So confused

Save the dates are sent 6-9 months before the wedding. Make sure the guest list is set in stone because once they are sent, you must send an invite at 6-8 weeks before the wedding.

An engagement party is optional. Many couples don't have one because it's not something that is done in their social circles.

Sit down with fiance and figure out your areas to focus on and toss the rest. Food, free drinks, entertainment, photography are the top things people focus on.

Figure out your guest list. Only those who you cannot imagine the day without. Is that close friends? Siblings? Someone else?

Decide how much you can spend without getting help from others.

Search for a venue. Decide if you want to be a guest at an all inclusive which has very expensive food/drink minimums (typically 5 figures) or do you want an inexpensive DIY picking out your own vendors?

When to send out save the dates?

Save the dates can be sent out 6-8 months before the wedding. For a destination wedding, you can send them out a little earlier to give guests more time to plan and travel!

When to send out invitations?

Invites are sent around 8 weeks before your wedding date! Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to get RSVP responses in before your venue/vendors need it.

Should I have an engagement party and if so, when should we have it?

Engagement parties aren't necessary, but if you want to have one, it's best to have it a few months after your engagement while the excitement is still fresh! Otherwise, a bridal shower or couple's shower are perfect to have! These aren't hosted by you or your fiancé, but are thrown for you when friends/family offer!

Sit down with your fiancé and go over the basics first. Guest list, budget, location. After that, you can start moving forward with finding vendors and a venue! I highly recommend using Zola.com for your wedding planning. We have our wedding website through there and use it for everything wedding related! (besides wedding wire for the advice!).

Happy Planning!

Lol I was just like you when I first started out! Trust me in a few months you are going to be a pro and giving others advice!
First and foremost, Minted.com is great for all of these following invitations as well as your Wedding Website! I’d recommend minted wedding website over the knot or wedding wire website because if you are having your guests RSVP virtually, do you want a good website that’s actually going to work well for them.

-If you plan on doing an engagement party, the sooner the better! -Next, i’d suggest trying to book a venue and vendors first, that way you don’t end up picking a date that you love that isn’t available on that date.-once you pick your venue and establish a date then you send out the save the dates. We didn’t save the date magnets and we sent them out like 9 months prior to the wedding.-during this time you can start building your wedding website.-I’d suggest sending out invitations 8 weeks prior to your wedding.-your venue will determine your RSVP deadline.-after you get your RSVPs back is when you would do your final table seating adjustments and print seating cards if need be.-A week after your wedding or once you get back on a honeymoon if you’re having one is when you send out your thank you cards!
All of the above information is nothing that is set in stone and its your wedding and you know best. If you’re having a weekday wedding you may want to send out your invites and save the days a bit earlier

You said you've picked a date, but have you figured out your general guest count and budget and have you found your venue based on those things? If not, you should start there. You'll need the venue information to include on your save the dates (at least the city and state) which should be sent long before the invitations.

When to send out save the date?

Save the dates typically aren't sent out until about 6-8 months prior to the wedding unless it is a destination wedding in which case you could send them out at 10 months. I do recommend magnet save the dates so guests can put them on their fridge and won't lose it.

When to send out invitations?

Invites are normally sent out about 8 weeks prior to the wedding with the deadline about 1-2 weeks before your final headcount is due that way you have time to reach out to guests that failed to RSVP before the deadline.

Should I have an engagement party and if so, when should we have it?

Engagement parties typically aren't hosted by the bride and groom so unless someone offers I would say that you probably won't be having one. If someone does offer, then it is usually within a few months of being engaged.

As for where you should start, you will want to start with budget to determine what you can reasonably afford. Then you'd want to make your guest list then book a venue. I say you want to make your guest list first because you will want to make sure A. that the venue you book can accommodate the number of guests you plan on inviting and B. a lot of venues charge per person so if you have 100 people you will want to make sure can afford what they would quote you per person.

Save the dates go out 6-9 months before you wedding date. Invitations go out 6-8 weeks before your wedding.

Have you already booked your venue? If not, then you do not have a wedding date yet. Once you sign a contract and place a deposit on a venue, you will know your wedding date.

View Quoted Comment Thank you Michelle

View Quoted Comment I have a venue already picked and deposit paid cause it's an all inclusive and it's under my $20,000 budget

View Quoted Comment Yes I have the venue already picked out and deposit paid. We're planning for 150 but not really expecting that many.

View Quoted Comment

You've made a good head start. You're well on your way in planning! The timelines offered by WW and the Knot were definitely helpful to me when determining what I needed to complete next.

Engagement party is generally within a couple of months being engaged but you could truly probably have one whenever you want it! Save the dates generally 6-8 months out from the wedding and formal invites closer to 6-8 weeks out! But you’ve definitely got some time if you changed your date until late next year. We could’ve been wedding date buddies (although I think I’m actually changing my date too 😂)

There should be a to do list abd schedule on this platform