Newly engaged and wondering where the heck to start with wedding planning? Hi! Hello! I’m Catie- a Michigan wedding photographer that knows A LOT about weddings and I’m here to help you with yours. I married my husband in 2023, and I remember the days of feeling overwhelmed with wedding planning and not even knowing where to begin. It’s a lot to think about and some days it felt like a full-time job (and I already had 2 full-time jobs at the time of mine).
The best piece of advice I can give you throughout this time is this: go with your gut. A wedding is a celebration of you, and it should in turn reflect you. This advice I’m about to give is merely a guide to help you navigate wedding planning- every wedding is so unique so if something I suggest doesn’t work for you, that’s okay! You can always consult with me and I’m happy to help any way I can. While I’m not a wedding planner, I do have experience planning, assisting, and advocating for you all throughout the planning process.
For this post, I will not be putting time stamps on when you should have things booked by. I’ve helped plan weddings that have taken a year & a half to plan and I’ve also planned weddings in 5-6 months. Fun Fact: my cousin is one of those brides with a 6 month planning timeline, and it is totally do-able. There are always going to be venues or vendors that book out years in advance, but there are also vendors (like me) that can work on a shorter timeframe. While I have noticed the average time to plan is about a year, don’t be afraid to have a longer or shorter engagement! These phases can sometimes last a week, or sometimes the search for vendors takes 6 months. Take this general advice as you will!
Phase 1: Securing Your Date & Picking Your Venue
When planning, it’s always easiest to break it up into phases. If you’re like me and love a good checklist, you can check out mine here!
First things first, we need to have an idea of budget. A budget is just an estimation of spending, and I encourage you to be flexible on this (within reason) as you research vendors! Some things may cost less than anticipated, while some things cost a little more. For example, some venues include catering & alcohol and charge a much higher price while other venues don’t have in-house amenities and charge less. Consider things like this when getting quotes and researching! You may find it worth it to splurge on certain areas while reducing or eliminating other areas completely. Just be open when exploring your options!
Your second step is to hire a wedding planner. I will always recommend hiring one! A wedding planner will help you assemble your wedding day dream team of vendors and take care of any & all issues that arise while planning. Not to mention fixing any issues on your wedding day without you knowing! Some planners are flexible when booking a wedding date, and some need you to have a date already chosen before booking.
Now it’s time to find a venue. This (to me) goes hand in hand with choosing a date! If you already have a solid date in mind, it can narrow down some of your venue choices if said date isn’t available at venues. If you are flexible, I recommend inquiring for a month’s or season’s availability and work with the venue to secure a date. If you have your heart set on a certain venue already, having a flexible date will be crucial to booking with them! I recommend touring at least 3 venues. Walk through them, get a feel of how the ceremony and reception will flow into each other, ask questions to determine if the space is right for you. Need help with some questions to ask? This article will help!
Phase 2: Booking Your Vendors
It’s important to book your top, most important vendors first! I have found that photography, videography, & content creators are the first of the vendors you’ll book. Saving those memories for the rest of your life are the most important (but I may be biased)! Check out different styles for your media team- editorial photography is typically more posed and staged than documentary. Documentary style focuses on candid, natural moments throughout your day. Look at editing styles: bright, natural & timeless, dark, moody, film-vibes, etc. You honestly can’t go wrong with any style, but one should appeal to you more. Personally, I am a natural & timeless documentary photographer.
Once you’ve secured your media teams, it’s time to move on down the list! I’d recommend booking your DJ and floral team next. A great DJ reads the room on your wedding day and adjusts music accordingly to keep the party flowing. They make announcements throughout the night when needed, and can take requests from your guests. An alternative to a DJ is a live band. I personally haven’t experienced a live band outside of cocktail hour, but they do provide a different experience than a DJ.
Your floral team will be important to book right away as well. Some florists rent things like vases, glassware, floral stands, etc. so securing one quickly is important! This is where I hear brides say they experience sticker shock the most with prices. Florals have a lot of behind the scenes work- they have to be conditioned, assembled, conditioned again, transported, conditioned again, possibly re-assembled at the venue. It’s a lot! This is where budget flexibility can come into play, and I encourage you to really talk to your florist to understand the process. This podcast episode from The Vendor Table really dives into the floral industry!
Other vendors to look into during this phase include stationary, catering, bartending, officiants, bridal shops, menswear, hair stylists, makeup artists, and shuttle transportation. I could write entire articles on each vendor, but I’m not doing that for the sake of reading time! The vetting process for each vendor is important and ultimately, you know you best. Booking these vendors aren’t typically happening all at once (unless you have a very short engagement). I usually see photography, DJ, & florists booked first. Then followed by makeup & hair, catering, bartenders, and officiants maybe a couple months later. There’s really no such thing as a wrong time to book, but keep in mind it can be harder to secure vendors the closer your date is. I suggest having a trial run with some vendors, too. Trial runs can be for makeup artists and hair stylists and tasting catering & bakery options. Some vendors have these trials included in their pricing!
Phase 3: Assembling Your Physical Items
After your most important vendors are booked, you’re probably going to start accumulating things for your wedding day! Sometimes this phase overlaps with Phase 2. I recommend storing these in clear, plastic tubs to make it easier to see what’s inside. To take it a step further, you could attach a list to each box detailing what’s inside. You’ll be gathering anything from a guestbook to candles to accessories. Anything and everything, my friend. Keep them in a designated place to keep it all organized!
It’s also time to start looking for your wedding wear. Wedding gowns do have timelines and it’s important to know before you buy! Some wedding gown shops provide samples for try on and will then measure you to order one in your size. These shops take anywhere from 8-12 months for your gown to come in. If you’re on a tight planning timeline, these types of boutiques may not be for you! There are also stores where you can shop off-the-rack. This means you find a gown and take it home same day! One isn’t better than the other in terms of dress quality. As a bride, I shopped at both kinds of stores and happened to find mine at an off-the-rack shop.
Menswear is a little different than bridal shops! Some places need 6 months to properly fit and make a suit while some rentals need a month’s notice. You could also go the custom suit route, which takes longer!
During this phase, you’ll most likely be sending out your save-the-dates and invitations. Save-the-dates can be sent out anytime before the invitations are. Usually the sooner the better so people can save the date! Invitations are typically mailed out 8-10 weeks before your wedding day. For destination weddings I recommend 12 weeks out to give your guests time to get their travel plans in order!
Phase 4: Timeline Planning
Once you have yours vendors booked, we can start timeline planning for your day! If you have a wedding planner, they most likely are working on this for you with your vendors. If you don’t have a planner, I can assist you with this! It’s important to communicate with you vendors on how much time they need and also telling them when your big events of the day are. We all will have suggestions when it comes to assembling your timeline!
This is where we’ll talk more intensely on what’s important to you. Is a first look and private vows a non-negotiable? Or do you want to spend the morning with your people and not see each other before the ceremony? We’ll make whatever you want work while being honest and giving our vendor perspectives. We’ll want to schedule your portrait time, but also leave enough time for organic moments. It sounds more difficult than it actually is!
Phase 5: Executing the Plan
This is the part where you sit back and enjoy your wedding day while your vendor team executes the plan! Your planner will help coordinate decorating the space morning of with your florist. You’ll get to enjoy spending time with your favorite people while getting your hair & makeup done. The DJ will be playing soft music as your guests arrive. It’s all under control because you hired the perfect vendor team!
