14 month engagement?!

Our first choice venue was booked on first choice date ie, 15 months before the date.

As the others have said, venue is definitely the first thing to book, and sooner is better than later. But you definitely need to figure out your budget and guest list first. You don't want to book a venue only to find out you have too little money left for everything else or that it is too small for all the important people in your life.

And congrats!

Look and book a venue.

I got engaged April 2014. Booked venue November 2014. I felt accomplished.

Congratulations! I agree with many of the posters here: set your budget, look for venues, and research photographers. I got engaged late November last year. I thought I could just relaxed for a month before looking for a venue for late fall 2015 wedding. I was totally wrong. My mom called about 15+ wedding venues and quite a few of them were booked at least 15-24 months in advance. We had to push the wedding to next summer (I don't want a winter or spring wedding in Chicago, weather is going to be a pain). So definitely figure your budget and look for venues.

I think that the people saying to start out by:

1.) discuss your budget (only budget for what you and FH can afford unless parents specifically say that they want to contribute)

2.) create a tentative guest list... Excel became my best friend!

3.) Research reception places and other vendors

4.) If you want a church wedding, make sure to book that before any other vendors.

5.) Think about your overall vision including flowers, dress, decor, etc.

FH and I booked the church and reception venue literally a week or so after becoming engaged, even though our engagement will be a total of 22 months. Take your time planning, but feel free to start planning right away. Some people weren't very nice to me because I booked the venues early, but we almost missed out on things like the reception spot and photographer even though we booked early. I really like WW's checklist and budget tools, so I definitely recommend using them; I found them to be much better than the Knot's. Good luck planning!!

Congrats!! Enjoy your engagement for a little while

Before you do ANYTHING else, sit down with your FH and talk about what kind of wedding do you want. Big or small? Fancy or laidback? Indoor or outdoor? Religious or not?

Then, get together:

1. A budget. If either of your parents have offered to pay, it's fine to ask how much they're comfortable with. If not, I do not recommend asking for money. Regardless, be prepared to pay for everything yourself until you have the money in your own bank account.

2. A rough guest list. It doesn't have to be exact, but talk with your FH about who would you like to invite. If parents are paying and/or you'd like their input, ask them if you forgot anyone. It doesn't hurt to pad your numbers a bit to account for people getting into relationships or you making new friends between now and next year.

3. Figure out a way to accommodate (2) with (1). You need to find out a way you can host the number of people on your guest list within your budget. You need a seat for every butt and enough food/drink for the time of day. This may mean you need to revise your guest list, your vision, your budget, or all of the above. This is a work in progress until you start booking, which is why I suggest starting now. Please, please, please do not start booking until you know your budget and your guest list.

I am at the tail end of a 2-year engagement. I did those three steps a full two years before my wedding, booked my venue and major vendors, and then relaxed for a little over a year. It was nice! Good luck and have fun!

Relax! Spend heaps of time figuring out what you want. We've had a 14 month engagement too - we're getting married in just over 6 weeks - it goes freakin fast!!