First Wedidng, I'm clueless!!

[Crystlsvew]

Well I have just a little over a year to plan my wedding without breaking the bank. I have never planned a wedding before so I am a little itimidated! Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated :)

[NYjerseygirl]

Well have you booked any venues or your church?


How about your dress? do you have one in mind?

[Elaine]

Like you, I have never been in or planned a wedding. I've only attended a few weddings. With only four months to plan, I am really nervous about it.

Luckily, I have some party planning experience (courtesy of a job I had coordinatinng continuing education courses) and I am a quick study :)

So, here's what I did. I went to the book store and picked up a bunch of bridal magazines and just started reading. Then I went online and read everything I could get my hands on.

The basics I've figured out so far:
1. Figure out your budget immediately. Don't buy anything untill you determine what you can afford. Please do not go broke or into debt to arrange a wedding. Debt is a horrible way to start a marriage.

2. Prioritize - determine what things you absolutely want for your wedding (great dress, family guests, fun party, intimate honeymoon...). Then apply the budget appropriately to give you the things you most care about having and start with those arrangements first.

For example, if you really care about having a fabulous dress, you'd better start shopping soon because it will take a while to find "the one" and to get it altered and all that. If you don't care about the dress so much, you can wait and get something last minute off the rack.

3. Get others involved. They can help you plan and do some work for you.

I was really worried when I first started planning because I thought that I would do something wrong. Then I realized that this event is ours - mine and my fiance's - and that it doesn't have to follow a certain pattern or style. We can have a theme or not, we can have a sit down dinner or just appetizers and drinks, we can elope and have the reception 2 weeks later or we can have a regular ceremony...

Anyway, welcome to the boards! You'l find lots of great advice here! I've only been here a couple weeks and already my wedding is half planned (well not really, but it feels like it).
:)

[AmandaJ]

Having just had my wedding (June 25th) I am deeply depressed about it because I procrastinated and listened to much to what other people wanted. I'm very regretful for doing it this way so, My husband and I have decided to redo it all and renew our vows in 5 years. We are going to do it our way and I'm going all out. And I have 5 years to plan and budget. We didn't have alot of money this time around so things weren't so great.

My biggest suggestion is priortize with your budget. If you want everything caught on ***era and know that it's been done right, budget for a professional photographer. Know matter how much you trust a family member with a digital ***era who does great shots...you'll probably be disappointed. If you shop around you can find one who's affordable.

I also suggest getting books and read read read. Also, post here alot, I wish I had to begin with because the advice and the wonderful women posting here on this board is great. Actually reading Rachel's journal is what promoted our renewal decision.

Mostly importantly, just remember don't let anyone else decide for you!!!!. It's about you and your future husband and what you want.

[cl_peterson]

Figuring out your budget and the overall feel you want to have is key. Make sure they match up (that's the difficult part). Figure out what you want and stick to it. Don't let other people's ideas of what a wedding should be influence your idea of what your wedding should be.

Budget was the hardest part for me, learning how much things REALLY cost vs what I thought I could get for my money, etc. You need to figure out how much you want to spend and what things are really important to you.

[cl_peterson]

My last piece of advice:

Be careful about asking other people for opinions, because they might just give them to you! :)

No seriously, you and your future spouse just need to decide what YOU want, what is important to YOU, and then don't let other people try to change your mind. Now, if I could just live by that advice myself! :)

[reecey]

Well I have just a little over a year to plan my wedding without breaking the bank. I have never planned a wedding before so I am a little itimidated! Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated :)


first thing - set a budget and stick to it!
second - get your locations set! There's unlimited numbers of a gown you might want, but only one church and reception hall that can be used on the specific date! :)
You'll want to work on your one of a kinds first, I believe.
Ceremony location
Reception Location
Caterer
Photographer
These are the things you'll want to make sure you have. You should also start looking for your dress soon as well - they usually take up to 6 months if you're not buying off the rack. If you want some good sites to view dresses at before you head out to the crazy salons, www.bridesave.com has a lot of designers - it'll get you an idea of what type of style you might like.
Do you have your bridal parties chosen?

[MusicCityGirl]

I have been doing lots of research online and it has been helping a lot. I found this great board in the process of doing so. I had spoke with a recent graduate of a art college to do my renewal and thought about using her. She was willing to half her normal package because I found out she had just graduated. I told her she was a strong possibility and I let her know if I chose her. Well I kept looking online when I found my current photographer. I got him for amazing price. The economy package I am using of his is 200 less then the first photographer I spoke to. He is even letting me pay him payments!

You absolutely need a budget for sure. That will help you keep track of the exact spending you do. I would also use what assets I had available such as if you have friends who work in the wedding planning business. You can save a mint that way. Lots of research for sure and don't be ashamed to bargain the price. I am sure vendors will match competitor's prices.

[tiffani]

i have a little over two years to budgett and plan mine but because of this forum and talking to my FH we could, if we can get the money, get married in a year. i have not booked anything, and havent' found "the dress" but everything is planned out. i just need to buy everything and find my dress, so stick with what these women are telling you figure out a budgett, prioritize, maybe pick a couple colors or a theme, and be calm you have plenty of time and we are all here to help you

fellow first timmer

[ca_dawson]

Hey! Another first timer here! Alot of ceremony and reception sites allow you to make payment plans also. I got engaged in Sept. 2004 and then first thing I found was the ceremony/reception site. I just had to have this place, but it's $4000! So we booked it a year and a half in advance and now we are making monthly payments which lets me have the place I want and doesn't hurt as much as the full amount all at once. That might help especially if you and your fiance are footing most of the bill. Good luck and just post away with questions! Lots of great advice here!