For example, sometimes you can't choose a location until you know how many guests you will be having. You can't finalize how many guests until you have a budget, or know how much catering and drinks will average per guest, which leads us back to square one: You don't know how much the food and drinks will cost you until you know the location AND have an idea of what you will be serving. Not to mention that the location actually needs to be available on the date of your choosing! It can be a vicious cycle, but it doesn't have to be. Some of the advice that I gave you for wedding budgeting applies for almost every topic, including a timeline. Let's revisit:
PRIORITIZE what is most important to you - for the wedding overall, and then by major category. You can do this by asking yourself these questions:
- Is it important to you what time of year you get married? If so, that will dictate your timeline a bit. I never saw the appeal of winter weddings until I started photographing them, and now it's one of my favorite wedding "seasons". Many brides have always dreamed of having their wedding during a certain time of year. Is that you?
- What about budget? Do you need to earn or save additional funds? If so, how long will that take? That will certainly affect timing.
- Are there any other big events that are already scheduled that might come into conflict with your target date? For example, I had a bride who also had a sibling graduating from high school just a week or two before her wedding date. Her poor, poor parents. They wanted to tackle projects around and outside their home for the graduation party, but didn't have the budget for both home improvements AND a wedding. Having the wedding at their home wasn't an option, and so the family was faced with some really tough choices. I remember wishing that the bride and groom would have given the parents a little more space and time, since the parents were contributing to their budget.
Beyond that, get yourself some type of a comprehensive wedding checklist to see you through. There are many out there - books, computer programs, online versions, you name it. I am going to list one, and it's because not only is it very well done, customizable and complete, but it adjusts the items and timing of the list based on your inputs, like how far out your wedding date is. It is on WeddingWire, and can be found here.
WeddingWire, also is a great site for planning ideas, inspiration, researching vendors (you can find Maris Ehlers Photography on WeddingWire as well).
Once you have that date, get going! Most timelines and checklists separate your tasks and to do's by month, until the last couple of months when it drills down to weeks and then days.
Good luck!
Maris
This week's posts about weddings:
http://marisehlersphotography.blogspot.com/2011/03/helpful-wedding-tips-from-wedding.htmlHelpful Wedding Tips From a Photographer - Part 1
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