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Dedicated June 2021

Is one year enough time to plan?

Rebecca, on May 13, 2019 at 9:37 AM Posted in Planning 0 45

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My fiancé and I just got engaged about a week ago after 4 and half years together and I obviously jumped right into planning mode! We are a little at odds over possible wedding dates. If I could, I would get married by the end of this year, but my fiancé (probably wisely) nixed that idea given that we are completely on our own budget wise as my parents are not helping - so next year it is.
I’m feeling like we could pull everything together by the end of May 2020, given that neither of us wants a big extravagant wedding. My fiancé though wants to push it until Sept/Oct of 2020, which to me feels entirely too far away, mostly because I have been yearning to be a mom for over a year now (it’s definitely gotten worse in the last 6 months) but he’s been pretty set on not having kids until we are “settled.” So to me - pushing back the wedding means pushing back mom-life too.
Logically I know that pushing it back will give us more time to plan/save, but at the same time I think why push it back if we can do it in a year?
Looking for insight from anyone who has planned their wedding in a year or less..
Thanks in advance!

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45 Comments

Latest activity by Kara, on May 14, 2019 at 3:35 PM

Master August 2019
Allie · on May 13, 2019 at 9:54 AM
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I would determine your all-in budget. Figure out how much each of you can contribute each month. That will tell you how many months you need to save for the wedding. We planned ours in about 10 months.
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Devoted July 2019
Futuremrs · on May 13, 2019 at 9:58 AM
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Our wedding is less than 7 months from our engagement. But we're also going pretty low-key. We've been together for 2.5 years and I just didn't see the point in waiting any longer. My FH also won't do the baby thing until after we're settled, so that played into not having a long engagement because I'm 41.

If your finances can handle it and depending on what you want, you can absolutely plan your wedding in a year. I know some vendors won't even let you set dates with them if it's more than a year out. I would suggest that you find the venue and vendors that you want to use and then show your FH that you can afford to do the wedding next May. Good luck!
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Savvy July 2019
Lakesha · on May 13, 2019 at 10:04 AM
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Well I got engaged on 7/27/18 and we’re getting married 7/27/19. So one year to the date and it’s been the perfect amount of time for me. If I had more time I would probably be over this already. Lol
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Expert October 2019
Tonia · on May 13, 2019 at 10:05 AM
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I planned my wedding in 1 year. I would book the venue as soon as possible because most places start booking a year in advance. The checklist WW provides is a great tool to keep you on track. The forums are great too. I'm sure if there is a question you have, it has already been answered 500 times over. You can just search a topic and get some great advice. You should be absolutely fine.
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Devoted January 2020
Laura · on May 13, 2019 at 10:05 AM
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Yes! I got engaged December 2018 and we’re getting married January 2020. It’s definitely enough time. Just pick your venues first!
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Master August 2019
CourtneyBrittain · on May 13, 2019 at 10:07 AM
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I’m doing it in four months but I have financial help.
Going off of just planning, a year is definitely long enough.
Budget based, you’ll want to figure out what your budget is, find venue/dress/food estimates and then see if you can realistically do it in a year.
Idk what budget you are going with, but if you do a cake and punch ceremony with no alcohol that immediately saves you literally thousands right there.
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Master September 2019
Sarah · on May 13, 2019 at 10:09 AM
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You can definitely plan a wedding in a year (or less if you wanted) but the more important thing here is you two actually being on the same page. Just because you can plan in a year doesn’t mean you should if it isn’t what both of you want. You should also both get on the same page about when you plan to start a family- is “settled” just married to him or do other things such as finances play a factor in that?
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Dedicated June 2019
Masonbride · on May 13, 2019 at 10:20 AM
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Depending on the size of the wedding & budget, I honestly planned mine in 4 months because we’re long distance & don’t wanna wait longer & my budget is right around $4k to 5k. My parents are paying for it all but it’s definitely doable & I feel like I’m having the wedding I want because I had less time to be talked into other things. Not that having a long engagement means you do, I’m just not good at saying no lol
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Dedicated July 2019
Cortney · on May 13, 2019 at 10:23 AM
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I personally think a year is the perfect amount of time to be able to make well thought out decisions, research vendors, etc without feeling pressured by a time crunch. Our engagement will have been a little over a year when we get married in July and I feel like its been perfect. I have been able to do things gradually and focus on one thing at a time. I think anything much longer than a year would feel like an eternity to me though - just because of the anticipation!
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Expert June 2019
Tara · on May 13, 2019 at 10:28 AM
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I am traditional in the sense of having kids after marriage. My main reason is last name. I am changing my last name and I would prefer to have a kid when we have the same last name. You also have to keep in mind money and energy after a baby. Since you are paying for the wedding, I do not think you will be able to save as much as you can now if you have a baby in the mix and being a new mom, you may be very tired to plan.

We got engaged in May of last year and getting married in June of this year, but we did not start planning until the end of June/July last year so it was under a year. We are also doing a destination wedding and a DIY projects and I still found myself not planning anything for months during this past year. Some stuff was too soon to do and I got all of our vendors pretty much out of the way within the first two months of planning. I think you can totally plan something for next May! Also, depending on your vision, I think you can even do this year. The key thing is to decide and start booking!!
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Devoted May 2019
Lauren · on May 13, 2019 at 10:28 AM
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We did it in about 5.5 months! From end of November 2018- to our wedding this weekend on May 11th, 2019!

We did it completely ourselves too, and I'm currently not working! It was a surprise wedding, which is why we had to pay for it ourselves. BUT, we only had a small wedding with immediate family. We are having a big reception with all family and friends later this year and our families will be helping with that.

Good luck!
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Savvy July 2019
Sandra · on May 13, 2019 at 10:30 AM
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I think a year is more than enough time. Unless you are set on a specific date, the more flexible you are, you can plan a wedding in a much shorter amount of time. We got engaged in January and are getting married in July, we are having a very small (around 30 guests) and decided on a Sunday wedding and we didn't have any problems finding a venue, caterers, etc. and we are paying it all ourselves. We did all major thing (buy my dress, booked ceremony and reception venues, booked honeymoon) all in a matter of a week. I'm more laid-back, colors and all the little details aren't that important to us.
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Dedicated October 2021
Chantal · on May 13, 2019 at 10:31 AM
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I know exactly how you feel but i think waiting since it’s only you guys money going into the wedding this definitely give you time to really search around for good deals on venues, dresses, make up, hair, the men’s attire and even gives you time to go to some bridal expos!!
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Devoted October 2020
Mrs. Ariza · on May 13, 2019 at 10:41 AM
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Id say keep into consideration if youre receiving any help and if not give yourself ample time to save. Weddings are soo expensive. I got enegaged February of this year and I immediately jumped into planning mode lol its in my nature to do so. Especially after being together for 4 years. Our wedding date is October 2020. That gives us 18 months . It seems like a long way to go but time is running so quickly at times I wished I extended the date. Best of luck and congratulations . Also ... ENJOY YOUR ENGAGEMENT! ❤️
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Expert June 2019
thisismrsb · on May 13, 2019 at 10:42 AM
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My wedding is being done in 9 months from the engagement date. I didn't want a long engagement because I'm 35 and want to start a family too. Our parents are paying for the whole thing.

Definitely consider your budget. Figure out what each of you is willing to contribute or save each month towards your budget. If you're doing a small wedding, you should be okay to have it in a year.

The first thing you need to do in order to set the date, is to put a deposit down on your venue. Then you'll need to consider how many guests you will have. This will determine how much you will spend on food.
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VIP August 2019
Angerra · on May 13, 2019 at 10:51 AM
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You can definitely plan everything within a year. Just make sure you can pay for it all within that year.
My fiance and I got engaged August 2nd and are getting married on August 10th. Planning has been very easy for us. Thankfully, we both had an idea of what we wanted. My fiance is extremely good at budgeting so we're going to be able to pay off our venue (little over $19k for 120 guests and we're budgeting for 160 guests) without going into debt.
We also do have help from my parents. They've paid for my dress and our honeymoon already. They're also paying for the outside vendors which we hired (DJ, photobooth, and photographer).
I would suggest to sit down and discuss your budget before setting on a day to ensure you don't put yourselves in a bind. As other surprises will come up that you'll have to account for and may take away funds from the wedding.
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Master October 2020
Mandi · on May 13, 2019 at 10:52 AM
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I'm planning mine 1 year and 1 month from the engagement.
I feel like it's taking forever to get here, but I'm trying to remember that we are slowly paying for it as well.
For me, the most important thing was my photographer. So I booked her first. If I redid it, I'd contact a venue we wanted and ask about it and they to coordinate it together.
I'd say figure out how much money you have that you're ready to put toward the wedding, and how much money you can save monthly. And figure out how much you want to spend.
The first few weeks/months of planning feels like you're just bleeding out deposit money constantly.
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Devoted July 2019
Future Mrs. McCully · on May 13, 2019 at 10:57 AM
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I had less than 6 months to plan mine!
I had all of my vendors booked the first week of planning...just takes a lot of dedication! And some give and take with the financial burden of planning a wedding with barely any time to save!
You can do it!
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Devoted October 2019
Tbear · on May 13, 2019 at 11:04 AM
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October is the new June.
Rates are high then
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VIP September 2019
· on May 13, 2019 at 11:10 AM
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I would figure out your budget and go from there. We are paying for our own also. We hot engaged Sept 23rd, 2019 and getting married September 7th, 2019. However him and I had already been to a few venue, met with a photographer, and meet with our caterer before we were engaged. That was all 3 months before being engaged. I think 1.5 years is better but depends on what you can afford, how much help you have, and what you want. Good luck
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