Wedding is far away - but SO excited to plan!

katieH3612

Hey everyone,

First, let me start by saying there is SO MUCH awesome info on our CT board. I have learned so much already.

My question is simple. Is it too early to start looking at and booking vendors and venues for my summer, 2013 wedding??  I have a few places in mind and half of me says it's too soon, and the other half is worried that my choices will book up!!

Here are some places and vendors I'm considering - can anyone give me some input?

Venue:

The Aquaturf

St. Clemens (may be out of my $$ range)

Woodwinds

DJ:

Boppers DJs in New Haven

Big Dog Weddings and Sound in Milford

Photographers:

HK Photography

David Apuzzo Photography

Eric Brushett Photography

I know it's early, but I'm already so wrapped up in everything!! Will vendors think I'm crazy to hire them for so far away?

MichelleBee773

Hi Katie!

Our wedding is May 25, 2013 and I have already booked a lot of vendors. If you want your first choice... go for it! Saint Clements is beautiful! You may also want to look into the Branford House in Groton or Lord Thompson Manor in Thompson if you like the castle/mansion idea. If your venue doesn't include food, I would also suggest researching caterers.

 DJs and photographers don't book out as quickly, but I would say contact them anyway. I do not think anyone will think you are crazy... they all want to book weddings, right?!?!

http://www.branford.uconn.edu/
http://www.lordthompsonmanor.com/

cdbishop

It is not crazy at all.  My engagement is/was 18 months and I started looking into things right away.  It doesn't hurt to start looking and get an idea, compare prices for budget etc.  It is better to get started now and tick things off the list then to wait until later, believe me.

jebbica85

We booked our venue, photographer, and dj 18 months before our wedding, if you want  your first choices do it now, plus you can get this years pricing!

kallen1002

I dont think your crazy at all. Ive been engaged since November 2010 and had my photographer booked since about a month after that lol. If you know exactly what you want and know you wont change your mind do it now. Venues, Dj's and photographers book up early. I would try to get the big ticket items out of the way.. so you can enjoy planning all the little things.

Carebear62584

Not too early at all (even though many people will tell you it is)!  We got engaged last Christmas and are getting married in June.  We booked our venue immediately (like within 2 weeks of getting engaged).  We booked our photographer then too.  The DJ and florist were about 2-3 months later.  Also, the other plus of booking early is that although you feel like you are throwing a lot of money around right away, you don't spend much for quite a while and you know how to budget for the rest of your wedding.  It was perfect for me because I don't have steady income.  Just some food for thought.

Since Woodwinds is one of your considerations I will give you a little bit of info since that's where our wedding is.  Their bridal show is in February so I would expect an increase in bookings around that time.  Last year it was in March and since we were booked we were able to go for free, we just had to register in advance.  I'm not sure if this is the case this year as we are not going.  We already have all of our vendors booked so there's no reason for us to go.  Also, since we booked so early, we actually got 2010 prices and menu for 2012 because the 2011 menu hadn't been created yet.  I highly suggest trying to get in before that happens.  If you have any other questions please let me know! Good luck and happy planning! 

Mona8

I agree with PPs. Our engagement will be 20 months, and I started booking vendors right away. I had our venue, DJ, photographer, and videographer booked within the first 3 months (and our venue was already booked every Saturday in June). The more you get done now the less you'll have to worry about later, and you'll be more likely to get your first choices

Laur110

I definitely agree with PPs. It is not too early for you to start booking and you can lock in this years pricing!

When I booked my venue and vendors back in November/December 2011 they all commented to me that they already had many bookings for 2013.

mrsrutkowski

Agree with all of the PP - my date is Aug of 2013 and I've definitely saved a lot of money already by booking the venue and photographer in 2010 before prices went up. I also like being able to focus on one thing at a time because I have so much time. Definitely get started

Christine9866

I also agree with PP. We are getting married April of 2013! We have already booked our venue and photographer (Eric Brushett--who I saw on your list--hes great!) and are now looking into the dj. What we found with booking now is that we are locked in at their current rates which saved us money. I believe a lot of the places prices were going up in January. It is personally giving me time to purchase a lot of our DIY items that we are doing and get started on them now so i am not going crazy as it gets closer to the wedding! Def. doesn't hurt to get started now have fun!!!

rswan412

Agree with PP- not too early at all- I am also having a 18 month engagement and we booked our venue at about 1 year and 4 months out. The other stuff was spaced out as we got closer...I will say that when I booked in 2010, they told me they had already booked several dates in 2012. Usually bookings are up after the bridal shows in January/February. If you know what you want, pick a date, put some money down and you'll have a piece of mind!

For photography, we are using AE Stelzer Photography and for a DJ we booked DJ Melee (fan favorite on these boards). Some people will tell you it's too early, but who cares? If you know what you want, then go for it!

amymaysa

I agree with PPs, it's not too early. We booked most things right when we got engages b/c we were able to get who we wanted. After that we've been able to relax (and save).
We are using HK for our pics and I highly recommend! They are awesome

Vanessa630

We booked 18-24 months before the wedding, and it worked out great!  First, we booked DJ then Photographer...then florist and videographer.  I waited a little for hair/makeup and transportation. 

There are some popular vendors that book up fast so I would definitely recommend it.  Not to give you more to think about but Jane from Just for You is a really popular florist on these boards and she'll definitely book up far in advance. 

It definitely helps to not only lock into 2012 prices but also to get the down payments out of the way.

Good luck!

kls114

No way--they will love it!!

We booked in early 2009 for our July 2011 wedding! We locked in all 2009 pricing--which was the best part! It is never to early! Jump on it now & you will have all the majors checked off!!

Congrats & Happy planning! The girls here are great!!!

missmckenzie2

No it is definitely not too early! Go for it! I know everyone says it but seriously time will start flying by an you will wonder where it's gone. I feel like I just got engaged and now we have less than a year to go! Enjoy the planning!

jacki8788

It's definitely not too early. We started booking our venue/vendors a little less than 18 months before our wedding. I'm actually surprised that so many other girls did, too!  Even then, our DJ was almost booked on our day--so we contacted him just in time.

St. Clement's is gorgeousss, we had our prom there and would have considered it for our wedding if it wasn't out of our price range. I know their packages start around $100 pp, just to give you an idea. You could also look at the Riverview, it's a really beautiful place and their packages may be more in your price range. If you're interested in looking into another photographer, you could check out ours--TAB Photographic (www.tabphotographic.com). He's awesome, and can work with most budgets! We're also using DJ Melee (very popular, as PP mentioned)

Good luck!!

JodiAriel

We used Rick Rock from Boppers and he was AMAZING!!! If you go with them, request him.  He has a ton of personality and he did a great job fitting the music to us for our wedding.

MoonlightSilver

I follow all my vendors on facebook (and some others I never booked but liked) and most of them are already taking deposits for summer 2013. You absolutely should get started. Not only will booking now give you your first choice, you may get cheaper prices too!

herb0622

I agree with the PP. We booked most of our major venues by the end of 2009 for our October 2011 wedding. Like Kim, we were able to lock in the 2009 prices which was awesome! It's never too early to book. Happy planning

Katred08

Ditto everyone else who said that it's not too early!  I got engaged in November and am 99% sure I'm having a June 2013 wedding.  Venues are definitely already booking into 2013, so go ahead and start planning!

I'm in the early stages myself so don't have much feedback on your choices except for Boppers as the DJ...my cousin used them for her wedding back in September and she was NOT happy with them.  They played the wrong last song, mixed up people's names during the bridal party entrance, etc, etc (announced my grandparents with the wrong last name!).  But maybe with them it depends on the particular person you get?  I'm not sure who her specific DJ was.

tcantore

As a wedding planner I can tell you it's not too early at all. The earlier you get items decided like location/venue the sooner you can start to work on all the fun little details! 

katieH3612

Thank you thank you thank you everyone!

I'm starting to send out emails, and I plan on going to see The Aquaturf in a couple of weeks. I'll let everyone know how it goes!!

kimmish01

My motto for wedding planning is...the early bird gets the worm!!! I'm a Woodwinds bride for September 2013 and we booked in December 2011. We got engaged the weekend of hurricane Irene. I don't think it's crazy at all to start booking things now. Like a lot of people have been saying you get to lock in prices now and you also have time to really find the options that you want. We looked at a few places before Woodwinds and we fell in love with it. We were able to lock in 2011 prices for 2013, and they are constanly updating and rennovating the location. I found Woodwinds to be the best price for what they incloude. They also had the friendliest staff and are the most flexible. We'll be looking at Dj's and photographers next!!! So definitely start looking now!!!! This way you'll be able to book who you want and the exact date that you want! YAAAYY!!!