“What Should We Do First?” ~ One Year Prior To Your Wedding (Philadelphia Event Planner)
Posted: May 3rd, 2010 | No Comments »
My wedding is now just under one year away. It’s time for me to get moving! This led me to the idea for this blog. One of the most common questions I get at my initial consultations is “What should we be doing first? Are we too far ahead? When should we send our save-the-dates? etc.”
SO… I have decided to put a little guide together, as I plan my own wedding, that readers can access to answer the question, “What should we do next?”. This post will describe what you should be doing one year out.
First things first – Pick a date.
You can start by deciding what time of year/season appeals to you. If there is no particular time of year that interests you, maybe pick a date that is symbolic to you as a couple (your first date, birthday, holiday, etc.).
When you choose your date be sure to consider the expectation for the weather, if there could be any conflicts for guests to attend, big sporting events (you don’t want to have to argue with your fiance over weather a tv should be added by the bar to watch the Phillies in game 7 of The World Series or the Eagles in the NFC Championship game), etc.
My fiance and I got engaged on October 18th, 2009. We knew we would have a lot of saving to do, and both have very busy schedules, so we knew we needed at least a year. A year would have obviously put us right back into October. Although I enjoy the fall, I am much more of a spring/summer person. We would have loved May or June, but during those months prices increase, so we went with the closest Saturday we could get and decided on April 30th, 2011.
Some other ways to play around with your date to save on expenses is to choose a Friday or Sunday wedding, which are becoming very popular.
Look for Inspiration
Start looking through Bridal magazines, watching wedding shows on tv, and surfing the internet to find your wedding style. Get a binder and fill it with pictures you like. Look for a common theme or two in the pictures. This can help you to decide what type of venue you would like, the level of formality, color schemes, etc. It will also help you describe to your planner the look you are going for.
Make AND Stick To Your Budget
This part is never fun, but is EXTREMELY important. You need to know up front what you are willing to spend, and what you can afford. Hiring a planner to assist you with this can be invaluable. They will be able to tell you what is a realistic price for each professional you will need to hire in regards to your region/location, and can aid you in allocating your budget to the areas that are most important to you.
This is also a good time to have the “who will pay for what” discussion. It is important to know if your families will be contributing, or if you will be funding all of the expenses on your own. For more budget advice you can reference a former post Creating and Staying In Your Wedding Budget.
Who Makes The Cut
It’s no secret that weddings are a large expense. Unless you have a money tree growing in your backyard, you have to cut your guest list somewhere. Decide if you want a large wedding, or something more intimate. The size of your guest list will also dictate what venue you can or can’t choose.
Start by drafting a list of everyone you would like to have at your wedding. See what number you come up with. Get some packages sent to you from a few venues you think you may be interested in. Take the number of guests on your list, and multiply it by the average price per person on the packages you were sent from the venues. If the number in your calculator is more then 40-50% of your wedding budget, you need to reduce your list.
Some ways to cut guests out, without hurting feelings, is to do it by category. Start with children, and young adults. Make a cut off point. Perhaps you decide that there will be nobody under 18 invited. If your count is still too high, move onto couples. If they are not engaged, or in a serious relationship of a year or more, don’t give them a plus one on their invitation. It seems hard, but people will understand, and if you follow the same rules for everyone, nobody can get upset.
Find the Perfect Venue
Start looking for your venue as soon as possible. Depending on the time of year, and popularity of some venues, they can be booked a year or more in advance. Look through the binder you have put together with all of the images you like to see what type of venue will fit your style, and the level of formality you want. Be sure to read all policies and contracts in detail before committing to a venue.
Create your Wedding Registry
It’s never to early to create your wedding registry, even if you are having a two year engagement. It can be used not only for wedding and shower gifts, but for your engagement party, and even holidays and birthdays leading up to your big day if you handle it properly. Don’t send everyone a message around the holidays to let them know you would like a gift from your registry, but if they ask what you would like you can reference it. The earlier you create your registry, the better the chance you have of getting everything on it.
Begin Searching for Wedding Professionals
Start looking for your photographer, videographer, and entertainment. If you are trying to decide which to start with first, consider what is most important to you at your wedding and start there. Schedule appointments to meet with each professional, and ask as many questions as you can. You can never be too informed when making important decisions for your wedding.
These are the things you should be working on one year from your wedding. Getting a strong start on your planning will make the months leading up to your wedding less hectic. The next milestone is 9 months out.
Here is the ugly truth: The average wedding costs $27,000.00 
. Ok, now that we got that out of the way, what can you do about it? Don’t panic, you can definitely have a beautiful wedding for less then that, you just need to do your research, find out what your price range is, and make sure you stay within your budget.
. Although it may not be a party, it is extremely important. Without creating a budget, you may get half way through your planning and run out of money. There are lots of sites with budget trackers that you can use to create, record payments, and update to stay on target. These are great to be used as a guideline, but be sure to consider your geographic location also. The numbers they project are based on the national average. If you are living in a booming city like New York, or a very small town in Wyoming, you may have to adjust these projections up or down accordingly. Below are some guidelines you can follow to get yourself started on creating a reasonable, and workable budget.
I have recently become more acquainted with Wedding Wire, a great resource that I am now using on a daily basis. It is a great site that you can use to search for various types of professionals to assist you with your event. It also has a multitude of useful tools to help you stay organized and on track with all the planning for your event. They are very interactive on Facebook and Twitter, where they keep you posted on all their latest tips and advice. You can now find Events by Monroe, LLC as a listed event professional on Wedding Wire, as well as Best Philadelphia Weddings, and Martha Stewart Weddings. We are very excited to be expanding. I hope you get some use out of these sites and the great tools that they offer!
