Looking for some timeline advice!

Re: Looking for some timeline advice!

• DeliteSmith

  

  October 2010 edited December 2011

  Congrats, that will be beautiful!  My wedding will be there next June, I love Crystal Lake, and my co-worker was married there this year on October 16th, I am waiting for her to return from her honeymoon so I can ask all about it. 
  
  If you go the the Knot wedding checklist it will give you a pretty good idea of what you need to do when.
  
  I think I booked CL in February and as soon as I had my date I started booking my other vendors (photography, dj, florist).  Some of the popular or affordable people I contacted were already booked and that was about a year and a half in advance, so I'd say its ok to start looking! For your dress, my store said it could take up to 6 months to come in, and you need time for alterations after that, so if you start looking now you'll have some time to shop around. I still haven't done things like cake, officiant, etc., with about 8 months to go. 
  
  Good luck!

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• KB_RI

  

  October 2010 edited December 2011

  Hey there,
  Rhode Island Monthly's Bride publication has a free PDF timeline and workbook you can download and print that might help. http://www.rimonthlybride.com/images/Bride/2010%20Wedding%20Workbook.pdf
  
  I just got married on the 10th, so I'll tell you how we booked things last year and maybe that will give you some idea? Don't feel like you're behind; remember that 10-10-10 was one of the most popular dates in recent years!
  
  We booked our venue in June and our caterer in early August. We started meeting photographers during the summer and we made our deposit on Sept. 10. Then we booked the DJ - just checked e-mail and they got the contract from us on Oct. 29. If you are planning to have a videographer, that's another one to lock in early.
  
  I met with florists in the summer of '09 (because I have two jobs during the academic year so I wanted to get as much done in summer as possible) but decided to do my own, so I didn't book. You could start looking at florists any time, but may want to wait a little bit because they'll have more "down time" after the holidays. That still leaves you 10 months, which should be plenty.
  
  We booked cake this summer, so you're safe waiting a bit on that.
  
  As for dresses, you really can start looking any time, but depending on what kind of dress you want, you might have to order eight to 10 months in advance. I put off dress shopping and ended up buying off the rack this summer, but most girls on the October 2010 board were buying their dresses early this year - January to March-ish.
  
  I didn't have a wedding party, but the girls on my month board pretty much were ordering their BM/FG/mom's dresses by April, so leave about six months for that if you're looking for designers, but if you find a style you like at David's Bridal, they can get most in within 12 weeks, though I wouldn't suggest waiting that long! Men have it the easiest and most girls took care of the tuxes and such this summer. (We just bought my husband a suit like a month before the wedding.)
  
  Other vendors we booked that might not apply to you: Our day-of coordinator: met with her on MLK day and booked in early February. The rest - tent vendor, bar service, rentals, hair, makeup, etc. were largely done this spring or summer. Some things were done really last minute. We had a snafu with our ceremony musicians and booked someone else the week before! His aunt offered to get us a limo and that was booked three days before our wedding. EEK! My online flowers didn't come through, which I found out on Thursday night before the wedding, and I had to go to Whole Foods on Friday to pick out new flowers. But everything worked out in the end. :-)
  
  My last bit of advice is, if you haven't already, to join the October 2011 board and particpate with girls who are planning alongside you. It really keeps you on task when you see everyone is doing X or Y, and you can make some lasting friendships. It's amazing how "close" you can become to people online and a lot of us are friends on FB now and plan to keep in touch on The Nest.
  
  Best wishes; enjoy the next year - it really does go fast.

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• RoyalOrient member

  

  October 2010 edited December 2011

  If your florist is popular like Florals by Alisa, you are better off booking them asap! That applies to any vendor who is in high demand and does only one wedding a day/weekend (ex. photographer) Definitely do your research to find vendors who will work with your budget and fit your style/personality. G.L
  
  

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• KB_RI

  

  October 2010 edited December 2011

  Yes, good point about the in-demand florists. I wasn't thinking that way because flowers were the least important thing to me and there are so many florists out there that I felt like the "personality" vendors - the ones that you will spend your whole day with, like photographer, videographer, caterer, DOC, etc. - were most important to us. No, maybe shoes were the least important, but flowers were very, very low on the list. :-) But I know that's not true for everyone! 

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• cicconesp

  

  October 2010 edited December 2011

  I would book vendors you're paying a high ticket for as soon as possible.  I found that a lot of the really good/reasonable priced vendors were booked out a year in advance.  It would be terrible to fall in love with a Photographer,  DJ or a Florist and not be able to book them.

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