Long engagement - when to plan??

Knottie97394319

Hi all,

I got engaged on February 21st and I am eager to start planning. If I had my choice we would get married in summer of 2016, however, my fiance is likely going back to school so it will probably be summer 2017. Is it too soon to start looking at venues??

dcbride86

Knottie97394319 said:

Hi all,

I got engaged on February 21st and I am eager to start planning. If I had my choice we would get married in summer of 2016, however, my fiance is likely going back to school so it will probably be summer 2017. Is it too soon to start looking at venues??

Congrats on getting engaged!

I don't think it's too soon to start planning!  I booked my venue about 2 years in adavnce.  Depending on your location, venues may book up well over a year in advance.

That being said, however, you first need to determine your budget and a rough guest list.  Once you know your budget and have an invite number, you can start looking at venues.  But looking before then is bound to just end in disappointment

[Deleted User]

Hey there!

I got engaged back in October of '14 and am not getting married until October of '16!  I have already started planning.  I don't think it's ever too early to start planning small things.  

My advice, that I actually probably should take myself is if you plan on doing any DIY items for your wedding, then start them now.  That way you can focus on the bigger things when it gets closer and have the smaller things out of the way.

Me and my fiance are doing a LOT of DIY stuff.  We have all the ideas, it's just starting to work on them.  Good luck and congrats!

bananasplit472001

I got engaged a little over two years ago and we are still 3 months from our wedding.  We started looking for venues right away as my sister's wedding was coming up and i was the MOH.  Whenever you feel you want to look and whenever you can afford to put down the venue deposit is when you should book it.

klk111415

Just take everything one step at a time.  Figure out a guest list, start researching venues, look into vendors.  I started 14 months out and I've hit a point where I want to plan, but all I can really do is sit back and wait! So, try to spread things out and don't drive yourself crazy planning every little detail, you have plenty of time!

[Deleted User]

You can start looking at venues to check out styles & figure out a rough budget. Keep in mind, prices will change in two years. But you can at least rule out venues that don't fit what you are looking for and if they don't fit what you would like to spend now, they won't in 2 years either. Also you can find out how far in advance you need to book. Some venues I've heard can book 1-2 years in advance around certain dates if the venue is very popular. You can use this time to gather info & start to figure out what you want & what your budget is.