where do i start?

Cynthiajt1 · October 2011

FI and I are planning on getting married in July. Where do I start? Do I call and set a date with the church then find a reception venue? This was so much easier when I was working with my home parish....and now I am at square 1 again. ugg.

Calypso1977 · October 2011

you should contact the church first. do not book anything until you have a date and a ceremony time with them. the timing of the ceremony in particular may limit where you can have the reception.

shawna127 · October 2011

What Calypso said for sure. Call the church and even try to meet with the preist ASAP. Good luck

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roxiems75 · October 2011

As long as you have in mind the dates you are interested in I would call the church and make sure those dates are open. Once our priest verified the dates we went and looked at venues to see what would match up with the dates open at the church. It only took us a 2 weeks and we had the church and venue booked. we found reserving the church was the easy part the venue was harder.

melfacto · October 2011

We actually did it backwards, we feel in love with the venue, booked it and than had to go speak with the priest to insure the date was available! Thankfully!! they had the day open, if they didn't I don't know what we would have done. Def, take the ladies recommendations and book your church first!! Goodluck and happy planning!! Its overwhelming at first but things really do start falling into place

catarntina · October 2011

talk to the priest first so you know how long your engagement should last. Parishes have requirements that you have to be engaged 6 mo to a year depending on where you go. They have different requirements for marriage prep, etc. Also, your priest will want to know about any extenuating circumstances that may delay your marriage (previously married, children, interfaith, etc, etc)

Call the church first. Meet with the priest. Set a date & time with the church, then find a reception venue that will fit that timeframe.

After you book the church and the hall, you can book flowers, cake, photographer, etc in any order.

professorscience · October 2011

I can't offer any advice outside of what the other ladies have said, I just wanted to wish you luck!

bibliophile2010 · October 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_catholic-weddings_start?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:615Discussion:42adf2a0-9122-4d6c-a609-5436a9496feaPost:4cdf7942-8879-469f-a0f4-3636ebb1c7eb">Re: where do i start?</a>:
[QUOTE]I can't offer any advice outside of what the other ladies have said, I just wanted to wish you luck!
Posted by professorscience[/QUOTE]

This!

Jay&Marissa · October 2011

Ditto above and keep in mind that you need 6 months to do marriage prep, so don't get your heart set on a date that is really close!

Kate61487 · October 2011

ditto PPs, although I wouldn't actually book the church until you have the venue as well. You may find that the church has your first choice date available but the venue you like doesn't - best to check in with both before booking either. I think our church 'penciled us in' when we first asked about the date, but we weren't confirmed until after the venue was booked. It was actually a bigger deal to get first dibs on the rehearsal time than the day of the wedding, haha.

I've heard a number of brides on these boards dealing with issues where they can't find an available venue they like within an hour of their church (or visa versa). Those are the two big things, so it's important that they're geographically close enough and both available.

brianabrad · October 2011

I did both when it came to the church and the reception location. I was in contact with the church but also looking at reception halls in the area. We didn't want to book the church and find out everything in our price range was booked for that day. Once we had a date in mind with both, we called the church and reception hall the same day.

Good luck and happy planning! By the way, July is the best month to get married!

where do i start?

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