Where do you start?!

Skye106

Is anyone else crazy overwhelmed with how to begin the planning process? I am beyond excited to be marrying my fiancee, but yikes - where does a girl start?! Any ideas...or commiserators? 

sgervais88

Budget and guest list.

christinelyn0131

set a date!

pavingtheroad

I agree with PP on budget and guest list then start looking at a date

kristim4

set a date, set a budget, reception is the most financially, so the fewer guests the lower your cost will be. Also getting married by a judge in your own home and having the reception in your own home will save you BIG on venue fees. Your local grocers Deli and Bakery can fix you up with party platters and a 1/2 to full sheet of decorated cake. All for about $150.00 to $ 200.00. That will also save you BIG on caters. Good luck and congrads! Save on your wedding costs so you and your love can spend more on your ultimate honeymoon.

girl2bewed

Budget, set a date, and pick your venue. Guest List would be high priority too for factoring in budget. Just take one task at a time, I was overwhelmed when first starting to get vendors but I'm sure you have plenty of time to figure it all out. Congrats!

sosie&fangman

I feel you, with being overwhelmed. We were engaged 5 months ago and set the date for 4/15/2012 (i am trying to finish school)...i am taking this slow, but it's still overwhelming.

FIrst, is there some sort of guide to using this site? When looking at venues on the Knot, the dollar signs are not associated with a dollar range. And i hate emailing a bunch of places to find what they charge only to find they are slightly out of my budget....argh!

And how early is too early to start thinking about caterers, cakes, etc (i love cake and can't wait to do the sampling! tee hee!)

 Also, i am not sure what some of the acronyms on the boards mean. Is there some tuitorial i missed?

Any help is appriciated. THanks for letting me vent....

writergirl28

I'm also newly engaged and getting a bit overwhelmed with planning already! I think I've realized that the first things you need to do are set a budget, make a guest list (so you have an estimated number of people when you're looking at venues), and start looking at venues. I know this sounds odd, but I've found it easy not to set the date yet. People started asking the second we got engaged and we had no idea. We just decided May or June of 2011. The reason it's easier is because once you start looking at venues, they may not have your exact date available and if you're set on a date, you may have trouble finding a venue that you love. Keep an open mind when it comes to date, but set a month or season. Good luck!

sosie&fangman

setting the date was more of getting the fiance to commit to a date...that and i decided i want my married name on the diploma, but don't want to get married too soon before graduation! whee! I can't wait!!