New, and overwhelmed!

Mac627 · August 2012

Hi all, new to the group. My wedding's the 22nd and I am so excited! I could really use a group like this- I already feel completely overwhelmed! I keep telling myself I have plenty of time, but then I read posts on here saying many of you already have dresses ordered and your bridesmaids have gotten their dresses, you've booked everything from the dj to the florist... Am I totally behind?? I have the venue and photographer, and many a pinterest idea (ha), but not much else. I guess I really need to get a move on it! Anyway, looking forward to getting to know all of you!

walgrrl · August 2012

Welcome and congratulations! You are getting married on the same day as me and we live almost in the same area too! I've gotten a lot done so far, but I think I'm really ahead of schedule, so don't worry.

It's easy to get overwhelmed and stressed, but I've found the best way to avoid that is to focus on one thing at a time. Check out some wedding planning checklists and decide what to do next. Once you decide what to do, focus on that and only that until it's done. When it's done, move on to the next thing. That's what I've been doing and I've found it's the easiest way. If you need any planning advice, just ask!

Have you gotten anything else done besides venue and photographer? For example, did you set a budget and guestlist, did you pick colors, have you chosen your bridal party, do you know who your officiant will be? If we know this, we can help you decide what to do next. Good luck and we're here if you need advice!

lodonnell616 · August 2012

Congrats and welcome!!

Alot of us have alot done because we've been engaged for a long time! Don't worry about it!

I recommend the knot's checklist, which is really helping me keep track of what I need to do and when.

Sassenach1743 · August 2012

Welcome to our group gorgeous!!! Congratulations on your wedding! I am rather new here too and am really enjoying reading everyone's posts. I'm so glad I found this forum, and I think you will be too.

I totally hear ya on being overwhelmed! I am a little overwhelmed too. I just got engaged in May and even though I have been slowly working my way through TK's checklist, I still feel like I may be falling behind.

I, like you, only have my venue & photographer booked so far. Although my venue is pretty much a one stop shop because it handles my; ceremony, reception, cocktail hour, catering, bar, servers, bartenders, tables, chairs, linens, tableware and some decor...

I've also chosen my dress, but haven't ordered it yet. I've given myself till Sept to order it. Oh, and my Pinterest page runneth over...

Anyway, I just wanted to say that you are not alone in your feelings nor your plans. And like PP said, just take one thing at a time. And most importantly, enjoy the planning! Have fun with it and try not to let anyone stress you out or spoil it. Stay calm. Remember to relax and enjoy being engaged.

Hope this helps

ashlidie · August 2012

Does your venue have a caterer? If not I would say that is definitely the next step. Otherwise, I think you should start nailing down vendors one by one (dj, florist, baker, make up and hair, day of coordinator if you are having one). I went bridesmaid dress shopping very early due to half of my maids being involved in intense school semesters so I didn't want to have to take up their time some weekend to drive home from school or interrupt their studies. You can probably get away with bridesmaid shopping into the beginning of next year. I would say set an absolute deadline of the end of this year for your dress so that isn't a huge rush either. But the vendors are the ones that get snatched up quickly due to the popularity of June. It's very weird but I am finding the make up and hair artists are booking up and the djs too (though I have my dj already).

bar10521 · August 2012

I got a lot done this summer because I'll be in class 3 nights a week and working full time come September so I won't have a ton of time to get wedding things done. I agree with PPs that you should probably start booking different vendors one-by-one and think ashlidie is right and you might want to start with a caterer unless the venue provides one. Around me vendors get booked quickly so we've booked as many as we can before other people got to them for my date.

I took my girls BM dress shopping but no one has ordered it yet. I've set the "it needs to be ordered" date as December 1st. The compant they're getting their dresses from is closed for a month from mid Decmeber-mid January so you have to add on an extra month in the shipping time and it's already at 4 months so 5 months from Dec 1 is May which will give them a month for alterations. So depending on the shipping time there's still at the very least 4 months until a dress needs to be ordered but probably more time than that.

rmp4996 · August 2012

Hi and welcome! Don't hesitate to ask any questions, jump right in. We all love to help and the girls on here have wonderful opinions. Everthing will come together, and like everyone else said, just take one thing at a time and it will come together.

emilyb213 · August 2012

Hi and welcome!! I'm also getting married on the 22nd.

Like lo said, a lot of us have been engaged for a while, so we've been planning and booking for a while.

Ash is spot on with what vendors you should focus on next. Depending on where you get your dress, you're probably going to want to have that ordered within the next couple of months. Bridesmaids dresses can wait until January (for most designers). I'd also add booking a hotel block for out of town guests as something you should probably tackle soon. I found a lot of the hotels near our venue already had room blocks reserved over a year away.

cnf2013 · August 2012

Hello and welcome! Everyone has given you lots of great advice above. And yeah, most of us have so much done because we've been engaged for a long time already. I've been engaged for eight months now, so I've gotten a lot done because of my lengthy time frame.

If you join the FB group there's an amazing checklist posted over there that I would highly suggest using to let you know everything you need to get done. Otherwise I'd say make a list of vendors you need, order them in importance (how quickly they get snatched up) and work down from there.

FutureMrsPrice2013 · August 2012

Welcome!

Mac627 · August 2012

Thank you so much everyone!! I feel better already.

My venue does include caterer, cake, bar, linens, etc. I also have my dress picked out but haven't ordered it. I am meeting with djs and officiants, and according to the knot's checklist, should be looking at florists next. I also (finally) have decided on colors after going back and forth a bit. I'm trying to focus on one thing at a time, as I can get easily stressed. I really thought I'd get a lot done this summer (I'm a teacher) but didn't do as much as I'd like and the school year is starting again so I feel like I missed my big opportunity to get stuff done. But your messages are very reassuring! I'll definitely start looking into some of the other vendors (hair, makeup, hotel blocks). Thanks again.

walgrrl · August 2012

Hi Minty,

I hear ya! I'm a teacher, too, which is why I wanted to get so much done over the summer. (Hm, we're both teachers, both live in Eastern PA, both getting married on June 22 '13...parallel lives! Freaky!)

But seriously, don't stress! There is always the weekend to get things done, plus holiday breaks. We still have ten months to go. That is plenty of time. Someone I know planned a wedding in four months! (Not saying I would recommend that, but you get the point!) It sounds like your venue includes a lot, which helps. You have the right idea - focus on your florist next. When you book that, just move on to the next thing. I promise you will get it all done! Have a great school year!

Mac627 · August 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_june-2013-weddings_new-and-overwhelmed?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20Club%20BoardsForum:f30b0bfc-508d-415c-bf59-ab83e327da37Discussion:648f86aa-d357-4698-bb6c-cdff1861f52bPost:36c71148-be8a-4c7f-8549-f425f4b1fc9a">Re: New, and overwhelmed!</a>:
[QUOTE]Hi Minty, I hear ya! I'm a teacher, too, which is why I wanted to get so much done over the summer. (Hm, we're both teachers, both live in Eastern PA, both getting married on June 22 '13...parallel lives! Freaky!) But seriously, don't stress! There is always the weekend to get things done, plus holiday breaks. We still have ten months to go. That is plenty of time. Someone I know planned a wedding in four months! (Not saying I would recommend that, but you get the point!) It sounds like your venue includes a lot, which helps. You have the right idea - focus on your florist next. When you book that, just move on to the next thing. I promise you will get it all done! Have a great school year!
Posted by walgrrl[/QUOTE]

<div>
</div><div>Thanks! School year starts tomorrow and I used today to book appointments for cake tasting and consultations with florists. Sent out an email to my bridesmaids with dress ideas too! Would love to hear where you're at with the planning since we are living parallel lives. :) Good luck with the new school year!</div>

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