I'm planning the wedding by myself

Are you planning it alone or with your fiancé?
And are the 2 of you paying for 100%, are your parents paying, are your fiancé's parents contributing, or do you split the bill with 1 or2 set(s) of parents? This question is important because if you're footing the bill, you can make all decisions if you want or let parents have a say but you decide how much or how little the say is... but if they are helping pay or if the foot the bill: they have a say and the bigger the contribution % is, the bigger say they get.

Regardless of who is paying/contributing The first steps are:

1; Set a budget with your fiancé or fiancé + parents who are footing the bill or contributing, if they are.

2: Make a rough guest list so you have an estimated head count when you're looking for a venue. Sit down with fiancé to discuss how large or how small the list will be: intimate, very large, mid-sized? ( add 1 more spot on the list for the single folks, especially adult because they may start a love relationship between today and your wedding day).

3: Determine the type of ceremony the 2 of you would prefer: religious or secular, indoor, outdoor with an indoor back up plan, should the weather not cooperate or both: outdoor ceremony , indoor reception and cocktail hour held outdoor or indoor

4: Start searching venues based on your rough guest list( since all venues have a max capacity and many also have a min. you have to meet) and keep in mind the vibe and the level of formality the 2 of you would want when you're touring venues. I mean you wouldn't want to do a casual reception with pizza or BBQ in a ballroom and casual outfits , would you? 😀😆

Venues are booked out at least 12 months out during the 'wedding season" and at least 10 months out for late march/early april weddings which is your case. It would NOT be a bad idea to have your venue booked 1.5 or 2 years out since it will ease the next steps of your planning.

View Quoted Comment My fiance contributes his ideas when I ask, we are paying for the wedding ourselves my mom isn't coming we have are venue done he's going to be doing the cooking and I'm gonna be doing the baking

If I were you I would find friends or family to do the cooking/baking. On your wedding day you do not want to worry about this huge of a task. Personally hiring a caterer would be the best thing you could spend your money on. My number one priority was to have good food and great service such as bartenders. We didn't hire a day of or a wedding planner. Me and my fiance are planning ours 100% on our own but certain tasks are better left to the professionals. And imo caterer was the best money well spent as they will setup and tear down everything. Another option you might consider if catering is not in the budget, would be to do a potluck of sorts where you assign everyone something to bring or make. But obviously someone will need to clean it all up as well. As far as decorations you can find many cheap options at dollar stores or on Amazon.

View Quoted Comment Thank you that's amazing advice