April 2015 too soon?

jackannlu · August 2014

I got engaged last weekend and haven't been able to stop thinking about wedding planning! Me and my fiancé have been talking about the date, and we've settled on April 18. Neither of us wants to wait too long to get married. I have already made a guest list more or less, so I do have an idea of how many people will be invited. And I also have an ideal location picked out in my head, and have contacted them to see if that date is available, and it is. But when I tell people that we are thinking about getting married in April, they seem surprised that we've chosen a date that is so soon.

Am I crazy for thinking April 2015?

holyguacamole79 · August 2014

Not crazy at all. My sister got engaged in late October and got married in May. Just make sure your budget is set and the date is fine with your VIPs.

Liatris2010 · August 2014

Not crazy. We were engaged in Dec, started planning in April, married in October. I have no idea why people think it takes a year to plan a wedding.

Knottie98479982 · August 2014

Nope, not crazy. We got engaged May 3.... exactly the weekend AFTER the proposal, we booked our venue and had our date set. We're getting married February 21. 9 months of planning!

JoanE2012 · August 2014

jackannlu said:

I got engaged last weekend and haven't been able to stop thinking about wedding planning! Me and my fiancé have been talking about the date, and we've settled on April 18. Neither of us wants to wait too long to get married. I have already made a guest list more or less, so I do have an idea of how many people will be invited. And I also have an ideal location picked out in my head, and have contacted them to see if that date is available, and it is. But when I tell people that we are thinking about getting married in April, they seem surprised that we've chosen a date that is so soon.

Am I crazy for thinking April 2015?

I don't think it's crazy. We had 10 months between the engagement and wedding. Do keep in mind that if you plan on ordering a dress, you really should go looking now. Some designers can take 6-8 months to come in, and then you have alterations. There is usually a "rush" option for a fee. And you can always buy off the rack.

jackannlu · August 2014

Thanks, I feel much more at ease now. Peoples reactions were just concerning me. Now I can really start planning!

I do plan on going soon for dresses since I have been warned about the length of time dresses can take.

sassyduck0415 · August 2014

We got engaged on my birthday (earlier part of August) & have decided on April 18, also!

misshart00 · August 2014

We were engaged 8 months. Not a big deal at all.

mforrestall · August 2014

We got engaged in February and will be married in October. I really wanted a fall wedding and neither of us wanted to wait till fall 2015. It helps that we're having a small casual wedding, but I think it's doable even if you aren't!

MegEn1 · August 2014

I'm jelly of your normal-lengthed engagement. We got engaged in February 2014 won't be married until October 2015 so we can save up money and lose weight.

jackannlu · August 2014

sassyduck0415 said:

We got engaged on my birthday (earlier part of August) & have decided on April 18, also!

How funny! Congrats! I ventured into the April 2015 board the other day and felt completely unprepared and overwhelmed! Have you planned anything yet?

emmyg65 · August 2014

We were engaged for seven months, which was actually about three months too long.

caitlinmca · August 2014

You're not crazy, I think it just depends on the location you're in, the date and venue you want, and you're budget, and life circumstances.

I became engaged in Sept 2013 and we finally picked a date in Dec 2013-Jan 2014 when I attended my first bridal show (the biggest bridal show, randy from say yes to the dress was there) and all I heard was 2015 this 2015 that and I knew I had to finalize a date. We finally picked a spring 2015 date, and thats 1) our venue (having ceremony/reception in 1 location, is also doing catering and bar) is a HUGE chunk of money 2) I could of easily afforded to get married in 2014 with a different venue sure, but was it my dream venue, no, so we are saving $10,000 just for our dream venue (includes wedding/reception and food/bar). So by all means, if you can get your dream wedding in a short engagement go for it.

jackannlu · August 2014

I'm having the ceremony and reception in the same venue, and also want to pick a place that will do food & drinks as well. So that will help me. It also helps that I never had a dream venue in my head, so I can work with different places that have my date available. Actually going to visit a hotel next Wednesday that has my date available, and if all goes well and its as beautiful as it seems online and in pictures, I'll probably have my venue booked very soon!

flyingfoxes · August 2014

Nope - we're getting married in April, and have just really started to book things like the DJ and officiant, and haven't had any issues. Budget would be the main concern, unless you already have the money set aside for wedding expenses.

cafarrie · August 2014

We were only engaged for 6 months! We didn't want to be engaged forever. DH had a few snarky friends that thought it was "weird" and that "people just don't do that", and chose not to attend to the wedding. That's their choice though, and we had an awesome wedding planning experience and wedding day!

Point is, do what works for you

RedJacks25 · August 2014

We got engaged in March, we're getting married in December. For us, it's been plenty of time to plan.

badbnagdway · August 2014

It is whatever works for you. I had a friend pull together a wedding in about three months, and it was a full-on wedding with church ceremony, full dinner reception, etc. She had to problem solve some things -- you can't order a bridal gown from most shops in that time frame, so she bought a wedding skirt and a corset top. We just got engaged recently and are planning for May, so about the same time frame. We know what we want and don't need more time than that -- and frankly the further away it is the more stressful it seems to me. I think you just have to do some things soon that you might wait to do for a longer engagement.

Venue -- Get that locked down right away, especially if you have one in mind.
Dress -- Most bridal shops will tell you it takes four months for a gown to come in and then expect to take several weeks/a month for alterations unless you pay rush charges. You probably need to dress shop at least 6 months before your date and order what you want if that's the route you want to take. (But of course you could go a different route like ordering a dress from a retailer like JCrew, those come in much much faster).
Photographer -- You should start finding out who is good in your price range in your area and start communicating with them. I think photographers tend to book up way in advance.

There may be other things I'm missing (like, you have to have this particular band or DJ, so you should book them soon) but I think those will be the big three for you.

Knottie1463426215 · August 2014

Not crazy at all! My fiancé and I got engaged this past May (late May). We're getting married next October, but only because Charleston weddings are super popular and venues are booking two years out--yikes! But at this point, we are done buttoning up the big stuff: venue, photographer, catering, rentals, coordination, officiant, etc. Once entertainment is out of the way, it should just be down to the details.

peachy13 · August 2014

MegEn1 said:

I'm jelly of your normal-lengthed engagement. We got engaged in February 2014 won't be married until October 2015 so we can save up money and lose weight.

*stuck*

can do you one better! Engaged Oct 2013 and getting married Oct 2015 All about saving the $ since we're hosting.

OP--- definitely not crazy but I bet you're getting some funny reaction faces. Don't let it bother you. I'm getting it from the other end with people asking why we're waiting so long. As long as you can plan your stuff without being stressed, go for it. GL!

badbnagdway · August 2014

Just as an update on what I had said above on the things to get done soon -- definitely start talking to photographers as soon as you lock down the venue. Again, my wedding is in about 8 months and the majority of the photogs I've called have a conflict. Eek.

wrigleyville · August 2014

I've had several friends plan their weddings in 3-6 months. The biggest hurdles were 1) finding a dress in a short amount of time and 2) dodging the "omg are you pregnant?!?" nonsense. :-P

If I'd had my way, we would have had a 9-month engagement. I am crazy-good at organizing and planning; we just didn't have the money, and then some other issues came up. We ended up with a two-year engagement. I HATED it.

luckya23 · August 2014

Knottie83906351 said:

Just as an update on what I had said above on the things to get done soon -- definitely start talking to photographers as soon as you lock down the venue. Again, my wedding is in about 8 months and the majority of the photogs I've called have a conflict. Eek.

Me too, and I'm 10 months out!!

April 2015 too soon?

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