Eee, feel so far behind!! What do you have done already?!

zeke17us

I was just lurking a bit, I cant believe so many of you have you dresses already!! I haven't done that or even narrowed down my wedding party!!

Fi and I are still trying to get a guest list together, its something Im struggling with as it is a second wedding for me, not sure if its ok to invite the same people a second time around anyway once thats settled I will be getting save the dates out as a lot of our guests are from out of town, that will be done this June!

Anyway... what do you have done already?!?

AnnaKay12

So far, all FI and I have done is set our budget, create a guest list, and book the venue (which includes catering and the bar). Several of the wonderful ladies on here are well ahead of me, too. But don't freak out! We're more than a year out, so we have plenty of time to plan!

I can't wait to go dress shopping

zeke17us

Oh I guess I should have mentioned that we have booked the ceremony and reception site

I cant wait to start dress shopping either!

MMRoberts11

I have a lot done already but there is no need to stress yet.  If you have a budget and venue by now you are fine and if not I suggest getting one by June to be safe.  Beyond that, you really do not need to have anything done right now, though June is a popular month so keep that mind when finding vendors.

The only reason I have so much done so far is that with grad school I will be very busy even by this November.

MaryLaura13

I've been well ahead of everyone. I've had everything (vendors, church and reception site) since November. But we've also been engaged since August and I figured the earlier the better. Now is the perfect time to start booking vendors and recption and ceremony site. Depending on wehre you live it might be hard to find a date in June if you wait to much longer.

Start with a rough guest list and work from there. Nothing needs to be set in stone yet for guests until you send out your save the dates

kelsey+brandon

The only reason I have so much done already is because we were originally planning to get married this December. Then FI pointed out that it was dumb that I was so sad that we weren't having a Spring/Summer wedding and nothing was stopping us from changing our date, so we did! I've definitely put a lot of things on pause for now!

skybrie

I have the ceremony and reception booked, FMIL is starting our invites (seriously) this week and I will be looking at dresses sometime this summer. 

michellep1

So far I've got the ceremony and reception site (which comes with the dinner and open bar), photographer, DJ, and dress, and I've started to look at florists.  I'm still in school so I wanted to get a lot done before I start a full-time job so I don't have as much to worry about in my first year of employment.

It really depends on where you live for how far out you should book your vendors.  In my area, a lot of vendors are already booked, which also contributes to the reason I've got a lot done.  I wouldn't worry about it, just call around and see how far out vendors are booking so you get an idea of if you have to hurry or not.

Rethany

No need to feel far behind!

Just get the big things booked.  I've only gone dress shopping once, and it wasn't anything serious.  I have no idea what my cake, invitations, flowers, favors, etc are going to be.  Right now I'm just enjoying being engaged.  I do have the major things booked though because they tend to fill up quickly around here.

You'll be fine!  Good luck!

WEEZIE918

Like everyone is telling you, no need to stress at this point.  We've got the ceremony/reception site (includes all the food/drinks/linens etc), the photographer, DJ, and I picked my dress over the weekend, but that was an accident...I wasn't expecting for the dress to be THE ONE.  I plan on meeting with florists sometime this summer.  I'm in the process of designing my invitations and looking for ideas for some other DIY projects I want to do.

I do have the major things done, but there is still plenty of things for me to do.  I've been engaged for almost a year now and holding back on planning has been hard cause I'm so excited!  I'm glad it's getting closer so I can get more details planned.  Just start looking around for ideas...soon it'll all start falling into place.  Enjoy having pleny of time to plan without stressing...I know I am.

SheilaDancer43

I don't have much done. We have booked our ceremony and reception venues, including food and bar. We have a rough guest list, and know who we want our BP to be, and have asked most of them. Other than that I have nothing! Sometimes I feel behind, but I know what I have so far is good for the rme frame I have left so I'm not stressing over it yet. I have appointments made with florists, DJs, and photogs for the beginning of May, so I'll start to have all that figured out soon.

Melissa603

Right after we got engaged I lost my job so I was unemployed for a month so I was able to get a lot done because I was able to make a ton of vendor appointments because my theory was do it while I was laid off instead of doing it when I got a new job and had to take time off. 

We have a good rough idea of our guest list, budget, venue booked, photographer booked, DJ booked, selected our first dance song, picked our wedding party, and I'm going dress shopping at the end of the month. 

MaryjaneA

So far, we've picked our ceremony and reception site, our officiant, picked my dress, favors, ceremony music, escort cards, our cake, and flowers.  Now to pay for it all! 

SoSaysTara

Zeke,

It is ABSOLUTELY okay to invite the same people the second time around.  This is my second go as well.. and here's my thought: if they don't want to come, they won't. 

Hopefully, everyone in your life will be super supportive of you, but even if they aren't.. you just have to hold your head up high because YOU know you're doing the right thing for you!!!

Abeja1226

I haven't done much either.  So far all I have done is set the budget, which I am still confused about.  I have also set the venue, but haven't called the church yet so I hope they are available on our day!  I don't really want to go dress shopping yet (how crazy is that).  I will probably start lookig at dresses in June, I know exactly what I want so I don't think it will take me a long time to find one I love.

Shanee18

I've had a lot of stress in life, so wedding planning has been my happy place, and I am probably slightly more ahead than I should be in some aspects.

This is what we have done so far:

-Ceremony/reception venue booked

-Menu picked (venue does cake so that is off the list)

-Wedding party chosen/asked

-bridal party dresses ordered

-working on perfecting the centerpiece vision

-browsed for dresses and decided on must-haves

-favor ideas

-preliminary guest list in excel sheet with addresses

-STD designed

-list of DIY projects started

-photographer booked

-met with DJ

-looked at invitation designs/concepts

And for everything else I have collected pictures, directions, tips, etc. on things that I love.  

Do not feel stressed, you are definitely not behind!  There is plenty of time to do what you need and want to do, you just need to make sure that this time is enjoyable and filled with love and excitement!  

TeamMoriarty

zeke,

i think the people you invite should be the people that you and FI love and care about- those will be the ones who love and care about you too, and if they are the same, you're lucky to have those people in your life for that amount of time.  i agree, if they don't want to come, they won't.

i have my dress (but that was kind of an accident- i went to a wedding expo and my stepmom wanted to look at the sample gowns.  i ended up falling in love with the 3rd gown i tried on (and the price) so i bought it on the spot.  no regrets)

also, our BP is chosen and asked (it's almost entirely siblings)

we have asked our officiant

and we have a date (tentatively because we haven't booked a venue yet)

there is still a lot of time.  i am enjoying looking and talking with my FI about stuff.  and just being engaged!

zeke17us

Thanks ladies! I feel a bit better now! especially about the guest list I am surely not stressing as much as before, you are all right, if they don't want to come they wont

rasp.berry

you're not far behind at all! we've still got over a year left, so there's plenty of time left to plan the details. so far, we've managed to set a budget, pull together a rough guestlist, book a ceremony/reception location (we didn't require a finalized head count), play around with some diy project ideas, research invitation options, pick up a few odds and ends in decor, set ceremony/reception time, and explore catering options. its all been more time consuming than i thought, but i'm trying to take it one step at a time. most of it is more research and planning than concrete plans, but im one of those people who needs to look at all of my options before making a decision.

doeie04

We have our reception/ceremony site. My dress and my shoes. That is all. I know what I want for the rest of the stuff. It is all planned out in my brain, waiting for the right time to execute it! I have had tons of time to research stuff on the internet, since work has been slow. If we didn't have to save up, I would want the wedding this June!

Enami

Bah! I can't even start trying on dresses until November (there's this thing in my uterus right now ), though I could actually go try some right now since I haven't gotten much bigger anywhere. My MOH and I are thinking about going dress shopping this summer with our pregnant tummies and seeing how many weird looks we get.

As of right now, we have mine and FI's guest list, waiting on parents to put their invites in. Going to check out our site (ceremony and reception) in a couple weeks, and are hopefully going with it (its a beautiful building, my ex's brother just had his reception there). And looking for decoration stuff at yard sales (we're doing this garden party/rustic theme thing) this summer. So don't feel bad about not having a dress yet. I know if I get mine closer to the date, I have less chance of changing my mind on it.

tania0930

We've got just about everything done. The only things we don't have booked are the limo and the honeymoon.  We do realize how early we got it all done, but we're not the type of people to change our minds on anything, and we wanted to get it all done sooner than later to enjoy a stress free year of the engaged life with no planning necessary   You're def. not far behind if you haven't done anything yet, but I would book a venue soon as they fill up fast!  Good luck with all of your planning and keep us posted!