Clueless

Congratulations!!
I don’t think you need a planner- I didn’t use one- but get yourself a planning binder (or make one from free online downloads). Be sure to constantly communicate with your SO through the whole process. Sort out your final budget. Then talk about your must haves and your absolutely nots. Next are guests- realize that fewer guests is more budget friendly. Pick the people you couldn’t imagine getting married without.
After that, start filling it in with what fits in your budget and go price shopping. Take your time and be patient, and talk a lot with each other!

View Quoted Comment Thank you I will definitely do that. I guess I just get to overwhelmed and I lose track of what I need and what to do

Weddings involve a lot of planning and organisation which can be quite tedious. If you’re comfortable with managing all the planning yourself, there is absolutely no need for a planner, but if you’re not confident in your organisational skills or otherwise would prefer the convenience of having someone else do this for you, a wedding planner will definitely be worth the cost.

In terms of time, I wouldn’t sit too idly, particularly if you have specific vendors (and a venue) in mind.

View Quoted Comment I can relate! The internet is full of handy timelines too you can find some here on WW

My first wedding, I hired a day-of-coordinator so that I'd be stress free and not have to handle any craziness, but we had 250 guests too. I am a computer nerd so I saved and created folders for every facet of the wedding. I use Wedding Wire budget tool a lot! They give you a good estimate when you plug in your overall budget and you can keep track of your payments/ pending payments there too. They also have a built in timeline of tasks that I really enjoy.


For this wedding, I am doing the same thing but now I'm using Excel to keep track of my quotes for every vendor. It helps me to compare prices easily at a glance. It also helps me to track my guest list and totals up the RSVPs for me. Are you more of a paper person or digital person? My sister in law has a physical binder and that's helpful for her.
Everyone that I have talked to said that because of all the canceled weddings, it's better to start booking now rather than later. My wedding isn't until October 2022 and most of my vendors are booked. Let me know if you want any other tips or the excel file I'm using!

Congrats!!

I honestly think you can skip the wedding planner, but if you don't like to plan things or get easily overwhelmed, a wedding planner could help relieve some stress off of you!

We didn't hire one because we didn't see a point in paying someone to do something we can easily do ourselves. Plus, I like to be in control when planning things, so I wouldn't do well with a planner lol. We DO have a day of coordinator though, which I highly suggest having. They'll handle everything the day of, allowing you to be relaxed and stress free on your wedding day!