so confused please help

Hi Hailey! Welcome! Have you checked out the planning checklist here in weddingwire? It's super helpful. The things started with were my date, venue, and color scheme! Have fun planning!

In addition to Trista's post, also figure your budget out first! That plays a roll in everything you do

Welcome!
Budget is the first thing you want to figure out. You can look on here to get ballpark ideas on what things cost in your area.
Price out a ~dream wedding~ with these ballpark ideas and decide
1. Are you comfortable paying that amount?
2. Can you reasonably afford it?
3. How long will it take to have that much?
If you can't justify the cost (and it's okay if you can't!) Or can't afford it, or don't like the timeline, then pick what is most important to you on your wedding day and work your way up from there.

Budget, guest list, venue
Some things to do: don't be afraid to ask to borrow stuff especially if you're on a budget and to try to negotiate for deals and things that work for your budget with vendors. Also definitely hit up sales and use coupons

As PPs have said, start with a budget. Your budget will be what you and your FH can save each month after paying all of your bills, savings, etc. You then multiply that by however many months you have until the wedding. For example, if you can save $1000 a month and your wedding is September 2020, you have a budget of $14,000. If people offer money to help with the wedding, don't count on it until the check clears. Your budget will dictate how many guests you can host, as the amount of people you invite is the #1 way to increase your costs. Once you have your budget and guest list down, then you'll want to tackle the major vendors. Venue first, because without a venue you won't have a date, then photographer/caterer. Best of luck!

Congratulations Hailey!!
Always always always start with a budget in mind! From there, figure out an ideal guest list and find a venue that can hold that many people.
Our budget is $9,000 with 250 guests

Congrats on your engagement!!!
Things we did first were create an initial guest list, find a venue (ours already has a catering company so we don’t have to look for a caterer), and create a budget. After that we got engagement photos done, chose a photographer for the wedding(we live in a different state than we are getting married hence the two photographers), and looked into DJ’s. The list on wedding websites is a good guide, but you don’t have to follow it exactly. I haven’t really followed it at all since I accidentally bought my dress first before anything else, but I don’t really recommend that. Mine worked out and I still love it, but I know now there are factors I should have thought about before hand.

Welcome & congrats! Big decisions first: 1) budget, 2) estimated guest list, 3) wedding style/theme or venue (one can help the other). Knowing these will help you see a direction for next steps.

View Quoted Comment I second everything Nicole said!

As PPs have said, budget and estimated guest count are two great places to start. One thing FH and I did that was really helpful was to separately come up with priority lists of what we wanted for the wedding. For example, a really good photographer and a local venue were at the top of my list. A fall wedding and good food/drinks were at the top of FH's. So we looked at venues available in the fall first, and then booked a photographer we both loved, and then a great caterer. Things like a good DJ are something we definitely wanted, but weren't willing to splurge on, so those vendors got booked after we knew how much we were spending on things that were more important to us.

Congratulations!! The first thing I would do is try to determine how much things really cost in your area. That will help you set a realistic budget. Also, determine how much time you have to dedicate to planning... we both work full time and don’t have time for DIY or planning so we hired a planner and chose to an “all-inclusive” venue. (After realizing that our budget was 100% unrealistic! We raised it 2x) Then start on your guest list. We went big and created a “dream guest list” then cut it back to minimal list then landed on an A-list and B-list and will send additional invites out if we get a fair amount of “unable to attend”. Once you know that, you can talk with venues and learn pricing options to whittle down your list... THEN schedule appointments to view venues. There are tons of checklists online to help guide you too! Make sure to get a super detailed one! Ask, definitely stay close to Wedding Wire- there is tons of info and support on here. Have fun and good luck!

View Quoted Comment I agree with this 100%, once you have the budget I would work on an estimated guest list. The venue, ceremony space, catering, etc, will depend on how many guests you have.

I agree with Becca! Know your budget before starting anything! I wish FH and I did that we would be less stress 3 months out making final payments. Also personal advice book your vendors as far out as you can (if you know for a fact you want them) and start paying on them immediately! More you pay upfront more you can save closer to the wedding for a honeymoon or travel or other last minute things!

First, I would decide when you want to get married. Is there a special date or season you have in mind? If you're pretty open to anything, colors and where you want to get married can help you decide. Pastel colors, bright colors, some colors are suited for different seasons than others. Once you decide a day, a lot of things fall into place because it can narrow your choices for type of venue, dress, bridesmaid and groomsmen attire, flowers, etc. Deciding on formality is also a good first decision. Are you interested in a super formal and traditional wedding or are you looking for something more casual? As for a color scheme, if you're not sure what colors go well together, you can pick a favorite color and google what colors go well with in for a color scheme. Hope this post gives you some ideas on which direction to go as you start planning. Congratulations!

Hi Hailey! How has your wedding planning been coming along?