Newly engaged

Troutsy

Hey everyone, I'm Kaitlin! My fiance and I got engaged in June when we went on our vacation to Cape Cod. We are thinking about Spring 2018 for the wedding. I'm not even sure where to start or if its too soon to start planning anything. We've been bouncing some ideas back and forth so hopefully something will stick soon. Any suggestions on where to start planning everything? I've heard starting with the reception hall and working that way...but any suggestions would be more than welcome.

brisingr86

Welcome Kaitlin (and congratulations)! If you're thinking Spring 2018, you definitely have time (can start booking venue(s) about 10-12 months out). Having time is great, but it can also lead to more unpredictability (things can change a lot in a year, people get new jobs, move, get pregnant, have babies); I had 13 month engagement and had all of the above happen that cut down on guests that were anticipated. Generally agree with ceremony and venue bookings being first once you're to that stage (get a few dates aligned with family and key friends, the people that MUST be there). If you register on the Knot or Wedding Wire (or probably any of the wedding apps), they'll generate a timeline for you and are good sources for inspiration, vendor reviews, etc.

A lesson I learned too late. Take this time for you and your fiance to really think about what you want. What's important to you in the wedding? What kind of "vibe" do you want? Don't think about the other stuff for a minute, but just what do you want? My (now) husband and I didn't really do this because we hadn't really thought about it and just kind of went with the first venue we saw because they gave us a great price compared to other places we'd gotten quotes and his family had connections to the owner. The reception went fine and guests enjoyed the place, but I don't know that either my husband or I can say it was what we wanted. You have time, so if you don't have clear ideas on what kind of wedding you want, spend some of that time thinking about it.

Please browse through the threads. A lot of us in this group have already gotten married so activity isn't as frequent as it used to be, but some do still check back and respond. Also feel free to message me (brisingr86 AKA Sarah) directly if you just want to bounce ideas. I got married end of July. Congrats again!

TLDR: Congrats! Can probably wait to a year out for serious planning. Register for a site to help guide you. Get a good idea of what you want your wedding to be before you start booking venues/vendors. Message privately if you aren't getting responses from the group.

Troutsy

Thank you for a lot of information! We've pretty much figured out which church we would like to be married in (his parents and my grandparents were actually married there) and we started a list of venues that we would like to visit. We'll compare notes with my mom who also apparently has a list of venues she would like to look at lol

brisingr86

That's really cool to have the history of getting married in the same church as other family. It's cool to look at venues that family suggest, but remember it's you and your fiance's wedding and you want the wedding to be representative of YOU as a couple. Some caveat to this of parents get more say if they're paying for the wedding. Good luck!