"You have so much time, you don't need to worry about that yet.."

UGH! I went through this lol. We are getting married June 6 2020 and got engaged May 2017. We had a date and a venue within a month lol. I went to a few bridal shows and they always ask when the date it and all the vendors there were like " wow you have a lot of time" or " oh your planning already". Like shush people and let us have out moment lol who cares if we are planning a wedding in 3 months or 7 years, were still planning, and excited!

I have an 11 month engagement. A month after we were engaged we had a date and a venue. We didn't tell anyone any details because when they need to know, I'll send out the invite. I hired a photographer about 4 months after the engagement for engagement shots/wedding. 6 months in I tried on dresses. 7 months in I bought the dress and my bridesmaids tried on dresses. 8 months in I started buying flowers. 9 months in the girls bought their dresses. I get married on Saturday and even though I've done things for months, there's still a lot that I'm having to do the week of the wedding (hair cut, nails, spray tan, ironing guys shirts, making sure everyone knows the rehearsal plan and where to be on Saturday at what time, corresponding with vendors, etc). Yes, you have time, but anything you can get done early is one less thing to worry about and more time to focus on other things you need to get done. I aimed for one task a week so I didn't get overwhelmed.

I completely understand! I got engaged in July 2017. We set a wedding date of Sept 28, 2019 that way I could graduate college before the wedding. However, back in August 2017 I wanted to start looking at venues, DJs, and caterers because I'm very picky but I also know that places and people fill up fast! I've gone through the exact same thing as you with people telling me I was doing things too early being 2 years in advance! Well I'm glad I did because even at 2 years out some of the people and places I wanted to look at were already booked for our day! So I say ignore what other people are saying and if you want to plan and pick stuff out then do it! It's your wedding, not theirs!

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Date twins just taking it one day at a time... for 387 more days...

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OMG happy wedding week!! Thats so exciting, I cant wait to see your pictures! Yes planning early has already removed some of the stress and I'm still a year out LOL

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I started on WW with like 690 something days! It will be here before we know it!

You can save thousands by booking vendors a year or more in advance. Venues, photographers, caterers increase their prices every year. If you can sign a contract and put a deposit you can get the current rate. Our venue told us in September if we booked before January we would be saving $5/pp with an estimated guest count of 300 that's $1,500+tax! There is only so many weekends in a year, it will be here before you know it!

I completely agree with this post! We are 485 days away and I have a lot done but I like getting stuff done and being ahead of the game. We have our venue, photographer, DJ, and dress. Caterer is next on my list, but luckily this might be easier because our venue only has 3 approved caterers and one is already out; we went to eat at the restaurant and it sucked lol, Along with a bunch of small things I think I would probably forget about as time gets closer. I feel like this summer is going to fly by then for me it will be winter before I know it lol! I'm enjoying wedding planning, so far it has been a lot of fun!

So what I noticed from throughout the planning process is when you say you've gotten things done and you are more than 6 months away, people are like "relax! you have plenty of time!" and then when you say you are getting things done when you are less than 3 months away, people say "... you haven't done that yet?!" It's as if the only time you won't get criticized for planning too far in advance, or too close to your wedding, is between 6 and 3 months before lol. Which, obviously is not possible to do EVERYTHING in that window

I understand! I went through the same feelings. My engagement lasted a total of 1 year and 8 months. Engaged May 2017, married January 2019. EVERYONE told us to take our time, or my other pet peeve, "It's so far away!".

It IRKED me. I started to come up with snarky responses back because I was over the comments (I don't recommend this, but it was fun.) I'd say things like "Well, its only the biggest party I've ever thrown." Or I'd say things like, "You'd want to save thousands of dollars too if you could book early." That usually shut people up. I think older people forget how much it can be to plan a wedding emotionally and monetarily. And people planning their own weddings compare timelines and feel the need to tell others when to do things.

If you are excited, have the money and the free time, plan away! Just remember trends change, your ideas could change. Getting big things done early is awesome and saves money but smaller things like decor can be held off a little bit just in case you change your mind or come across things that are better! Good luck with the rest of your planning. Next summer will be here before you know it and it'll be wedding time!

My wedding is a year and a half away! And I'm running into the same thing. People always say 'you have time' but no, no we don't. A lot of the venues didn't have the date we wanted, including the venue we hired. The hotels we're looking at already have limited courtesy block space. So I totally get what you're going through. Just keep going, and tell the haters to shove it (politely though )

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That's awesome! Where I live there's one really nice really reasonable ($900) venue and the rest are a minimum of $3,600, no inbetween and we were able to get the cheaper one, SO happy about that!

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Yay! Thats so good to hear! I honestly think I would be so stressed out if I had any shorter than a year to plan, but with all this time I think is whats made it so enjoyable.

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Same here! We talked about doing spring of 2020 instead of fall. I'm happy we aren't, give us more time to plan and make things as perfect (ok perfect probably won't happen but as close as I can get to it lol)! FH is shocked by what is done. He literally texted me today asking because someone at work asked him and the co-worker is like "wow you have so much time." Like ok sure.

Agreed. I feel like I have an average engagement (15x mos), but I had so many vendors hired by December - everyone was like you have plenty of time. I saved some money by booking using vendors 2018 rates, but also I had more vendor availability & flexibility.

It shouldn't matter how much time you have. The sooner the better and I totally understand that. Plus, it gives you mostly everything you want/need that's available because you were the first to get to it. I definitely agree though that there are things that you can't do so far in advance but the earlier you have an idea on something, the quicker and easier it is for you to jump at the chance the moment you're able to do it because you already know what you were looking for.

Although it may be true that you have time, doesn't make it any less degrading that people pretty much tell you that you should or need to wait. I've been through the same thing! Like either just be happy for me, give your opinion ONLY on what I'm asking or leave me alone In the long run, you can never be too prepared especially when it saves you hella money. You're winning! Congrats!

The only thing I think brides do and worry about "too early" is picking bridesmaids and worrying over inviting certain people. Just because I've seen so many people having issues over estranged bridesmaids. But I think planning early is great! More time to save and you definitely lock in better prices. Usually each January prices jump for vendors so good job. I'm excited for you! I'm just glad we set the date sooner so I have less time to stress over details haha.

View Quoted Comment Lol exactly! That is definitely one thing I dont like about the long engagements is thinking about the whole wedding every detail everyday 😂 I'm just glad I know what I want early on so I can get stuff when they're at a good price haha

I totally understand this! We got engaged last month and will be getting married in February. I've heard several times "you have plenty of time to figure things out". Like no.... I want to get it all done now. I just got that response from a college when looking for students to play the violin during our ceremony. They said "This is way too early to book someone. Contact us after the New Year", but that's only a month before the wedding, and that's too close for comfort!

We got engaged during tax season and since I try not to study for/take CPA exams during tax season, I wanted to make sure all the big things were booked so I didn't have to deal with planning the big things while trying to study. Plus since we work extra hours during tax season, the paychecks are bigger, allowing me to have the funds to put deposits on vendors. I think getting all the big things (venues, caterer, photographer, videographer, dj, etc) a month or two after getting engaged is perfectly fine, normal, and even encouraged (because like others have said, people book events super far in advance). Then as time and funds permit, just do all the smaller things. We have time on our side, but we want to try and have less to stress about when we are 3 months away! I'm getting married the weekend after tax season, so it'll be rough getting all the finishing touches done! Haha. Do things at your own pace, whether slow or quick!