WR: I don't need to worry, right?

Blackbird230 · November 2013

So I have no idea what venue timelines are like. FI and I are looking at early 2016 as the earliest possible date. We want to spend the next two years focusing on moving in and saving up since we would really like to not go in debt for the wedding. How far out does the average venue book? I think him and I were considering beginning to look like mid next year or so. I really don't want to have to worry about wedding stuff yet since the date is so far out.

tuarceatha · November 2013

You're good.

buddysmom80 · November 2013

I'm NEY but I know plenty of people who have planned a wedding in less than a year.

We live in the same area, my friend got engaged in February and was able to book a nice venue for October this year.

Focus on saving money and moving in together.

cowgirl8238 · November 2013

You've got plenty of time and unless the area you plan to be married is super busy I think about a year out is plenty of time. If you do look sooner and fall in love with a place I would say you can book a little before then. Just be careful of going too early as places can change owners (happened to me but they are tahnkfully honoring the previously booked events) or go out of business. GL! and enjoy this time leading up to the wedding!

[Deleted User] · November 2013

You don't have anything to worry about. Definitely focus on saving and moving in. I would just start throwing around ideas and see what you come up with on the style, time of year, etc...You might change your mind a lot over the next year so it's probably good not to set anything in stone too early on.

leia1979 · November 2013

You have tons of time. If you're thinking of a popular venue or a popular time of year for your area, you might want to start looking a year and a half out. We started looking 11 months before the date we wanted and found some venues were booked because it was a popular time of year, but we still found a great place.

Blue & White · November 2013

We booked at just over a year and our venue said they typically start booking 8-10 months out depending on time of year.

As the previous people said, you're definitely good to concentrate on saving and moving in first! Have fun!!

[Deleted User] · November 2013

A 2016 wedding? You've got PLENTY of time. If you start your planning now, I wouldn't be worrying about venues quite yet. Get a guest list together (and don't share it yet!), figure out how much is feasable to save over the next 2 years and decide if you want the ceremony and reception at one venue or not. Once you have all that you'll have a much easier time narrowing down venues.

When we found our venue it was 11 months out. We didn't go into planning with a specific date. We were flexible and took the one Saturday evening they had open for the rest of summer. If you have a specific date in mind you may want to start your search a little earlier than a year out.

psychbabe314 · November 2013

Still NEY, but when my friend found her venue, she was ~7 months out. I'm sure you will have plenty of time!

minskat30 · November 2013

Yup, agree with others. You have plenty of time. I planned our wedding in 7 months (though 9 would have been a little better).

Blackbird230 · November 2013

Thanks ladies! I'm really glad I won't have to worry. FI and I are thinking of somewhere off the beaten path anyways since we don't want a typical super formal wedding so shouldn't be an issue.

phira · November 2013

So, the story is that depending on the venue, you might be able to book one closer to your wedding (e.g. my aunt and uncle got married 10 months after they met, and managed to book a venue about 4 months before the wedding--VERY fast). They didn't get to choose their date, though; one of the reasons they got married 10 months into their relationship was that the venue they wanted was either available THAT year on Halloween, OR it was available in two years for whatever date they wanted. So, Halloween wedding it was.

We booked our venue 13 months out, but we were looking for an off-season Sunday. A lot of places book about a year in advance, or even sooner for popular, warmer weather Saturdays.

Here's what I'd do in your shoes:

1) Focus on moving in together and making sure that you're both happy in the relationship. Nothing should really change after marriage, so if you think, "Well, right now, I wish this-this-and-this were all different, but maybe things will be different after we're married," then think again (same goes for anyone who's not engaged yet and thinks that things will be different once their partner is committed enough to be engaged).

2) Make a tentative guest list. Have a list of people you MUST invite, and then a list of people you want to invite if you have the room/money. You're not going to send two waves of invites, but you will need to have an idea of how many people you're inviting to your wedding. Leave some room for significant others of currently-single people, and some room for the people you might meet in the next couple years. You'll have an approximate maximum number of guests, and an approximate minimum.

3) See how much money you can put away every month without having to go without food/shelter/healthcare/etc. Be realistic; I finally had to admit that I couldn't put away as much as I wanted because I realistically couldn't stay under $250 a month in disposable income for stuff like groceries and coffee, and any other little expenses besides rent and utilities. See how much you can afford to spend when all is said and done by your expected date.

4) Look at pricing in the area you're looking to get married. Yes, you'll have to send some inquiries to caterers and venues--just make it clear that you're not ready to book yet, and are just trying to get an idea of pricing for your budget.

5) Put everything together. When can you realistically pay for the wedding that you want to have? That's when you'll pick your approximate date.

Blackbird230 · November 2013

@phira, I love you. I think I need to find somewhere to file away that advice.

phira · November 2013

Kait said:

@phira, I love you. I think I need to find somewhere to file away that advice.

Awwww

So glad I could help!

I mean, we'll let you know how it works out for us. This is basically what we did. We knew that we couldn't get our guest list under 100 but that we could keep it under 120. One thing, though, that we didn't do? We knew we wanted to get married on our anniversary. Sometimes, I wish we didn't care so much about the date, since then we could wait and save more money for the wedding.

But we don't want to wait another year to get married, and off-season Sundays are DEFINITELY cheaper in New England. It's not like we were going to wait 6 months and get married in the spring or summer. Even if we had saved a few thousand dollars more, a spring/summer wedding would have cost at least a few thousand dollars more for the same wedding we're having now.

smalfrie19 · November 2013

Just for reference, I we booked about 18 months out. But we had our heart set on a venue since January.

suzie211 · November 2013

I planned in 8 months and had no issue finding a venue and putting everything together. Unless you are dead set on a venue that books 2 years in advance, I would wait at least a year to start looking. Some places may not book far out because they haven't set pricing for 2016 this far in advance. 2014 pricing can give you an idea, but most likely it will change and you'll have a better idea of what your budget can accommodate much closer to your intended timeframe.

motoLyn · November 2013

You have A LOT of time. Most venues will only start booking a year out. My venue only lets a limited amount of weddings happen on site a month. But they won't let you book until a year out, for June 2012 I booked in June 2011. Take the time to move in together, settle in and save up. Its only 2013, well the near end of it. But 2016 seems so far away to me.

PrettyGirlLost · November 2013

In my area the popular venues book 1.2 to 2 years out during peak wedding months, so May-November. Even if this is the case for your area, you still have time.

I really like phira's advice.

bride2b71614 · November 2013

We just booked our venue for 2015. Since we are having the wedding in NYC and my parents are close with the owners, we figured that we would lock it down while we still could. We have a child to plan for, as well as a wedding. I agree with PPs, 2016 is more than enough time, heck so is 2015. There is no harm in exploring, but there is no need to book a venue right away. I could have even jumped the gun a bit on a 2015 wedding, but I feel less worried now that its booked, and one less thing for me to worry about.

WR: I don't need to worry, right?

Re: WR: I don't need to worry, right?

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