be the dresses, since those take a long time to get in/alter.
Good luck!

Answer 10

Don't stress yourself out trying to plan a wedding....I've seen too many friends do it.

Elope