How early do you start buying wedding favors and decor?

Our wedding isn't until next October, but I've been buying little things for months. I know I won't change my mind about decor, so I have all of the pieces for my centerpieces, my guest book/pen, my unity candle set, and a few other odds and ends. I've been buying things as they go on sale. Unless your favors are edible, nothing is going to "go bad" in a year, however, I wouldn't recommend buying anything until you are 100% certain of your theme/colors/etc.

I would say its safe to buy some stuff now, decor and maybe favors (the bags/boxes) You can wait on the invitations until may or june i'd say..

If you know what your theme, colors, etc are....start now if you can time flies by fast and it never hurts to be ahead

I started buying in may and my wedding is in december, but only because we moved in may so i didnt want to buy beforehand and have to drag it. i did a lot of stuff over the summer and it has kept great!

Invitations I would wait a little bit longer incase something that you can't help changes. You dont want to have to reorder them! If your favors have anything to do with candy I would wait until a couple months right before the wedding because they will go stale (sp?) before then. I would start buying decor like your tulle and other things right now as long as you are sure you wont change your mind. And make sure you have an idea of how much you'll need. You dont want to waste money by buying way to much extra.

At a year away I already had my flutes, save the dates, centerpeices (they are lanterns), and started looking at dresses. I actually ordered my dress a year away on the dot. I found the right one and the lady said it can take up to 9 months for it to come in plus a few months for alterations, so that put me right on the dot! I would start getting things like this now because it is less you have to stress about closer to your date!

Just make sure what you do buy, you can get enough of it. This way you aren't buying say something for centerpieces that are then out of stock and can't find the item again next season. Nothing is worse than spending money on something, that you can't return and you don't have enough of, so you end up starting all over again.

I'm getting married next September and we have been buying things for months. I second the notion to make sure you buy enough so that you item isn't unavailable if you need more later. It never hurts to get ahead and if you buy things along the way, then it isn't so much money all at once. Make sure you have room to store it all too.

You can start purchasing now if you want .... it's never too early lol

I just bought our wedding favors and personalized tags that will be going on them last month and we are not getting married until next Sept. I love them and know I will not be changing my mind. And I am working on a few other projects as well.

I think that I would hold off on purchasing the invitations so early, just in case times or locations change unexpectedly in the next few months...I know it's unlikely, but definitely not impossible. I would start bookmarking things and keeping track of prices from different vendors so that when you're ready to buy, you know where to get the best deal.

As for other things, I think you could definitely start buying now if you find things at good prices. For example, we purchased our favor cards last month because Vistaprint was giving them away for free (we paid $5 for shipping). If you're well-organized and know EXACTLY what you want, then when you find really good deals you should jump on them!

It's too early if you haven't firmly decided size of wedding, style, colors, venue. Work out big details before you think about small details. Also if they are going to be perishable (ie: vases would be fine, chocolates no).

Its good to plan ahead and get things done when you have the money to do it. never to early for anything.always be ahead if thats what you want to do.

I starting buying stuff like the week after we got engaged. LOL! I couldn't contain my excitement ! I just kept a list of what I had and stored it in bins

I agree with everyone else: If they're things you can store for a while, buy them whenever you're ready. It will help you spread your budget out too.