where do I start?!

erin19paul23

I recently got engaged and am already getting overwhelmed! Where do I begin?! We have a rough idea of our date, budget and guest list. Where do I go from there?

jagore08

Check out the knot's checklist.  It will give you an idea of the direction you need to be in.  Just remember they are suggestions and don't need to check everything off that list.

FluffyGumDrop

Call around to venues and photographers to get an idea of their prices and availability for the time frame you're interested. Don't just go by the website pricing; try to call or email them to get an actual quote/availability confirmation so you can compare your options to find what works best for you.

sheikscorpio88

Ceremony/Reception venue should be the first vendor to nail down. Have more than one date in mind in case a venue is already booked on that date. Other vendors like photographer, DJ, florist, ect. can't be booked until your venue/date is booked. Good luck!

librababy

Venue should be your next thing on the list. Once you have an idea of that, you can start looking for photographers, florist, caterer, etc...

Sassenach1743

Start working on your guest list and figure out what kind of wedding you want to have (e.g. an intimate gathering of your nearest & dearest, or a grand gala to celebrate with all your friends & family). This will give you an idea as to what kind of venue will work best for you... Then you can start searching for venues and calling around, because the first things they are going to ask about are; head count, budget, and preferred date. 

And I agree that it is best to have 2 preferred dates in mind (or maybe just month and year) so that the venues can let you know their availability in those months. That is how my Fiance and I set our date, we knew we liked either June or October of 2013 and when we met with the venue coordinator she gave us all the dates in those months that were available and we picked one. It worked out perfect. Please keep in mind though, that venues can book up months and sometimes a full year or more in advance, so start shopping around once you have an idea of the time you'd prefer.

Congratulations & good luck! 

mandi921vh

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_just-engaged-proposals_where-do-i-start?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:683Discussion:974e3142-45fa-4a5f-bb8a-76f09b632f1aPost:21bf10bb-bd0c-41ab-9c4c-7d19b148b41d">Re: where do I start?!</a>:
[QUOTE]Check out the knot's checklist.  It will give you an idea of the direction you need to be in.  Just remember they are suggestions and don't need  to check everything off that list.
Posted by jagore08[/QUOTE]

This.

MissRutig

After I figured out my guest list & budget. We started looking into venues, the sooner the better... so you can get the date you want. After that we started looking into our vendors and planning a menu.
I also bought a good wedding planner to keep track of everything.