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Planning time?

chelamarie09chelamarie09 member
10 Comments Name Dropper First Anniversary
in South Carolina-Charleston
Hi ladies! My fiance and I are looking at a fall wedding (late October-early November) next year. That's 16 months away--my first thought was that it's plenty of time! But I was on some other threads here on the forum and people were suggesting that 14 months was a good time to start booking if you live in a "popular area for weddings." I would definitely put Charleston on that list.

So here's my question: when should I start looking in earnest at venues? When do the venues start filling up and having lots of unavailable dates? We're not remotely ready to book a place, but if next autumn is already getting booked up, we might just have to get over it and pick some place.

Thanks!
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Re: Planning time?

  • kat & mattkat & matt member
    25 Love Its 10 Comments

    Congrats on your engagement! You have a huge advantage with 16 months of planning time. I got engaged this May and am trying to plan a wedding for April of next year. So with 11 months of planning time (and I live in Charleston) there were already lots of dates that were taken.

     I'd say do it now if you can. I had to decide between Easter weekend/Passover or the weekend of the bridge run and tennis cup finals (no hotel blocks and expensive rates). I went with Easter weekend so my out of town guests actually have a chance of coming. I know it seems crazy to book so early but you'll be glad you did. I'd also recommend booking your vendors asap too. Once you get that out of the way then you can focus on the details and breathe a little :)

     

    Happy planning!

    Katrina

     

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  • mullinscmumullinscmu member
    Sixth Anniversary 10 Comments Combo Breaker
    I'm getting married in Oct of this year and I booked all of vendors last Aug & Sept and got all my first choices. I guess that's about 13-15 months out. You should be fine anyways. There so MANY great vendors. I would narrow down the venue and first and then go from there. Venue will be only thing to go quickly. You place holds on venues too
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  • hmgreene13hmgreene13 member
    10 Comments First Anniversary Name Dropper
    Congratulations! I booked my venue for next October at the end of May this year.  We went to look at Boone, Magnolia & Lowndes Grove and had to settle for  a Sunday because most Saturdays for next Fall were already booked at Boone and Magnolia. Lowndes had the most availability out of the three we looked at. Either way, you should start looking now!
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  • katydid2014katydid2014 member
    Ninth Anniversary 100 Comments Combo Breaker
    We got engaged in mid-March of 2010 and planned our wedding for mid-April 2011.  I started booking the big ticket items within a month or two and got everything/one that I wanted.  You should have plenty of time!
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  • chelamarie09chelamarie09 member
    10 Comments Name Dropper First Anniversary
    Geez! We can't remotely afford a plantation wedding. It's just unfortunate that we feel like we have to lock in a place now to beat out the tourists in our own city. :( A place we like now, 14 months out, might not be one we can do 14 months from now! But thanks for the advice, y'all. Looks like we might be doing some "settling."
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  • lizlovescupcakeslizlovescupcakes member
    100 Comments Second Anniversary Name Dropper
    I am with @katiewest - you have PLENTY of time. A friend of FH's (also a local) had an 11 month engagement, her reception was at the Rice Mill. 

    The only reason you might have to "settle," and this is something I didn't realize until I agreed to get married in Charleston (my FH's hometown, and where his parents still live, but not mine), is because of how expensive EVERYTHING is. This is due in part to the really high demand for everything because Charleston hosts 10,000+ weddings per year. 

    However, we don't have a gigantic budget, and we are making it work. Lowndes Grove was too expensive, sadly, but we are doing Legare Waring House instead. Since you're local, maybe a Friday would work? There are ways!
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