Kick-start your wedding planning!
If your wedding is months away or even a year away, so you might be thinking "I've got plenty of time to plan." You would be correct in that you have time to plan, however, the more time you take (or procrastinate) will most likely lead to not-so-easy planning. I don't say this to sound negative by any means, but I'm speaking from my experience with couples and their weddings. Those who plan early are the ones who get the places they desire for their ceremony and reception, and also get the photographer, DJ, etc. that they want for their wedding. Plan now!
When you plan early and set aside time to plan, you will enjoy your engagement much more. Yes, your engagement is something to enjoy as it is your journey to your big day. Checking things off of your list early in your engagement will take away some stress and give you peace of mind knowing that your plans are happening and you're getting what you want for your wedding.
Who and what do you book first?
This is a question that each wedding vendor and other planners will answer somewhat differently, depending on their kind of work. However, I can tell you from my experience, there are three things you should take care of first and secure when planning your wedding:
Venue - Photographer - DJ
These three vendors are very important to take care of right away. You want to lock in the venue where you are having your reception - after all, that's the place where you will spend a majority of time on your wedding day celebrating.
Photographers book quick with weddings (plus they have other clients who book them for photo shoots) and if you know the photographer who you are hoping to capture your big day, contact them now for info and availability!
Book your DJ. I know you're probably thinking, "of course Gary's going to mention booking a DJ as being something to book first since he is a DJ." Believe it or not, I don't mention this to promote myself, I mention this in the top 3 things to book right away because DJs book quickly. It's very common for me to get booked a year or more in advance with weddings. I network with other DJs and they book up quick, too. I've also heard of and seen when couples wait too long to book their DJ and end up having to settle with whoever they could find or simply not be able to find any available DJ so they have to scramble and get some type of sound system to pull it off. Please don't let this happen to you. Whether you reach out to me or another professional DJ, make sure to get one booked as soon as possible.
Finding time to plan and reserving your vendors while they are available.
I know life gets busy with work and everything else that consumes your time, but I recommend when you have or make time, contact the venues or vendors to see if they're available. It's easy for all of us to get on to social media when we have some free time and end up wasting our time. I've heard everything from couples who waited too long to reserve their venue and vendors. The venue they wanted was already booked. The photographer they wanted to capture their wedding day was already booked with another wedding. The DJ they saw at a wedding or simply heard good things about was already booked. You get the idea.
Your wedding is one of, if not, the biggest days of your life. This honestly goes without saying, but I bring it up because today could also be one of the other biggest days of your life if you are able to reserve what you want for your wedding before someone else does. I know I've already said it, but it's worth saying again in case you missed it, plan now!
Plan now or wait...until it's too late?
I recently had a future bride excitedly contact me about her wedding. She has seen me at several weddings and was set on me being her DJ and wanted to make sure I was the choice DJ for her wedding reception. Unfortunately, her wedding date is a day that I'm already booked on...and I literally just booked that date 5 DAYS prior to her contacting me. Had she contacted me a week earlier, I would have been available and we would be talking wedding plans right now. However, I had to let her know I'm already booked. She replied that she is "heartbroken," yes, heartbroken that I won't be able to be her DJ.
I share this story because these kinds of things happen with planning and this is the time of the year that many couples are reserving the venues and vendors they want at their weddings. Believe it or not, a matter of ONE DAY OR TWO might be too long to wait to contact those vendors since someone else could be contacting them right now to book their dates while they are available.
Another quick story, I spoke with a person once who was calling around to get some prices for his wedding that was in the very near future. He mentioned that he knew the wedding was "not for another five months from now but wanted to get a jump start on planning." He was surprised to hear about his date not being available. I can tell you as someone who has worked in wedding planning for many years, five months away from your wedding day is not getting a jump start...that's actually late in planning. Sure, you might get lucky and find some vendors or a venue that's available, but it's common for couples to have booked many, if not all, of their vendors a year in advance. Five months away may seem like a day that's far away, but trust me, planning much earlier than that is highly recommended.
Booking too early?
I've mentioned several times on this page about not waiting until it's too late, but for those of you wondering is there a thing about booking too early? I've had couples contact me a year or more away from their wedding and ask me "is it too early to book you?" No, the sooner you book anything for your wedding, the better! It's always great when couples book early. It's honestly a win-win situation. The couples know they have the things they want already reserved and the vendors know they have booked dates.
There is a saying that I really like and apply to my life, it's "do one thing today that you will thank yourself for tomorrow." I can't tell you how many times I've heard from couples after they book me how glad they are that they have one more thing checked off of their list to plan.
Many couples got engaged over the holidays and they are already contacting vendors and venues and booking their weddings. I highly recommend that you get your plans into action, contact venues and vendors, check a few more things off your list and enjoy your engagement.
Have wedding questions? Need some help or advice? Contact me and let's chat!