Congratulations on getting engaged! Now comes the fun (but complex) task of planning your dream wedding. The best and most important piece of advice I can give you is this: Don't wait to start planning your wedding. There is much more to a wedding than the cake, flowers, and the dress. Those are things that people remember from your wedding. But, How will the cake get from the baker's to the venue? How much will it cost to have the flowers delivered and who's going to meet the florist when they get there? Where is the best place to get your dress fitted and altered if necessary? All of these logistical questions any many many more MUST be addressed and answered before your dream wedding can take place. One of the worst things you could possibly do is procrastinate
What concerns me is when brides start comparing their wedding planning process to other brides that they know. "Well, my cousin Jill planned her wedding in 7 months and it turned out fine. So, I'm going to wait to start planning my wedding till about that time." No. No, No, No,....and NO.
Everyone's wedding is different. Everyone's wedding plans will face different challenges. The more time you have to address these inevitable challenges the easier and LESS STRESSFUL the whole planning process will be. And this is very important to understand especially if you are planning the wedding yourself. Twelve months out is a must!
A large part of the necessity of having a longer planning period has to do with the vendors. I've said it before that you should start looking for venues for your wedding ASAP. Wedding and Reception venues get booked up over a year in advance. I know a woman that booked her wedding venue BEFORE she had a groom. There was a 2 year waiting list for the chapel she wanted to have her dream wedding in. So she picked a date and booked it. Luckily for her the most amazing man entered her life at just the right time.
Even some florists get booked over a year in advance. I was at A Floral Affair yesterday when a bride entered inquiring about prices for bouquets. The showroom hostess asked what the date of the wedding was. The bride said it was next November. The hostess said "Let me check if that date is available." Yes you read that right, NEXT NOVEMBER.
And sometimes, things just go wrong that are out of your control. For example, the wedding I planned for Shawn and Robert Jordan. We booked the caterer in plenty of time. They had the menu picked out and everything. Then a few months before the wedding, the caterer went out of business. We had to scramble to find a new one who was available for their wedding date. But, we had time to do that. You know why??? Because we were on schedule with everything else. Because we started early.
So, please please please for the sake of your sanity and the sanity of those who are helping you in this process.... Don't put this off. The last thing I want to see is a bride stressing 3 weeks before her wedding about something that could have been taken care of 3 months ago.
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