How early is too early?

[S&I]

Hi Fellow Brides!
I just wanted to pop in here since I''ve been spending a lot of time in this forum lately. I just made my first Pricescope post

over in the SMTR forum.

Here''s the link:
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/pics-of-my-1-56ct-e-si1-rb-6-prong-cathedral-setting.134495/

Anyways, my fiance and I got engaged back on August 20, 2009 and we''ve just now started taking the first steps towards planning the wedding. One of my first tasks was to create an account here so that I could start participating in all the fabulous discussions!

We''ve just recently decided that we want the wedding to be on November 12, 2011, pending confirmation of church and reception venue reservations. My question is: How early in advance should we seriously put down deposits to hold the date?

 

[Deelight]

The more you get done now the less you have to plan for later - I say go for it

 

[LilyKat]

I would put down deposits for the big things that book up early (venue, reception site, photographer) as soon as possible. Definitely not too early for that now.

Anything that you could leave until nearer the time, I would hold off on - because you can and will change your mind, and you don''t want to be joining the hordes of two dress/veil brides, end up with a stack of favour boxes you''ll never use, or be locked into a makeup artist/florist/cake-baker you aren''t keen on... that sort of thing.

 

[princessplease]

First, congrats and welcome!!!!

I''d say you''re find to start putting deposits down on venue, caterer, photog, etc, especially if you''re in an area where things book up fast. I put my photog and venue deposits down in May ''09 for our July ''10 wedding. It''s been working out great because it''s a bunch of money that I have already paid out and a few less things to stress about, lol!

Good luck!

 

[Erinleigh]

Congrats on your engagement!!!
FI and I got engaged September 2009, and have set a date for September 2011. We had the place for the ceremony/reception chosen by mid October, and put down the deposit end of October, 2009. At the same time, we also put down a deposit on the photographer we loved. Where I live, the top venues and photogs are all booked up about 1.5 years in advance, so we acted asap!
As others had said, the sooner you do things now, the less you have to do later!

 

[S&I]

Thanks for all the congrats and advice!

We went to talk to one of the wedding planners at a hotel to discuss having our reception there. They have a recently renovated ballroom that is beautiful, and it even has windows! I''m pretty sure I don''t want a regular ballroom with just 4 walls. The lady we spoke to said she would have to get back to us on Tuesday to tell us if they''ll let us book the place or not. So I must wait...

Funny thing is that the first ''purchase'' I made like a month after getting engaged was a pair of shoes! I love shoes, so it''s fitting that I could make that decision the quickest.

Other than that, I''ve been having decision anxiety about everything.

 

[Morgie44]

If you know where you want your ceremony and reception, and those places are taking deposits/reservations for that far out, then it''s not too early! Better to be early then have your heart set on someplace and have someone else take your date because you were waiting. I would book church, hall, and photographer asap, then you can wait awhile for the other vendors I think if you are in most areas.

 

[aveda6]

We''re over a year out (wedding date is Feb 26, 2011) and we already booked the venue despite the fact that it''s a slow time of year for the venue. When we called to ask for updated quotes for this year we were told that one of the weekends we originally looked at was booked. We figured we better at least get the deposit down and hold the venue. We went to a wedding expo this morning and most of the vendors seemed to think a year was a bit early but it does help get discounts. A few of the photogs were willing to make deals (albeit small) to have us book the date early.

I would definitely say that it is not too early...

 

[cleokizzy]

Date: 1/22/2010 4:24:14 AM
Author: Deelight
The more you get done now the less you have to plan for later - I say go for it

ITA!

as long as you really know what you want, do it as early as you can!

 

[Rock_of_Love]

Welcome to the forum!

I agree with the others...it''s not too early if you know for sure that it is the venue/date you want. Also, it is nice to be able to spread payments out over time, so it doesn''t hurt as much the closer you get.

I would also recommend wedding insurance for something that far out...you just never know what could happen. Or, you may even just change your mind about venue, date, etc...who knows. It also protects against something happening to the venue - construction, if they go out of business, etc. Not too much $$ for peace of mind!

 

[Bella_mezzo]

Welcome! I agree that you should put down deposits for the big stuff ASAP.You''ll porbably do a big push now and then most of the little stuff you can spread out over time or do in the final few months before your wedding.

 

[S&I]

Date: 1/25/2010 5:09:34 PM
Author: Rock_of_Love
Welcome to the forum!


I agree with the others...it''s not too early if you know for sure that it is the venue/date you want. Also, it is nice to be able to spread payments out over time, so it doesn''t hurt as much the closer you get.


I would also recommend wedding insurance for something that far out...you just never know what could happen. Or, you may even just change your mind about venue, date, etc...who knows. It also protects against something happening to the venue - construction, if they go out of business, etc. Not too much $$ for peace of mind!

Wow, I''ll have to do some research on wedding insurance. Is that something that specific venues provide, or a totally third-party thing?

Thanks for the continued suggestions everyone!

 

[S&I]

I just heard back from the first venue that we went to - the one with the newly renovated ballroom with windows. They said they would love to be our venue! And I''ve also confirmed that our proposed date is available at the same venue that my sister had her wedding back in October. So we have 2 choices so far, and 1 elimination because this 3rd place was planning renovations for 2011 and they weren''t taking any more reservations past May 2011.

I''m so excited now! I think I''ll calm down a bit after I reserve the venue and church. Thanks for all your suggestions and advice!