When should i start dress shopping?

I would start looking at dresses around a year out. It can take 6-8 months for some designer dresses to come in and you will need time for alterations.

I would start looking at venues ASAP. Some start booking up years in advance and September can be a super popular wedding month depending on the area.

Oh my god this is so hard!

I'm so stressed and my wedding isn't even close

The weddingwire checklist is super helpful. I used that from the very start and added in some of my own things but it will help you stay on track. Normally you want to start looking for a dress a year in advance since it can take anywhere from 6-8 months for your dress to come in.

I went to two salons 13 months out, then another 10 months out. I ordered my dress 10 months out and it arrived 5 months out!

I would say 10-12 months out. I hadn’t planned on going until 6months out. We went this weekend to find ideas for bridesmaid dresses and I needed up finding my dress. Good thing I went my dress is going to take 8months to get here. I’m getting married in 12. I would have missed out on the perfect dress.

There’s nothing to be stressed about. Make a Pinterest folder and add all the ideas you like, use WeddingWire to help with the planning, create a website, and you’ll find it’ll all just come together. It’s not necessary to be stressful, just go one thing at a time.

View Quoted Comment I know exactly how you feel. When is your big day?

It's always fun researching styles you think you'd like whenever too

Some people I know looked the weekend they got engaged. I say have fun with it! Maybe don't lay down a Credit Card till you have a venue/style/budget/color scheme, etc. Just so you don't make a regrettable decision. OR who cares - If you fall in love with the gown, you can base your whole wedding around it. I can tell you this, I am currently 6 mo away from my wedding, and I needed to pay for rush shipping since I bought my dress last weekend... that was an extra couple hundred. So just keep that in mind.

As others have said, I would go 10-12 months out if you're going to be looking at designer/special order gowns. I got engaged in July, went shopping in August for my February wedding, and wasn't able to get two of the four dresses I liked becuase it was so close to the date. most that I looked at had a 6-8 month out ship date. Luckily the one I loved most should be here in time..

FH and i started by looking at venues. That’s the main thing for us to get out the way anyways. They book really fast. After we paid the deposit we then started looking for a DJ. I haven’t gotten to anything else yet... i should though

Congrats on your engagement! It's okay to feel overwhelmed - it's not like you plan a wedding every day.

For the dress specifically, as PPs mentioned, 10-12 months out is a good time to start looking. Depending on what kind of dress you get, you want to leave plenty of time for the order to come in (4-8 months) and have extra time for alterations (which start 3-4 months out).

However, the dress is generally not the first thing you look for. You'll want to first set a date, a rough budget, and a working guest list. The first vendor you should actually book is the venue, which depends on those other three things.

Anything that involves reserving space or is something that only one person/vendor can do at a time (e.g., officiant) should have priority. Venues, photographers, and DJs generally book up the fastest; we booked these 2 years in advance.

The good news is that you have plenty of time! With a two-year engagement, I'm finding wedding planning to be super fun and not really stressful at all. We're just about a year out at this point and have all of our major things booked, so I'm able to enjoy myself and take my time with the smaller details without feeling rushed.

Good luck!

View Quoted Comment So you booked most of your big stuff 2 years In advance? Is that a decent amount of time for planning?

I ordered mine 8 months out and will be arriving 3 months before the wedding. But it depends on the designer. The one I liked before I found the one I fell inlove with was going to arrive a month before the wedding! Barely giving me time for alterations.

I started and found mine about a year before the wedding. I had a touch of dress regret here and there... mostly just second guessing my opinion... but I think that happens to everyone. Every single time I tried her on I knew she was the one!! Have so much fun! I booked 5 weekends in a row and found her at my second stop ☺️

Congratulations on your engagement!! But yes start looking for the venues now. My wedding is 3 years away and some venues already booked for September 2022, also get the dress a year prior to your wedding. I would definitely recommend using the Wedding Wire checklist and you can alternate the checklist also.

View Quoted Comment

So sorry for the delay!

I started booking most of the major things about 2 years in advance, yep! I had my venue, photographer, DJ, and officiant by the end of 2018.

For me, the venue ticked off a lot of boxes because it's the place where I'll be getting ready, having the ceremony, taking pictures, doing cocktail hour, and hosting the reception. The place also handles the catering/alcohol and some of the decorations.

I got my dress a month or so ago and just recently booked flowers and makeup. In the process of booking my hair stylist now. Won't be looking for cakes until January (the bakery I want just doesn't book that far in advance).

Two years is plenty of time! You pretty much get your pick of vendors, which is nice.

If you have any questions, feel free to message me any time!

Do you know what’s type of 👰👗you want?

A-Line
Ball Gown
Fit and Flare
Mermaid
etc...

We booked our venue extremely early and got an incredible deal because of how early we booked and also had every date available in November so choosing one was pretty easy for us. I bought my dress about a year out and it took 5 months to come in and then another month in alterations so be sure to account for all of that. As soon as you find something you absolutely love I would go ahead and book to lock in current prices because in my experience my DJ and photographer both went up between the time I first talked to them to the time I actually booked.

I started looking ASAP for both just to weigh my options out... Check your wedding wire checklist also