Where to start?

DCMcQueen

My fiance and I just got engaged, were having the wedding April 23, 2011. I want to get an idea of what our wedding will be like but I have no idea where to start. The biggest thing I'm struggling with right now is colors. I want light, springy colors, but where do I find some ideas?

redheadfsu

Bridal Magazines. Also look at pictures on the knot. Start with a budget & a guest list first. Those are the big ones. The Knot has a checklist that has everything (usually more than you need to do). You have time so just try to figure out the big things right now. Church wedding? Destination Wedding? Very Formal? Backyard BBQ? etc.

lookame3639

Go out and pick up a planning binder. You can find em at joanns or michaels or any bookstore. They help you keep track of everything from your guestlist to what and where you've registered to even who gave you what gifts and when. From there you want to figure out where you'd like your ceremony, date ect. I suggest getting a book called The Wedding Book. It's a big white book by a woman who is a big wedding planner. She has a timeline in which everything should take place in a strict order and also has ideas and ways to talk about sticky family situations from how to ask for help with the budget(asking for money from parents) and a lot of other stuff. I've been reading it in my spare time at work and it brings up a lot of stuff I haven't even thought about let alone planned. It helps to have something reminding you about the little things as well as the big. A lot of books I pick up don't say anything bout a ceremony timeline let alone how to handle an unruly parent who pretty much is attempting to plan your own wedding.hope that helps

tmwagner

ongratulations first of all! Pick your location first before you worry about colors. The setting for your wedding and reception will have in impact on your colors and decor. Then think about your favorite colors and ask FI. I plan on getting some input from my girls as well as to what colors they would like to wear. Happy planning!

Erica Fladell

Definitely go buy lots of bridal magazines to get an idea of the "in" colors for the spring.  Also use wedding websites.  And I 100% agree that you need to get a wedding binder, but DO NOT get a physical binder - they are terrible and impractical (do you really want to write in all of your addresses by hand?).  I would suggest using a great planning site with lots of tools.  Personally I use www.myweddingbinder.com and I highly recommend it.Happy planning!

Imperial_girl

congrats! how exciting, you should pick the reception venue first as most places book a year and a half out.  the colors will come to you when you pick the spot that's what happened to me i got married at The Harding Allen Estate in Barre ma it was awesome!

dojo1

You have a ways to go.. look all you want, but I'd hold off on buying anything if I were you.. you will be kicking yourself if you have 100+ of an item you no longer want to incorporate into your wedding or that no longer goes with your "theme"

katebh

I just got engaged and we are waiting until May of 2011 to marry. I've just been searching magazines, the knot, and wedding blogs (snippet and ink, style me pretty) for ideas/pictures. I'm saving all the pictures I really like so when we really get started with the planning I can actually show people what I'm thinking of. Congrats and good luck!

masay

For my birthday, my maid of honor bought me a wedding planner and it was soooooo helpful and has kept me really organized.  I also have a binder that is filled with magazine pages, vendor information, etc so that way when I got anywhere regarding the wedding, it's all in one place. As for where to start, knock the big things out first...reception hall, church, flowers, photographer, etc. and that way you won't be stressed at all along the way and focus on the smaller details. Happy Planning

greengal24

That's when we are getting married too!! (We got engaged 9-25-09). I went out and got a couple of bridal magazine's just to get some idea's about what we wanted for "the big picture".  Then we figured out our budget & a rough guest list, we decided on a church ceremony, Saturday evening reception, then started looking for venues for the reception.  We went to look @ 3 of our top venue's and are now deciding on which one.  Now were thinking of colors, bridal mags help a lot and so do a lot of web sites, you get to see different colors paired together and the trendy color combos that are coming out.  I've been discussing colors with my BM's also to get a feel for what they like so when we pick dresses they all like the color.  The venue & ceremony site have an impact on your colors also, depending on the site. Good Luck!

tommyandy

Ask your FI to pick a color. Red, blue, green, yellow, orange, purple, etc. Then, go to a bridal store (David's, Alfred Angelo) & pick out every shade of that color you like & buy sample swatches. Take these home and ask your FI to pick out the one he likes best. It is fine if it takes him a few days to answer. If he says he doesn't care, ask him to pick the ones he doesn't like. TA-DA! You have your main wedding color & FI likes it too. Now, you get to pick the accent color. Please keep in mind that pink & green look like a mascara bottle if not done right.

kd.joseph

You've probably already thought about your wedding for some time, if your like any normal woman. And we changed our venue a couple times before we settled. But, I had my general colors in mind before we started, and guess what I changed that too. You'll change your mind many times, but as you get closer to settling on things you'll put a pin in it. What are your favorite colors?? For me it started out purple and greens. Now it's just shades of purple, it got to difficult to hone in on ONE shade of purple. You'll be amazed how many times you change your mind before April 2011. But its' your perogative. But I agree get organized early. Keeps you sane!!

amymelissa2002

Here is my oh-so-valuable opinion. Set a budget!Pick a location THEN pick a dateStart your guest list (in your mind you're thinking 80 people....but your guest list comes to 125)I am not sure how invloved your sweetie wants to be in the planning, but usually most of the leg work falls on you.  I asked him what his vision was for our wedding day. What his must haves and nots were. He even picked the color that set the overall tone. This way I dont have to run to him for every little decison.  Trust me, you'll appreciate this  when you are trying to decide between sage and olive green lol! The knot is definately the best tool for getting  started and organized

oceangirl_ekp

My recommendation would be to start by exploring the big things like a ceremony site/church and reception location. Having an idea of your head count will definitely help as well!  These are the things that book up the earliest and it's less stressful to have time to look around and make sure you find the spot that is perfect for you as a couple.  Once you know where the wedding will be it will be much easier to decide colors/theme etc.  As far as staying organized: I found this amazing wedding software called iDo by Elm Software.  It was a lifesafer in keeping track of my invite list, table layout, gifts/thank you's, vendors. Anything you can think of and it's super easy to use and run reports from!  (I'm just a little OCD about spreadsheets!:)  It's only about $20 or $30 and you can order on www.elmsoftware.com.  Congratulations and happy planning!

I <3 Seabass

I would start with your ceremony and reception locations. Once you figure those out it'll probably be easier to pick colors and a style based on those locations.

lalatrina

Hey DCMcQueen.. I just got enaged on Nov. 14, 2009 so I am in your same shoes as far as where to start. We are also doing a sprng wedding 4-16-2011 and if thats not avail 4-23-11, ive been told to have a back-up date just in case the vendors are booked on your primary date. Totally agree about setting a budget first and knocking out the big things like ceremony/reception site.. its best to have hose booked as soon as you can anyway so that you get the date and time you want. Everything else will fall in place, make use of the web, the mags, and friends and family.. Congratulations!!! Thanks to others for posting, got some info from yal as well... Happy Planning :-)

sarahjackson24

First thing I'd do is research wedding planners. I used Orlando Wedding Team and they saved me a ton of money and stress. Allison helped me with everything from picking my colors and printing my invitations to bringing little boxes for the leftover cake! some say to do it yourself to save money but it pays for itself with the discounts they get on everything. And I dont know about you but I dont want to be packing up leftover cake on my wedding day, do you?