I'm 19 and getting married

This was literally me my entire time I planned! lol if you need help feel free to message me. there's also so many resources now a days that make so many lists that helped me know what to do

View Quoted Comment Ok thank you

Hi Zonna.

This page helped me & my fiancé : https://www.weddingwire.com/wedding-ideas/how-to-plan-a-wedding-step-by-step

I'm 29 and I had NO IDEA where to even start from the beginning lol! The four most important thing to get done on your list first (in my opinion based on MY experience) are: 1) picking a date, 2) picking a venue, 3) creating a budget, and 4) figuring out what type of wedding you want (ex: destination, eloping, local wedding, microwedding, backyard wedding, etc).

Once you have these set you can start looking for the right decor, flowers, color schemes, venues, and even dresses that will fit according to what you picked. For example, my FH and I are getting married this Saturday (November 6). Our theme is rustic, and it's a backyard wedding in which my FH's aunt was so gracious enough to open up her home to us because she has a really nice house and a big backyard. We wanted an intimate wedding of only 50 people or less. Our budget was originally 15k, but we have spent a little over 8k! I'm so glad that we are below our budget. I am doing A LOT of DIYing for this wedding as well lol. So Hobby Lobby, amazon, and Dollar Tree were my go to places for like 80% of my stuff!

Here are my top tips:
-Flowers are not cheap. You can definitely find some already made bouquets, boutonnieres, etc. on Amazon. I bought already made ones on Amazon from Ling's Moments shop. I also DIY my centerpiece flowers. I got the flowers half off at Hobby Lobby. I saved about $700-$800 on flowers.
-If your parents or any of the parents paying just keep in mind that they might have or want to have a say. My FH and I are funding the majority of our wedding ourselves. My parents offered to pay for me and the girls hair and makeup. Which was fine. They had one absurd request, but we compromised on it.
-David's Bridal alterations do cost quite a bit. So if you know of any local seamstress that can alter your dress then you can definitely go to them. I bought my dress from David's Bridal, but I went to my local seamstress. She did an AMAZING job and I saved about $600 on alterations.
-If you don't get a wedding planner (which I didn't need but my FH's cousin helped a bunch), opt in for a wedding day of coordinator. They basically coordinate everything for you day of your wedding without having you take charge. You simply will enjoy your day stress free!
-Don't be so quick to choose your wedding party unless you are ABSOLUTELY SURE. I only have 4 girls. You can have more, but it does tend to become overwhelming from what I've read on the discussions here.
-You do not have to go above and beyond when it comes to gifts! Etsy and Amazon are great places for gifts. If your girls have the same taste then you can gift them the same thing. It's up to you if you want to customize it. It will just cost a little more, but it shouldn't be by much. If they have different interests then go based on that. For example: if you have one girl who loves makeup then gift her a cute makeup bag. If you have one girl who likes hair stuff then maybe some awesome hair product or her favorite ones.
-Communicate with your wedding party on what is expected. To be honest there really isn't a lot to expect from bridesmaids. At the end of the day their job is to show up, wear their dress, help if need be, and stand by you as you say "I do". There have been a lot of brides on here who are disappointed because there is one girl who has a lot of excuses and just doesn't help or support by showing up to certain wedding events. I believe the reason being is because of lack of communication. If the bride doesn't speak upon what is expected (which I find is okay as long as she doesn't come off as a bridezilla lol) then at least her girls know and are aware. If they don't agree with that then the girls need to speak up. If the bride doesn't say anything then the bridesmaids will assume that they don't need to do anything and can do whatever they want. It's not that they are lazy or inconsiderate.. It's just they don't choose to put your priorities before theirs. Sometimes it could seem selfish, but the girls do have their own lives based on family, school, work, etc. I'm sure they would love to help, but giving them the direction and communication will help. That is why it is important on which girls to choose.

Good luck and congrats!!!

Hi Zonna! Congrats on your engagement and welcome to WeddingWire!! 💍❤️

There's a Checklist in your WeddingWire Planning Tools that walks you through wedding planning from start to finish. The first things you should talk about are a potential timeline, location, and guest list size! Here are a few helpful guides to get you started:

Just Got Engaged? The 8 Things You Need to Do First

How to Plan a Wedding Step by Step

7 Things Couples Should Agree on Before Wedding Planning

Don't feel bad. I'm 34 and I don't know what I am doing either. What I think I am supposed to do is just hand over all of my money.

I'm 25 and have been engaged since 2015. We're finally sealing the deal this coming January and I still have no idea what I'm doing.
A couple suggestions I have that can potentially save some money would be buy flowers from hobby lobby (they go on sale quite often). We're also not using a dj, instead we're using a speaker and a USB filled with music (also saving a ton of money). I got my dress in the discontinued/clearance section of the bridal store. We opted out of the church ceremony as neither myself nor my partner are religious so we're doing it at the courthouse. I would not recommend having an open bar, people tend to take advantage of the free drinks.
I was also fortunate enough to find a flexible venue for my reception. I am allowed to bring in home made desserts (my aunt makes the best cookies and cupcakes in the whole world) and there is no fee for the hall. All we have to pay for is food per plate!

That’s perfectly normal. This is something where the overwhelming majority of us are first timers.

I would suggest looking for a bridal planner so that you can see everything set out with what things you need to think about and plan. You don't need to do everything like it says but it will give you an idea of what different areas you do need to think about

Girl I got engaged at 17, Christmas last year, and my wedding is Jan. 1st, 2022. And i still don’t know what i’m doing haha, it’s a process for sure but my biggest advice is LET PEOPLE HELP! I’m OCD and I didn’t want any help at first, but it takes a village. Also remember, no matter what, It’s gonna be amazing!

Before anything else, start with budget. You can't pick a venue or do anything else without it. Good luck with your planning.

Young and planning too! Do some research and check out this app a lot or some topics to find good deals. Pinterest is good inspo obviously but like I said use this app to talk and find similar setups times etc