I'm engaged and need advice on what to do or where to start

I suggest using the checklist for planning on this platform.

10k for 100 guests can be done. First thing first is to book the venue

1.) Ten months would normally be enough time to plan, but in 2021, it’s going to be seriously pushing it. October is the most popular wedding month of the year and with so many couples rescheduling from 2020, you’re going to be hard pressed to find a venue, let alone your other vendors.

2.) Whether or not your budget is realistic depends on your area and what kind of wedding you want. We got married in an off peak month, had about 125 guests, and we live in a relatively low-moderate cost of living area. We had a barn venue and served stations for our meal, so nothing super luxurious, and we spent about 2.5 times your budget, just to put things into perspective.
3.) What you’ll need in a venue is really your preference. Generally, all inclusive venues tend to be more expensive in my area than the more DIY venues. I don’t think we could have hosted 100 people for anywhere near $10k at an all inclusive.

Congratulations on your engagement!! I think 10 months to plan is definitely enough time. First things to figure out are typically budget and estimated guest count, both of which you mentioned you already figured out. When looking at venues, ask about cancellation/postponement policies, whether there are any additional fees you should be aware of (cake cutting fee, setup fee, etc), deposit amounts and due dates, minimum guest count required, what time you would have the venue at, and what time you will need to be out of the venue by, preferred vendors, etc. For additional planning items, look at the checklist on The Knot or on Wedding Wire!

Congratulations on your engagement! The very first thing you will want to do is set a budget then create your guest list. Venues that include the things you name base their pricing on per person so you will need to know roughly how many people you will be inviting in order to determine if you can afford the venue that you have selected. You will also need to know if the venue is large enough to accommodate the number of people you planning on having. You might also want to ask what their current policies are with Covid because there might be limitations on how many guests you will be able to have. Our venue included food, tables and chairs, linens and napkins, place settings, glass/flatware, and open bar. We also had a minimum food/beverage requirement of $7,000. Food/beverage minimums are pretty common. I know some venues we looked at also had a minimum number of guests required as well. When I got engaged my mom bought me a wedding planning book which had checklists, questionnaires to ask venues and vendors, tips & advice, etc. I found it very helpful because I could take it with me on venue tours or meetings with vendors. It also gave me a great place to have all of the information pertaining to my wedding in one place. I have linked the wedding planning book below. I would also recommend checking out Jamie Wolfer's YouTube channel. She is a wedding planner and she has tons of videos on YouTube to help couples through the planning process. She has a free wedding planning timeline on her website. She also has a wedding planning program you can purchase for either 6 or 12 months. I have linked her YouTube channel below. I have also answered each question that you asked below.

Wedding Planning Book: https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Wedding-Planner-Organizer-binder/dp/0770433367/ref=asc_df_0770433367/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312132076760&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8657349741991285612&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9007937&hvtargid=pla-434335069873&psc=1

Jamie Wolfer YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdAcY6YGgF-RgGYXTsOENbA

Is this enough time to plan? Normally, I would say yes! However, because of Covid a lot of weddings have been scheduled so you may have a more difficult time finding venues and other vendors because they are already booked. October is already a very popular wedding month as well.

Also, we are thinking of having only 100 guests. We'd like to stick to a budget of 10k. Is that realistic for the amount of guests and for the month of the year? As I mentioned before, October is a very popular month to get married so it is generally more expensive. Also, depending on where the wedding will be taking place will really determine if your budget is realistic. For example, someone in California is going to spend a lot more than someone in Pennsylvania. My advice is to do your research to see on average what everything costs.

What else should I look for in a venue? There are tons of wedding planning tools online that can provide you with questions to ask venues and other vendors.

I know I'll need a photographer, dj, and florists. Anything else I'm missing? There are so many things that go into planning a wedding. Some that you didn’t mention would be attire, hair and makeup, videographer (if you want one), and officiant just to name a few.

Congratulations on your engagement and goodluck planning

Congrats on your engagement and welcome to wedding wire. first thing first it depends on where you live. I am having a 130 person wedding and having a Colorado wedding my budget is 28,000 and that is getting me the basic for everything, however there are things that you can do to keep your wedding within your budget. get married in a off month look at parks for ceremony and reception. davids bridal has sales on dresses sometimes for 100.00. Look at restraunts for catering like olive garden bbq places etc... BBQ and Italian are sometime more affordable options. you can do a wine and beer bar only this will save money as well

Oh Wow Congratulations...My fiancé and I got engaged on Christmas 2020 too!!!

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What did your all inclusive include?

Hello and congrats!


10k seems reasonable for an all inclusive venue if you are not counting your personals (dress shoes, hair, makeup, florals, etc)
You may be able to get it under if you do everything separately. Book a venue at $2,000-$3,000. Catering at $35-$40pp and then all the other stuff.
Good luck, and we are here to answer any questions you may have.

View Quoted Comment Same here, I am in Miami, and with out attire, hotel rooms, and all the extra entertainment(dancing on the cloud, sparklers, favors) we are right around 27k.


I’m trying to find ways to cut down but there just no way.

What you can get for $10k varies, depending on where you are.

DH and I live just outside of NYC, he was raised there, we got married there, and we considered ourselves lucky to only pay about $30k for a wedding.

On the flip side, we planned in 7 1/2 months, less if you count the collective month one or the other of us was knocked flat by an illness.

First you need to prioritize - guest list, venue. Then you need to be flexible on the date/time, look for vendors who need to fill up a date, and be ruthless to yourself about what you *really* want, and what you only think you want.

There are checklists on here and the Knot that are super helpful.

Good luck!

Congrats on getting engaged! first thing figure out budget, guest, and venue. I had a 2 year engagement and things were already booked for my date that far out. With covid I honestly wouldnt plan for 2021. Things are very tight with 2020 being pushed out. Its a mess.