How does a wedding come together?

You should check out The Knot's Ultimate Wedding Planner. It gives a ton of tips on how to get started. The checklists on wedding websites are also really helpful to break down the process. Fair warning, planning a wedding in ~6 months will be stressful, but it can be done if end of summer is your goal. I'd start looking into venues asap as a lot of them are already booked for the rest of 2021 with covid restrictions lifting in several states.

I recommend getting a coordinator and maybe a wedding planner!

I've always been told by brides that it will all come together last minute (Ugh I know..).

I'm not entirely sure what you've gotten done so far, but I would say getting your venue and date set needs to be done for anything else to really come together. Once you set that, it's really not all that hard to get everything planned. I'm getting married in September and I jumped at everything super early in my engagement to ensure I got all of the vendors I wanted. Now it's a waiting game.

I agree on starting a wedding checklist, or I good paper wedding planner to make sure things are done on time. Good luck!

We started off by setting a date and a budget. Once that was done, I did research on venues in my state as well as seeing if they offered any all inclusive packages. Then, once that was done, I looked at photographers, catering and other vendors. I got my dress a year out from my date as well. If you can, I'd highly suggest going to wedding shows as they are very helpful to meet all kinds of different vendors at once. They even give you discounts on their services. For example, where I purchased my dress from, because I went to a bridal show, I got my veil for free. Also, hiring a wedding planner is extremely helpful. Hope this helps!

It's not too hard! Do the budget first, then start knocking big things out of the way: venue, officiant, caterer, photographer, bride and groom attire. Don't get bogged down by extras and details if you don't have the time and energy. Definitely use WW's or the Knot's checklist!

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I really think it depends on the girl, as to if it's stressful or not. I got engaged Dec 21, 2020 and I am getting married on May 8, 2021 and it has not been stressful for me. I have been enjoying it!! My finance has been helping too! We looked into 2 churches and picked the second one we saw, since it worked out better for us than the first, we asked my youth pastor to officiate, and family is helping set up/tear down.

View Quoted Comment My wedding planning timeline was almost exactly this! Engaged December 19, 2018 and married May 4, 2019. I never felt stressed! We made quick decisions, didn’t agonize over the little things and really stuck with what we wanted.


OP, I’d start with figuring out your budget, and from there, ideal guest list and if/how you can host those people on your budget. From there, I’d figure out where you want to get married and research venues in that area—hotels, parks, social clubs, etc. You’ll figure out pretty quick what kind of vibe you like and narrow down from there.
And ultimately—it’s one day. If you truly hate wedding planning and want to elope or go to the courthouse, that’s fine! Or if you want something small—that’s fine too! No matter what, it’s one day before the real best part—a lifetime with your best friend!

I didn’t enjoy the wedding planning process but it wasn’t the worst. We started planning in early jan 2021 and just got married. It depends how big and extravagant you want your wedding.
Excel spreadsheet to keep cost and important dates in check.
Once the venues were locked in I was able to breathe. Took a gamble on the wedding dress (ordered a custom size of Azazie without ever having tried on that particular dress as they didn’t have it for try-at-home), but it worked out beautifully and DH and guests loved it. Make sure you are aware of key dates (I.e how long a new wedding dress takes to be made, keep alterations in mind, etc.). More couples will marry this year, so lock that venue and date in and work around that.

I think you can plan a wedding by the end of the summer depending on the size and how particular you are. A friend of mine planned her wedding in 3 weeks and it was beautiful. If you don’t have to have a certain venue, date, and dress definitely doable. First thing is to set a budget then pick a venue and date. I would pick a venue ASAP though. I follow the WW checklist, which has been very helpful, but with a shorter timeline may seem a little overwhelming. However on Pinterest you can find checklist timelines for 3 months of planning.

Honestly, I was wondering the same thing as the days approached my wedding, I didn't have any sort of wedding planner, so it was up to me to plan everything. Amazingly enough, everything fell into place. All the vendors that needed to be there were there on time, and exceeded all my expectations. It's an amazing feeling seeing something you've been planning for the better part of two years come together to make a beautiful wedding.