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Wedding Recap and Withdrawal
soontobemrszito
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Choosing a Date - How did you do it?
Hi ladies! I just wanted to get your thoughts on choosing a date. My fiance and I got engaged on December 20, so pretty recently. We were originally thinking April 5, 2014, because it is my grandparent's anniversary and we thought it would be a sweet thingto do (after all, it would be their 68th wedding anniversary if my grandmother were still alive, so clearly it's a good luck day!) 
Plus, we wanted a spring wedding on a Saturday, so there ya go! Now, though, we are starting to wonder if that is too far out. One of the reasons we are questioning it is because my 88 year old grandather is concerned that he won't be around by then. I know it's so sad to think about that, but now that it has come up, we are concerned. It's impossible to plan for something like that, but it is now in our minds. We are also worried, though, that if we try to do the wedidng earlier (say this fall) that we wouldn't have time to save up money, book eveyrthing in time, etc.
Plus, we wanted a spring wedding on a Saturday, so there ya go! Now, though, we are starting to wonder if that is too far out. One of the reasons we are questioning it is because my 88 year old grandather is concerned that he won't be around by then. I know it's so sad to think about that, but now that it has come up, we are concerned. It's impossible to plan for something like that, but it is now in our minds. We are also worried, though, that if we try to do the wedidng earlier (say this fall) that we wouldn't have time to save up money, book eveyrthing in time, etc. I was just wondering how you all chose your dates and what factors went into the decision. If you went with less than a year, did you feel rushed planning? Did a year and a half feel too long? Just wanted to get thoughts and opinions from other brides to see how you all did it
Thanks so much for your help! Can't wait to hear from you all.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Choosing a Date - How did you do it?
[QUOTE]Hi ladies! I just wanted to get your thoughts on choosing a date. My fiance and I got engaged on December 20, so pretty recently. We were originally thinking April 5, 2014, because it is my grandparent's anniversary and we thought it would be a sweet thingto do (after all, it would be their 68th wedding anniversary if my grandmother were still alive, so clearly it's a good luck day!) :) Plus, we wanted a spring wedding on a Saturday, so there ya go! Now, though, we are starting to wonder if that is too far out. One of the reasons we are questioning it is because my 88 year old grandather is concerned that he won't be around by then. I know it's so sad to think about that, but now that it has come up, we are concerned. It's impossible to plan for something like that, but it is now in our minds. We are also worried, though, that if we try to do the wedidng earlier (say this fall) that we wouldn't have time to save up money, book eveyrthing in time, etc. I was just wondering how you all chose your dates and what factors went into the decision. If you went with less than a year, did you feel rushed planning? Did a year and a half feel too long? Just wanted to get thoughts and opinions from other brides to see how you all did it :) Thanks so much for your help! Can't wait to hear from you all.
Posted by soontobemrszito[/QUOTE]
<div>I chose 2012 instead of 2013 when my mom said, "why wait?" and offered to assist. (Otherwise, we would've had at least a year engagement to get finances together.) I wanted a summer wedding because of VIPs who were either in school or taught school. I picked my date based on venue availability, since I was planning a wedding in 6 months ish, and VIP availability (venue had 2 dates open, my officiant could only do one of them, so picked that one.)</div><div>
</div><div>I didn't feel rushed planning because I just wanted to have a nice party with lots of friends around. I had a few things I wanted, but didn't get really bogged down in most of the details. Had a great time.</div><div>
</div><div>My DH's grandparents are in good health, but definitely choosing 2012 over 2013 on my end was not in small part because both of them had to fly out to attend. I figured if the budget was available for a 80 person wedding in 2012, we would do it while we could have those particular VIPs. As I lost my grandparents in my youth, his grandparents attending was <em>very</em> important to me.</div>
We went like this: fall or early summer (I'm a teacher). Then we found a venue that we loved. Then we asked them when they were available. Then we decied fall is harder because of working around all the football fans in our families so we went with early summer. We wanted a Saturday. So we ended up with what was available with the venue that we loved.
There will always be something to be concerened about. Pick a date that works for you and your VIPs and make sure it is at a venue that you love. Like I said before, the date will become important for you as soon as it becomes "yours".
Were actually getting married April 5th, 2013!
we chose our date because we didnt want something random. We wanted something that had meaning to us, we actually met on April 5th 2003. So it fit perfectly to get married 10 years to the day. 
Planning Bio! Updated 05.02.12
we wanted to stay away from all holidays, and keep it before the start of the semester (i was looking for jobs at colleges). the olympics were also a factor (i LOVE to watch!), so we ultimately went for 8/11 or 8/18. we called the photographer and he had 8/18 open --- so there you go!
we LOVED having 2 full years to plan (we both found jobs and a house in that time!). we weren't too concerned with elderly family membmers --- though typically if they have something to look forward to, you'd be surprised how long they can hold on!
i would say pick a few options, and then make sure your venues are open.
~*~ Charmed By Wine Blog! ~*~
Fi picked a date six months away from our engagement date (he's pretty impatient) and when we looked at flights/hotels (DW in Vegas) the week prior was hundreds of dollars cheaper so that was it! I ditto everyone with logistics taking precedent.
J + A [4-15-13] + JJ [1-22-14]
In reality, the date will become important once you get married, so I wouldn't have my heart set on an exact date. A lot comes down to where you book your venue since a lot book out at least a year in advance and may not have your date available.
We already knew that no matter when it was, my grandmother would not be able to travel, and there was no chance of us having the wedding where she was, we were not close growing up so this was not a deal breaker for me.
A year was a good amount of time to plan, and I feel I could have done it in less time. If you need to save though, you may want to go with the date farther out. Although if having your grandfather theres is important, you may have to decide which is the bigger prioroty. You can always find ways to save a little.
The only concern now is my grandfather. It's so hard to think about that, but it is making the decision a tough one to make. We are really close...he's basically a father to me and would be the one walking me down the aisle if he is able. I guess we just have to make a decision and hope that everything goes well. Like gymbugmj2k said, it may help him to have something to look forward to. That's what a lot of my friends have said too.
It's good to hear that you ladies think that planning in less than a year is doable in case we do decide that route. Our venue is available in October and November, so it's possible for us to do it then, we would just rather wait until April.
After doing MUCH research on venues in my area, I found that the prices fell by as much as 50 to 60 percent if the venue was booked outside of 'wedding season'. In my area, the end of September marked the end of the wedding season, and venues dropped prices. With that in mind, I booked our wedding for the first weekend in October.
What I didn't realize was that I had booked our wedding on our two year anniversary of our first date :P. I'm terrible at remembering this stuff, but my husband immediately was like "oh that's so romantic!" I was like "um, yeah weddings kinda are....". Then he explained and I felt like a dummy. A lucky dummy, but a dummy.
July 9 was a GM's wedding OOT and he was doing a HM after so we wanted to give him some time to get back and get setlled, but Aug would be too rushed with school starting, so we settled on July 23.
I had about 9 months to plan and did not feel rushed.
SO, as the fates would have it, I taught for two days with one name, had a wedding that Saturday, then came back to the classroom with a new moniker. Let me tell you, if freshmen weren't already confused...