Need Advice

Do you have a best friend to help you out? I have a book about wedding planning that I got from amazon that has helped me out. They have different ones that could fit your needs.

I found this site to be very helpful in terms of the things that I need to do and when. If you’ve chose in your bridal party or have a great friend that might be able to help you and be excited with you that would be great. Don’t get discouraged along the way sometimes people aren’t as excited as you are unfortunately

One task at a time. Once you get your major things done like booking all the vendors, it's just little details that you could even just forego. Keep it simple if it makes it easier

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The Budget Savvy Wedding by Jessica Bishop is the one I use, its a lifesaver!

I'm also planning a wedding for 250 guests and started 18 months out. Your fiancé should be helping you plan - it's a big job.

Between you and your future spouse, you should be able to get everything done and paid for in 18 months if you use some good planning tools (like the resources others have suggested) and are realistic about your budget. Being realistic about your budget might mean having to reduce your guest list from 250 but I don't know your specific situation of course.

Other than using the list on WW (which is very accurate) I would make a budget with all the items you need (so you don't forget to buy anything). I find creating a timeline to helps too. So if you need hair and makeup in the morning, you need to book a makeup artist...and so on. Make a rough outline of the day and add details as you book vendors/buy decor. Then you'll see where gaps in your planning are.

I put all of this into a binder to keep things organized. I included a timeline, vendor information, contracts, idea inspiration and so on...

When trying to get ideas for decoration, looking at pictures from other weddings at your venue can help you visualize ideas better.

I am an event planner by trade (not wedding specific) so if you have any questions or want to talk through anything, please do not hesitate to reach out! I would love to help you with ideas!

Best of luck!

That is so hard! FH and I have been engaged for 18 months now (by the time we get married, we will have been engaged for 27 months) and we have everything booked. However, we are lucky in the fact that our venue is where we will have the ceremony and reception. And, they do all of the catering, decoration, etc.

I would make a spreadsheet and just try to keep track of everything. We have each different part on their own lines and then list the total cost and what we have paid towards it so far.

I would also recommend booking all the big stuff first (venue, officiant, catering, photographer/videographer, DJ). Once you have the big stuff booked, you can relax and take more time on the little stuff. We had all the big stuff booked within the first 6 months. We just recently booked my hair and makeup person, I bought my dress, we asked our wedding party, and we booked Eston's Bakery for our wedding cake. But, we did that stuff at the 1 year mark. The last things we have to do are things like the bachelorette/bachelor parties, pick out outfits for the wedding party, and plan the rehearsal dinner. I tried to save the most fun things for last!

My dad got me two wedding planner books that I never used because I'm a huge planner, but they were useful to look through. Maybe something like that would be helpful for you? They have recommended timelines for everything.

My biggest recommendation is to keep track of spending and try to stay on budget! One day is not worth the debt (in my opinion). Good luck!

P.S. I am happy to help in any way! I'm not an expert but I know we live in the same town and it can be nice to have someone to lean on