New to the boards... and overwhelmed!!

JuliaBru

Hello everyone!

  I'm new to the Knot boards but have been using the site in general for a while. I got engaged in April and have started planning for a September or October 2011 wedding. I'm reading all these posts about venues and vendors booking up quickly, and it's sending me into a panic! lol. My FI and I are keeping our options open as far as dates go and are open to different venues, but haven't settled on a theme, haven't figured out a budget, and don't know what's "reasonable" and what's a rip off. I don't want to lose out on a good venue because 15 months was too late to start planning.

  Long story short, I would love any tips, suggestions, or opinions on where/how to start planning. Thank you

SuperRNluvsChef

Congrats and Welcome! Hopefully I'll see you over on the September 2011 board! I'd suggest picking a date first so you can look for a venue.  However, in our case my FI and I fell in love with the Profile Event Center and we were willing to change the date so we could have it there....they just happened to be free on the date we were thinking of.  Also figure out a budget early on!

graysquirrel

Welcome! Don't panic yet-- you have time. I started planning about a year out and have so far been getting everything I want. Just shop around and find what feels right. Do not let people rush you into stuff because they claim it is booking. They want it to book, they want your money. Personally, I like to stay away from all the magazines etc because it is, after all, an industry trying to make money off of people. People will tell you that you "need" all kinds of stuff and it is easy to be carried away. If I were you, I'd start by figuring out a solid budget. It isn't wise to do much before that. The MN girls are so helpful and everyone would love to hear your ideas! Take a deep breath, bounce ideas off of people, and you will get into the swing in no time.

kaylas16

Don't worry you are not the only one with an overwhelmed feeling!  I have most of my major stuff booked and I still feel like I don't know what I am doing! With plenty of time until your wedding just take it one piece at a time and remember that no matter what, it will get done and you will have an amazing day! You said you were keeping your options open in regards to dates/venues which will make it so much easier for you to get exactly what you want!  So like a PP said don't rush into a place just because they say they are booking fast, remember that there are always other options and if you are feeling pressured into signing a contract it's probably not a vendor you want to deal with anyways.

beka0404

Breathe! You have plenty of time. PPs have made lots of good points - you should not make big decisions while under pressure - there are plenty of vendors and if you're not comfortable, hold off.

Like you, our first step was narrowing down a time frame and then we looked for reception venues available during that time. After finding one we liked, we checked with our church to see if it was available. Then we booked both venues. After that we had some time to stretch out the planning and we booked (in order): photographer, band, cake, day-of-coordinator, hair/makeup, transportation (wish I would have booked earlier for more $$ savings).

I stressed out over budget and tried to estimate down to the penny and thus far it has been an exercise in futility. Many people say "your reception will be half the cost of your wedding" and they are right. I could have saved myself a lot of effort by just doubling the amount of the reception proposal and dividing the remaining 50% between other items (photog, music, dress, etc.). Personally I liked the Martha Stewart Weddings budget tool better than The Knot's.

And what greysquirrel said: If you feel overwhelmed by "need this, need that", step away from the wedding mags/blogs, go for a walk with your fiance, and pick up where you left off later.

Remember to slow down, breathe, and have fun planning! (And if you stop having fun, take a break or delegate tasks...)

NicoleR77

Welcome! The thing I actually did first was figure out a tentative guest list, to get an idea of what sized venue you would need! (I have a really big family so by figuring out our estimated guest count, I was able to rule out quite a few places.)  Then I would definitely pick a venue next (although you will want an idea of your budget before then, since many reception sites require that you use their caterer, and food/alcohol is definitely the biggest chunk of a wedding!)  Once you find some venues that fit your wedding size and budget, I would recommend running your final choices by all of us on the board; chances are someone has been to a wedding there and has feedback to share!  Good luck!

schmood

I ended up starting with the church.  I for sure wanted to get married in the church where I grew up, so I checked their availablity first.  Then from there, we put together a rough guest list so that we had an idea of #s - which then helped us narrow down venues.   At the same time, we figured out our budget so that we'd know whether or not certain venues would work in our budget.  Luckily we found a reasonably priced venue which allowed us to invite all those on our tentative guest list, without really having to cut out people.   Good uck planning....this board is really helpful with questions.

TriSaratops10

Welcome!!

Like everyone has been saying, don't panic! You have plenty of time!! Also, like everyone else said, figure out budget first then plan around that :-)

tpender13

Welcome! These boards are super helpful, even if you're just going through other peoples' posts.

You should definitely figure out a tentative guest list number, and at least an approximate budget. Sometimes it is smart to stay flexible on the date. A reception venue, for example, might give you a deal if you book Date A instead of Date B because they've got that wide open.

You've got plenty of time! My wedding will (hopefully) be this November, and we don't even have a venue yet. I think I'm the one that needs to worry!

JuliaBru

Thanks for all the great feedback! We have appointments to see three venues in the next week, so hopefully that'll get the ball rolling on location booking and we can get over that big hurdle

leggwilliams

Hi and welcome! All the ladies have had great advice so far! I'd also add that once you have the venues booked (the biggies), I'd focus on other areas that are really important to you so you can make sure you still have your pick of vendors. Also, ditto superRN, we'd love to see you over on the Sept 2011 boards :-)

What venues are you looking at?