Dont know where to start

Do you have a budget set and a venue? Those and guest list are the things to start with. Once you’ve worked out your budget, you can start looking at venues which will fit your guest numbers and figure out what you can afford - if you only want to spend $2000 and have 200 guests on your list, you’re going to have to have a cake and punch reception rather than a full meal. Catering (if your venue doesn’t provide it) and photographer are probably the next things to sort out; eight or nine months is plenty of time to ask bridesmaids and get your dress ordered.

Set a budget and make a guest list and pick a venue. Everything else will sort of follow from there.

So I did everything backwards and I honestly believe it helped. We did not set a budget at first because well...honestly, I have to plan it in less than 8 months and I just jumped right in. Anyway, I emailed a ton of venues to gauge how they responded and what type of pricing they had. This really set the stage for my wants, my needs and gave me an idea of where I'd need to cut and where I'd have to make exceptions. For example, venues in sedona are insanely pricey. If I had went in with the idea that I am only spending 5k on a wedding, I would have been depressed after seeing over and over again how ridiculously pricey these resorts and private venues are. I think it helped me get a sense of reality before restricting myself completely and wanting to to a in the towel.

This probably isn't the best advice because some people really do have tight budgets, but even with a tight budget. It is still nice to see where the vendors come in on price before setting budgets that may be unrealistic for each individual part of a wedding.

You have plenty of time. I planned the majority of our wedding in two months and our entire engagement is only eight months. Set a budget and go from there.

View Quoted Comment

I agree with this, although from the perspective of someone who has over 2 years to plan. Rather than starting with a hard budget, we figured out our vision and researched venue costs in the areas we were interested in. Since we have time, we were able to shape some of our other financial decisions around what we need to save in order to have the wedding we really want. Of course, if your budget is tight or you don't have that kind of flexibility, you'll want to start with a more set budget. But I think it's important to know what is realistic within that budget before you get too far, or you could be disappointed in what your budget will cover.

You have time. Just make a list and check things off one by one. I started with venues and photographer because those were most important to me. If you have any ideas about things you just have to have I would start there. Literally, getting started is the HARDEST part.

My is a year away also i started off first with looking at places to have the wedding at I got lucky and mine had catering with the price but after you pick a place then go look at dresses start going on websites and seeing what you like with the price you want ti spend then everything will fall in place so do just these things 1. Breath remember its your big day. 2. Have fun planning everything with who ever I helping you. And 3. Rember its all about you guys no one else so if you have other people in your ear telling you to do this and do that listen to there input but also keep your voice hard. Happy planning and congratulations

You have plenty of time. I planned the entire wedding within 8 months. Set a budget and start looking at venues. You'll be fine!

Hello,

I am getting married in October 2020 so don't feel like you are behind because i have not booked anything yet lol. I actually started looking at venues in July but i had to put that on hold because i had my parents wedding in October and i was helping my mom with all the preparations (I learn a lot by doing this). But now all the focus is on my wedding now so the venue hunt begins again. We have looked at about 5-6 venues and we do have a budget set since my FH and I are trying to pay for our own wedding with neither of our parents help, $. We do have a guest count so maybe you can start there (that's where we started). My learning experience with all this so far is don't settle for the 1st venue you see. They try to sweet talk and talk smack on other venues but at the end of the day you know your budget and you know what you have and don't have lol Have fun while doing the hunting and set as many appointment's with different venues as you can and negotiate with them, you will trip-out on how far they are willing to go after you tell them "No" They negotiate all over again lol

The Budget Savvy Bride by Jessica Bishop is a great tool for planning! She has great checklists and budget tools, it's like $15 on amazon!