We Know Nothing...

You're in the right place, Julia. Welcome!

A great first step would be checking out the timeline Wedding Wire offers. Start by considering the tasks the timeline mentions, and browse here a bit. You'll find tons a great advice just from clicking through a handful of threads here!

If you're still hoping for a June wedding, I highly suggest a wedding planner. They can be expensive, but if they're good, they're definitely worth the money. They'll also be able to help with securing vendors, décor, timelines, etc.

You're not supposed to tell people how/what to post on here but we would never tell someone not to get married anyway. At least not based on the information in your OP.

ETA: Get a DOC/planner for organization of events for that day. They are a godsend.

There's a great checklist on the app that may help. Have you considered a Day of Coordinator (DOC) in your budget that you can work with? Also, magazines!

FYI, asking for no negative "crap" is a guaranteed way to get negative response. I'd remove that from your post, especially since I don't think anyone will tell you not to get married, unless you give them a real reason too.

So 1 you can get a wedding coordinator to help you plan. 2 when i say google is your friend google can tell you step by step what you should do. also use this site to its full potential because the checklist helped me make sure i stayed on top of everything. Check with the elders as well they can really help even when help isnt wanted lol

I would look into hiring a wedding planner. They'll be well worth the money spent to get all the fiddly details into place for you.

1. You can't tell people how to post. Although I've never seen someone say not to get married unless there's a ton of red flags such as emotional abuse which has happened in the past.

2. Get a DOC or wedding planner. They can provide you with a schedule of events for the day of. They can also recommend vendors and point you in the right direction. My DOC did an initial planning session to see where I was at, offered to be available for any questions over the phone/email, a session a month before the wedding to nail down all the details (it lasted for about 3.5 hours), and then made the day of run seamlessly (there were several issues that she solved without any input needed from me, she was the point of contact for all vendors, and really kept all stress about the day of off of me and my family). A wedding planner will plan the wedding for you--and you can be as involved or not as you wish.

Wow thanks for telling us how to post OP. That's how you get people to be nice and give you advice.

I would definitely recommend checking out the timeline and other tools this site offers and hiring a planner. Typically, your vendors can be very helpful in nailing down specifics (for example, once you book a DJ or musician they can give you insight to help make the best selections to suit you)

There are tons of helpful magazines and books that can help point you in the right direction as far as traditions and etiquette and give you ideas for planning.

First of all, the pic on your profile is really cute and would make a great avatar.

Second checking out the weddingwire checklist. Do you have an idea of budget? Get a venue first so then you have a date and can book other major vendors- caterer, officiant, photographer. Have a guest list based on how many people you can afford. Everything else falls into place after that.

The wedding checklist on wedding wire is helpful and gives you a timeline of when everything should be done.

Also, you can't tell people how to post. We're all grown adults and know how to post on an internet forum.

Telling others how to post is not allowed. Read the sticky that says "Hello New Users" and you'll find the rules there. That's also a definite way to get responses that you don't want. We are adults and can post however we would like as long as it's within the guidelines here.

Hi Julia! I recommend checking out WW's planning guides - they give a great overview of some big portions of wedding planning:

https://www.weddingwire.com/wedding-ideas/planning-guides

Besides that stick around, use the WW checklist, and search for past forum posts that may have already answered your questions!

We have an officiant, but she's a friend who went to seminary and is not yet officiated.

We have a musician in mind, but her music style and performance style are different and I'm having a hard time figuring out how it would all play into the ceremony and reception.

I do use WW's checklist but it doesn't help my understand the ceremony. I know ceremony's are unique to the couple but as I stated, never been to a wedding. I don't know what to expect.

A wedding planner does not fit into our budget. We are young and paying for everything ourselves , our budget isn't very big. No one in either of our families have really had a wedding, so there's not really many options for us to ask for help.

A professional officiant will help you craft a ceremony that reflects you as a couple.

You might want to make sure your friend has all of her credentials in order so that your marriage is legal... or hire a professional.

ETA: words are difficult sometimes

I'd recommend getting a new officiant, someone who has a little more experience. The officiant is the most important part of the ceremony other than you and your FS, and they can help with a lot more than the ceremony.

Perhaps YouTube wedding ceremonies to get an idea of what happens.

If your officiant is not "officiated" then she is not an officiant. Hire a professional officiant and wedding planner and they will steer you in the right direction.

Hi Julia! Your officiant should really be able to give you some guidance! Can you tell us what kind of ceremony you want to have? Short or long? Religious or non-religious (and if religious, what religion and denomination)? Ceremonies can be very different depending on these things!!

In general - most ceremonies are between 20-30 minutes long (Catholic ceremonies are closer to an hour). Here is a verrrrry general run-down of ceremony events:

(Always put the actual planned start time of your ceremony on the invitations and website)

*Guests start arriving around 20-30 minutes before the ceremony begins, it's nice to have music playing during this time*

- Prelude (choose a song! This is normally when your parents and grandparents are escorted down the aisle and seated)

- Processional (choose more songs This is when your wedding party (if you have one) will process in, followed last by you and whoever is walking you down the aisle or just you!)

- Prayer / Opening words (Hi! Thanks for coming! We are gathered here today...)

- Declaration of Intent **legally required** (The "I Dos", both stating your names and that you are there of your own free will)

- Vows

- Exchanging of the Rings

- Pronouncement of Marriage **legally required** (pronouncement that you are now officially wed)

- The Kiss

- Closing words / prayer / blessing

- Presentation of the couple ("I now give you Mr. and Mrs. Doe!")

- Recessional (choose another song! This is when the couple and the wedding party recesses back down the aisle)

That's the basic outline, but you can add as many songs, readings, blessings, prayers, unity ceremonies in there as you want!