Never been to a wedding!

I've grown up going to a lot of weddings and had two best friends get married recently. You don't need a planner, but you may need a day of coordinator.

You have plenty of time, so honestly I would start with just reading the book and hanging around here.

Usually the first step is determine approximately how many guests, what budget you can have (without loans, credit card debt, or dipping into emergency funds), and then book a venue.

Im with you. Im about thr same age with the same exact situation as far as not really knowing standard process for weddings. It seems like a lot to figure out at first but as you get going you get the hang of things pretty quickly. I recommend writing down your important wants and get them priced first and making changes from there. Dont sorry about the details yet.

A wedding planner can be extremely helpful if you can afford it. They help with ideas, booking vendors and keeping you on track. It takes a lot of stress off of you.

If you were close I would love for to be at mine

Just check on Pinterest for ideas. Talk to your parents and friends parents about weddings. Also go thru the forums. You don't need a planner if you don't want one. Do you have a vision?

Even those of us who have been to a million (or been in a bunch!) are clueless sometimes! Hang around here for a while, set a budget, and the style you are going for and go from there! After figuring out the style most people book the venue first and then things will start to fall into place. You will get a sense of what will be taken care of for you (by the venue) and what you will need to do on your own. For instance, some venues are inclusive and include catering, some decor, and other services, while other venues may give you a list of approved vendors and will leave it up to you to bring everything from the food to the decor in yourselves. You are having a longer engagement (according to your WW wedding date) so you don't have to rush into anything. Have fun!

I would really suggest hiring a planner

Normally I'm not an advocate for using shows and movies for inspiration, but I've had a lot of fun watching Four Weddings on TLC! If you've never been to a wedding you can see basically what happens throughout the day and maybe get ideas for things you like and don't like. Take all of the brides' opinions about the other weddings with a grain of salt because it IS a competition, but of all the trashy wedding shows out there I would say it's one of the better ones 😁

I'm in the exact same boat! I'm a planner, so contacting and booking vendors has been pretty easy for me, but I still find it stressful to try to plan an event I've never experienced before! Get a good officiant you're comfortable with and have them help guide you through the ceremony process (I'm still stressing about that part!) and look on pinterest/read blogs and forums for etiquette and design ideas. And other than that just remember, at the end of the day the reception is really just planning a big party to celebrate with your loved ones!

Talk with people you know directly who have had a wedding. Google, Pinterest, movies & magazines are all great to give you ideas. You will get a lot of feedback because there is no one way to have/do a wedding and each one is unique. Take your time and begin to think of elements that are important to you and your FS (religious ceremony, family involvement vs privacy, large guest list vs small intimate affair, local vs DW, along eith your personal styles, etc.) These will help you to prioritize and create your own special day. Wedding planners do help plan and can be costly. If you have a small idea in mind you may be able to plan it yourself.

Generally a wedding is just a ceremony to officially/publicly pledge your love (vows) and give gifts as a token of that love (rings) before your friends and loved ones. A reception is a way to celebrate the occasion with the ones you've invited. Each couple determines how big fancy or plain they want those events to be.

I’m right there with you. I’ve never been to a wedding and I get so overwhelmed that I wanted to elope. We decided to do a small destination wedding in the mountains and I found a beautiful venue at a great price that includes anything that you need. I’d suggest looking for all inclusive venues! The one I chose let’s you customize your wedding package so they provide exactly what you need and work within budget

I've only been to a few weddings that I remember (some when I was younger and can't recall much) so I did A LOT of research using google. Any question that popped in my head, I googled it and found an answer. I used a few different wedding websites for their checklist to make sure I have everything I needed and at the time that I should have it (some recommend different times but I just found a nice medium). One thing I would recommend is to attend wedding shows if they're held close enough for you to attend. I've heard wonderful things about them (like you could get discounts on photographers, etc) but I was never able to attend one (and I've got most of my stuff set for our wedding already). Pinterest is also great for getting ideas for your vision for the wedding. Wedding planners come in different levels of how much planning you need them to do so if you can't afford one who will plan everything with your input on your vision and opinions, maybe there's a different level you can afford that offers a little less planning but still relieve some stress from you.