Oh were to start..........

ShannaJed

 Hi ,

  I am so lost on how to plan a wedding. All my family except my grandma live very far away and so does my fiances family. So we are planing on our own. And he is not motivated like I am. Don't know if it is to early to start planing for our July 2013 wedding. I have only been to a couple weddings in my life so I am so lost on what I should do. Just trying to learn and I kinda know what I want but don't know how to make it happen. I also live in a small community with not many resources. I just feel lost and no clue were to start. 

emilyrose28

We started with figuring out an approximate guest list and budget.  The guest list doesn't need to be exact, but will give you an idea of what size venue you need.  And the budget will narrow those down further.  I would suggest getting some books, either from the library or on the internet that will help with planning.  Even if you don't follow what they say to a T, it gives you an idea of where to start.  I have also asked a lot of advice from recent brides I know or even people that have been in a lot of weddings.  They have been extremely helpful!  My fiance is less interested in things that I am, he just doesn't care as much about the details.  What I have been doing is initiating research into things, and then asking for his opinion when I have some ideas already.  For example, with venues I did a ton of research and narrowed it down to five or so, and then we looked at them and made a decision together.  We also focus on one thing at a time.  Asking about ceremony and DJ and flowers and catering all at once is too much.  I made a list of the next few major things we need to do, and we tackle them one by one.  My fiance will never be interested in the flowers or guest book, but making the big decisions together helps me feel like he is interested and is less overwhelming for him.

Our wedding is July 13, 2013.  We got engaged in January and have been planning since February.  When we booked our venue in March, all of their dates were booked for June 2013 so we had to go with July.  When you need to book major things will depend on where and how popular it is.  Our reception is in Milwaukee, but smaller towns may not book as fast.  We were also flexible on the date because we loved the venue.  So far we have the venue, photographer, and my dress.  I have ideas and have been researching everything else, so a lot of other stuff is partially done.   

Hope that helps!

Wiscisbliss

Emily has great suggestions.  TheKnot also has a tool that gives reminders of when you should be taking care of stuff - it's pretty good.  Just remember that you don't have to do everything on the list (like a make up trial, or booking a limo).