Six months out

arrippa

My wedding is six months from tomorrow and the only thing we have done for it is to secure the venues and ask our wedding party.  I was telling my coworker and she flipped out on me. Apparently, I should have a lot more done by now. I guess I could start looking for dresses but what else needs to be done asap?

ETA-I meant to post this on Chit Chat. Sorry!

Wheels987

Eh. At 6 months out we had the venue and our caterer picked out. That's it. Oh, I did find my dress but it pretty much fell in my lap and I had to jump at the opportunity in order to get it at a great price.

Get a feel for what kind of wedding you want and start looking at invites. Some venues take care of a lot of details whereas others don't. It all depends. Don't worry about your co-worker. Enjoy being engaged and plan things as they come up!

ETA: I just thought of something. Around 5 months I started gathering rental quotes. After finding the best price we signed the contract and put down a deposit.

ohmrs2014

You should have your DJ, Photographer and florist.  Start researching invitations and ideas.  theres so much that needs to get done and if the Boston area is like Jersey/New York, things around here book up 2 years in advance so I booked all the vendors well before the year mark.

misshart00

I was only engaged for 7 months so I think you're okay. You might go ahead and look at dresses since they can take a while to come in. Look at invitations, get price quotes for photographers, etc.and make sure they're available on your date. You don't have to set anything in stone right now, but start looking at things to make more concrete.

dem068

My dress took 5 months to come in, so you might want to do that next.  Otherwise I wouldn't stress out too much, you will get it all done!!  Just start to prioritize, make a list and go from there! 
Also, once you start booking things, the vendors might have recommendations for you that make finding other vendors a little easier.  Our photographer has a videographer that he works with a lot, so we met with him, liked him and booked him all in a very short time.  Also definitely utilize asking people for recommendations.  I found a lot of good vendors that way

daria24

We only had a 7 month engagment, so I don't think you are in a bad place. The hardest thing is the venue & date. Unless you were planning on buying off the rack, I would find your dress soon, as they take 4-6 months to come in usually. Though if you are buying off the rack, or from David's Bridal you do not need as much time.

We booked the dj, florist, and cake baker at about the 4 month mark. I would gather ideas for your other vendors and request quotes at this point and aim to book those vendors in the next month or so.

Ella and Pedro

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_six-months-out?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:968954c8-8594-4e92-81a3-5396175252afPost:07d73642-7727-4e06-808e-73562ecfb628">Re: Six months out</a>:
[QUOTE]My dress took 5 months to come in, so you might want to do that next.  Otherwise I wouldn't stress out too much, you will get it all done!!  Just start to prioritize, make a list and go from there!  Also, once you start booking things, the vendors might have recommendations for you that make finding other vendors a little easier.  Our photographer has a videographer that he works with a lot, so we met with him, liked him and booked him all in a very short time.  Also definitely utilize asking people for recommendations.  I found a lot of good vendors that way
Posted by dem068[/QUOTE]

I would start by going online and looking for wedding planning resources.  One resource is The Knot, of course.  You should find something you can print off.  Print it and check off what you have done.  It should say something like "12-10 months" and what to do...."10-8 months" and what to do, etc.

Basically, in your area (I am from Boston and lived there for 20 years) you have a lot to get done ASAP, because things book fast there.

a. Review three or four caterer's websites, draft a standard inquiry letter, e-mail to all three.  Review their response and see who is a good match.  If nobody is, find 3 more. Most will post sample menus, images of food, comments, pricing not so much.  You can usually tell pricing based on their website and how the food is presented. I'd get this done first. I'd actually start doing this today.

b. I'd do the dress thing next. I'd do that this coming weekend. 

c. Next is a florist and a photographer. I'd work on both starting as soon as a. and b. are taken care of.  I would not delay on these either.

Good luck!

arrippa

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_six-months-out?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:968954c8-8594-4e92-81a3-5396175252afPost:a9fffa07-14f5-4388-ac90-dcca7c081635">Re: Six months out</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Six months out : I would start by going online and looking for wedding planning resources.  One resource is The Knot, of course.  You should find something you can print off.  Print it and check off what you have done.  It should say something like "12-10 months" and what to do...."10-8 months" and what to do, etc. Basically, in your area (I am from Boston and lived there for 20 years) you have a lot to get done ASAP, because things book fast there. a. Review three or four caterer's websites, draft a standard inquiry letter, e-mail to all three.  Review their response and see who is a good match.  If nobody is, find 3 more. Most will post sample menus, images of food, comments, pricing not so much.  You can usually tell pricing based on their website and how the food is presented. I'd get this done first. I'd actually start doing this today. b. I'd do the dress thing next. I'd do that this coming weekend.  c. Next is a florist and a photographer. I'd work on both starting as soon as a. and b. are taken care of.  I would not delay on these either. Good luck!
Posted by Ella and Pedro[/QUOTE]

The reception venue in Boston has a caterer that we must use. As for DJ, we are still debating if we want that vs. a band (FI has been in contact with a specific band so we know they are free). I do need to check out florists and photographers though. I just don't know what I want for flowers yet.

Kate61487

People plan whole weddings in less than 6 months so it's not like you're totally screwed, but depending on how long you've been engaged I could see why your coworker is surprised.  As long as your guests will have somewhere to go, somewhere to sit, and something to eat you're technically fine.. 

We had an 11 month engagement.  I booked the church and reception venue (no caterer or rentals needed) right away.  The DJ, photographer, florist, ice cream vendor, and shuttle for guests (hotel to reception) were next.  After that it was dress and invitations, then BP attire and salon.  The last few months were accessories (garter, jewelry), favors (unnecessary), send-off (unnecessary), ceremony music selections, special dance music selections, getting the marriage license (that's a big one, haha), menu selections, seating chart...

The biggest thing you don't mention above is guest list.  Is that set?  That can take a LOT of time between you/FI and your parents, getting everyone's addresses, etc.  I would make that the primary focus if you don't have it done.  (Well, that and food.  If your venue does the food like mine did then you're good, but if you need to find a caterer I'd make that a top priority as well)

arrippa

Thanks for the suggestions and comments. I probably shouldn't have said anything to my co-worker but she asked and she is the only one invited from work.  She just had me panicked when she shocked that I hadn't really done much.

arrippa

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_six-months-out?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:968954c8-8594-4e92-81a3-5396175252afPost:74dadc93-ec99-4ebc-b117-fd1e8ecd3bea">Re: Six months out</a>:
[QUOTE] The biggest thing you don't mention above is guest list.  Is that set?  That can take a LOT of time between you/FI and your parents, getting everyone's addresses, etc.  I would make that the primary focus if you don't have it done.  (Well, that and food.  If your venue does the food like mine did then you're good, but if you need to find a caterer I'd make that a top priority as well)
Posted by Kate61487[/QUOTE] We have an idea on who we want to invite. Between our families and Facebook, I think we can get everyone's address.  I figured we have a few months before invites need to go out.  Things have been just so crazy for us the last few months, so we haven't really had much time to discuss it. My venue fee includes catering and rentals for the reception. The ceremony is at my church and other than candles and flowers, we really don't need much for it.

Kate61487

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_six-months-out?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:968954c8-8594-4e92-81a3-5396175252afPost:1e7c3e80-756b-4226-8886-10078721f182">Re: Six months out</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Six months out : The reception venue in Boston has a caterer that we must use. As for DJ, we are still debating if we want that vs. a band (FI has been in contact with a specific band so we know they are free). I do need to check out florists and photographers though.<strong> I just don't know what I want for flowers yet</strong>.
Posted by moemacWed30594[/QUOTE]

You don't really need to know what you want to get penciled into a schedule.  As long as you like other stuff they've done and they are free that day you're good.

Also - my recommendation to anyone who will listen is to not over think flowers.  Pick colors you like and tell the florist if you like artsy/loose arrangements or tight/OCD arrangements (like mine, haha).  They know what's in season and will likely do a beautiful job without too much direction.  If you spend too long thinking about the details of something you don't have direct control over there's a good chance you'll be disappointed in the result because it won't look JUST like it did in your head.  I was disappointed in my cake for this reason, but loved my flowers b/c I didn't have a set picture in my head.

daria24

With vendors like florists/dj/bakers etc you can book them without actually choosing the designs/songs/etc. We didn't pick our cake flavors until 30 days out. We made our final floral choices about two weeks out. The florist just wanted a rough idea of our budget, number of bouquets/bouts/centerpieces, etc. You don't have to have all the details to book a vendor, just find ones that can work with your budget and who have a great tasting/portfolio, etc.

SomethingBeautiful08

By six months I had venue, photographer and (barely) my dress ordered.  With vendors like florists, baker etc, really just means that you are booking their time, so it depends on how busy they are,  with the dress if you are ordering it, you are up against how long it takes to get the dress in.  It might take going to a couple of different place and a couple of weeks... if you do end up ordering try to line up the alterations at the same time to stream line the process.   I was on a similar timeline as you, Engaged in Feb wedding in October and it all worked out.