June 2011: When to get started?? : Your Month, Your Year : Forums : Brides

Your Month, Your Year

June 2011: When to get started??

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brunettebride2011 Posts : 8 Registered: 1/18/10

June 2011: When to get started??: Posted: Apr 6, 2010 3:50 PM; My fiance and I just got engaged this past Christmas eve, but our wedding isn't until june 25th, 2011. Its quite a ways away, and I have no idea when to get started on planning! I already have a venue (my grandpa is a minister) and a few bridesmaids picked out, but thats IT! To top it off, spring of 2011 I will be student teaching which means I will be super busy and don't know how much time I will have to plan. A wedding planner is out of the question too! I have my mom and future mother-in-law to help, but they have lives too so I don't want to put it all on them. I just want my wedding to be perfect :) Any advice??
June 25th, 2011 is the BIG DAY!!! :)

june_2011 , kansas

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FutureMrsKlein Posts : 164 Registered: 5/2/09

Re: June 2011: When to get started??: Posted: Apr 6, 2010 4:31 PM Go to message in response to: brunettebride2011; I would start by looking at the checklists that sites like this have. You could start perusing for caterers, flowers, cake etc. It isn't (imo) too early to get the caterer booked, and testing them out can be yummy. Do you have a reception venue also?

You can start looking for your dress if you want to.

northern_california , june_2011 , may_2010 , kansas

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brunettebride2011 Posts : 8 Registered: 1/18/10

Re: June 2011: When to get started??: Posted: Apr 6, 2010 5:33 PM Go to message in response to: FutureMrsKlein; Well my mom and I have a couple of places in mind, but we haven't talked to anyone yet. My mom is good friends with a local restaurant owner, but the space is a little small. I was thinking about the local country club. We would probably have to book that sooner than later though! I think the main thing I am worried about is the budget. I have no idea who is paying for what. My parents are divorced so I don't know if just my mom pays or both or what my FH's family will help with and what we need to pay for.
June 25th, 2011 is the BIG DAY!!! :)

northern_california , june_2011 , kansas , may_2010

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BrighterThanSun... Posts : 854 Registered: 10/17/08

Re: June 2011: When to get started??: Posted: Apr 6, 2010 6:11 PM Go to message in response to: brunettebride2011; Budget is the most important thing to get straightened out.

You seem a little confused about budget etiquette.

Here is the deal--you are in charge of paying for your wedding. Nobody else is obligated to offer you any financial assistance. Talk to your FH and look at how much you guys would be willing to put aside for your wedding. You can bring up wedding planning with your Mother and his parents and if they offer--great! If they don't offer, it's all you guys.

It's also important to understand that once you accept financial assistance, you are also giving them some control over the wedding and how the money is used--it is partially their money afterall!

Another important thing to set up is the guest list.

The guest list and budget have a relationship with one another.

Think about it. Each guest gets an invitation, they get food, they get drinks, they will need a place to sit. More tables means more centrepieces. More people means a larger venue.

So the first things that are the most important to establish are your budget and your guestlist. Once you have your total budget you can start alotting it to certain parts of your wedding.
$600 to your wedding dress, $800 to wedding invitiations, $3000 on food and drinks. You can then start doing things such as $3000/ 50 guests= $60 PP for food and drink. Once you get those numbers you can start looking at what reception packages work for you and your budget.

You can't really do anything without getting the budget and the guest list figured out. Trust me that might take you some time! June 2011 is just over a year away!

june_2011 , may_2010 , kansas , northern_california

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alymar Posts : 100 Registered: 3/2/10

Re: June 2011: When to get started??: Posted: Apr 7, 2010 2:25 AM Go to message in response to: BrighterThanSun...; The budget is definitely first!

If you have excel - they actually have wedding budgets set up for you to work with. You can go in and edit the lines with changes if you have them.

As the PP said - budget and planning go hand in hand.

Get an idea of how many people you will want at the wedding. When you start pricing things out this will give you an idea about how much you will need for that portion of the wedding. Your reception will be the big thing.

But to me - no such thing as too early especially if you will have a lot on your hands. At least a year out with somethings. My wedding is in Dec and if I had booked the location I want for my reception a month ago I wouldn't be waiting on pins and needles to find out if I am going to get it because another event may be booked the same day.

If you are unsure - pick up a wedding planning book - like wedding planning for dummies and make your own binder oor buy one.

You can do this on your own. Good luck!

Friendship is a wonderful base for love...

Wedding Ticker from WhenIsMyWedding.com

oahu_3079 , may_2010 , northern_california , kansas , june_2011 , december_2010

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brunettebride2011 Posts : 8 Registered: 1/18/10

Re: June 2011: When to get started??: Posted: Apr 7, 2010 10:56 AM Go to message in response to: alymar; Thanks for all the great advice! I do have a wedding planning book but I haven't really done much with it. I will now though!
June 25th, 2011 is the BIG DAY!!! :)

kansas , december_2010 , northern_california , june_2011 , oahu_3079 , may_2010