How Long Does It Take to Plan A Wedding?
I get this question often. The answer: It Depends!
I know that's not the easy answer you want to hear, but honestly it really depends on your flexibility. If you absolutely positively have to be married at a certain venue, then you better start early - especially if the venue is popular and you intend to be married on a Saturday. And of course, season is a factor. In Colorado, I've recently been infatuated with winter weddings - because they are so unique (possibility of snow is heavenly). (I love weddings that are different - whether it's just by the season or completely contrary to tradition.) It also depends on how extensive you plan on being - the more details, the more time to work those details.
The bulk of the wedding planning - selecting wedding professionals, and the details of the wedding like flowers, food, etc are not the Achilles heal - it's whether or not you have to have certain wedding professionals - the ones that have been around awhile and are well known do tend to get booked up early. The photographer is a good example - most (and my recommendation is you get someone that is only doing one wedding per day) only book one wedding per day. However, with the floral designer, they do many weddings a day, and so you have a better chance booking them even as the day gets closer.
PICK A SPOT, THEN PICK THE DAY
If you're set on a location, or the location means a lot to you, then you need to find the location before you pick the day. Don't be too hung up on a specific time or day, you would be surprised how neat some of the off-peak options are. In September I did the day-of coordination for a wedding that was at Pauline Chapel (across from the Broadmoor) at 11am. It was an absolutely gorgeous morning. The reception was held at the Broadmoor's Cheyenne Lodge and featured a very elegant luncheon. What I loved about this wedding was very much attributed to the time - wonderful pictures (wonderful light!), everyone stayed until the very end and, the best part about this wedding was that the couple, in their mid-twenties, and their closest college friends went out after the wedding ended (about 4:30pm) and partied all night at the Golden Bee. How fabulous that would be to celebrate all day long with your closest friends...and another perk - you can wear your wedding dress longer than most!
Here are some pictures (courtesy and copyright of Cayton Photography) and some of the related websites:
Photographer: http://www.caytonphotography.com/
Florist: http://www.jeanmariedesigns.com/
Pauline Chapel: http://www.st-pauls.net/paulinee_chapel.htm
The Broadmoor: http://www.broadmoor.blacksheeppublishing.com/
The Golden Bee: http://www.broadmoor.com/page.asp?id=dining
Here's my opinion on the length of time needed to plan a wedding. Use 6 months as a start and then step back depending on your flexibility (i.e. lack of) on wedding professionals and venues. If you get engaged before New Year's you can, with an open mind and flexibility, count on a summer wedding.
Happy Planning!
-Melissa
www.MoonriverWeddings.com
I know that's not the easy answer you want to hear, but honestly it really depends on your flexibility. If you absolutely positively have to be married at a certain venue, then you better start early - especially if the venue is popular and you intend to be married on a Saturday. And of course, season is a factor. In Colorado, I've recently been infatuated with winter weddings - because they are so unique (possibility of snow is heavenly). (I love weddings that are different - whether it's just by the season or completely contrary to tradition.) It also depends on how extensive you plan on being - the more details, the more time to work those details.
The bulk of the wedding planning - selecting wedding professionals, and the details of the wedding like flowers, food, etc are not the Achilles heal - it's whether or not you have to have certain wedding professionals - the ones that have been around awhile and are well known do tend to get booked up early. The photographer is a good example - most (and my recommendation is you get someone that is only doing one wedding per day) only book one wedding per day. However, with the floral designer, they do many weddings a day, and so you have a better chance booking them even as the day gets closer.
PICK A SPOT, THEN PICK THE DAY
If you're set on a location, or the location means a lot to you, then you need to find the location before you pick the day. Don't be too hung up on a specific time or day, you would be surprised how neat some of the off-peak options are. In September I did the day-of coordination for a wedding that was at Pauline Chapel (across from the Broadmoor) at 11am. It was an absolutely gorgeous morning. The reception was held at the Broadmoor's Cheyenne Lodge and featured a very elegant luncheon. What I loved about this wedding was very much attributed to the time - wonderful pictures (wonderful light!), everyone stayed until the very end and, the best part about this wedding was that the couple, in their mid-twenties, and their closest college friends went out after the wedding ended (about 4:30pm) and partied all night at the Golden Bee. How fabulous that would be to celebrate all day long with your closest friends...and another perk - you can wear your wedding dress longer than most!
Here are some pictures (courtesy and copyright of Cayton Photography) and some of the related websites:
Photographer: http://www.caytonphotography.com/
Florist: http://www.jeanmariedesigns.com/
Pauline Chapel: http://www.st-pauls.net/paulinee_chapel.htm
The Broadmoor: http://www.broadmoor.blacksheeppublishing.com/
The Golden Bee: http://www.broadmoor.com/page.asp?id=dining
Here's my opinion on the length of time needed to plan a wedding. Use 6 months as a start and then step back depending on your flexibility (i.e. lack of) on wedding professionals and venues. If you get engaged before New Year's you can, with an open mind and flexibility, count on a summer wedding.
Happy Planning!
-Melissa
www.MoonriverWeddings.com
posted by Melissa | 7:37 PM
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