Excited!!

My FI and I looked at Watermill this past weekend and we both fell in love with it. Their prices were within our budget and they were willing to throw things in for us due to us having an off season wedding. Our date that we were looking at is open and I'm pretty sure we are going to pick that venue, but want to make sure so were going to look at 2 more venues and if we are going to compare everything to the watermill then thats the one!

Just a couple questions for you ladies (I'm the first of my friends to have a LI Wedding due to the others having destination weddings) so I am completely new to this.

Because my wedding is gonna be 2017, what do you suggest I do early? as far as vendors? People are telling me just to book the venue and then don't do anything for a while.

TIA Ladies!

Excited!!

We booked venue last March (2014) then photo in May then every few months I booked another vendor and I'm almost done now. It's good to get it done early, because you get people you want, and get their current pricing. I know for a fact my videographer went up at least $500/package this year so I'm so glad I got it booked early. Same with the venue.

Re: Excited!!

Okay great thanks for the help! Ill keep looking online but every couple months ill book vendors.
Do most photographers come with engagement sessions included in the price?

Re: Excited!!

I would book everything you can as early as you can - that way you get the vendors you want and the earlier pricing ( if they allow booking that far in advance) Best of luck!

Excited!!

I would definitely book the venue, photographer, the band or dj as soon as possible. Most other vendors like the florist or the limo say to contact them about 6 months before the actual event.

Excited!!

I booked my venue in May 2014 (getting married May 2016) and then by August/September I had my DJ, photographer/videographer (same company), and florist booked. I know the florist I booked when up in price since I booked and same with my photographer. Because I could be moving in June I am going to try to get my limo and hotel block booked by then and also probably sign a contract with who I'll be getting my truffle favors with to lock in pricing.

My photographer came with an engagement shoot but offered to take off $300 if we didn't want it.

Excited!!

It is never too early to start looking at major vendors (dj, photo, video). I found that the good reasonably priced vendors are booked first. Also if you book now, you usually get this years pricing :)

Re: Excited!!

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Posted by ADJRWED

Okay great thanks for the help! Ill keep looking online but every couple months ill book vendors.
Do most photographers come with engagement sessions included in the price?

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Many do, mine didn't.. it was a $500 add-on.

Excited!!

Most photographers include an engagement session. However, you have to see exactly what they include. Some photographers we met with would only do sessions in a studio. Outdoor locations came with a fee of I think $295. Others allowed outdoor locations, but you only had 2 to choose from. Our photographer included the sessions and we could pick anywhere on LI and the city...except I think the Bronx and Staten Island came with a fee. We also got free save the dates with them, too and we used pictures from the engagement session. So, definitely shop around!

Excited!!

I'm getting married November 2016 and I booked photographer, Videographer, and DJ by November 2014 because I wanted to lock in 2014 prices so do it whenever you want to but keep in mind prices do increase as time goes on is my advice! oh and yay for watermill!!!! :)

Excited!!

I would do it as soon as possible. It gives you time to negotiate and compare different vendors without the hassle of having to settle because there is no availability.

Excited!!

Hi! My wedding is also in 2017 (January) and I booked my venue about 3 weeks ago! Since then, I've booked my DJ and the church we will be getting married at. My next vendor is going to be photographer/videographer, and I want to get that done asap so I have one less thing to worry about!

It's never too early to start looking at vendors. This way you know they'll usually have availability for your date and you can lock in their prices for this year if they eventually go up the next year. Plus it's one less thing to stress about! Good luck with everything! :)

Re: Excited!!

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Posted by Jackie816

Hi! My wedding is also in 2017 (January) and I booked my venue about 3 weeks ago! Since then, I've booked my DJ and the church we will be getting married at. My next vendor is going to be photographer/videographer, and I want to get that done asap so I have one less thing to worry about!

It's never too early to start looking at vendors. This way you know they'll usually have availability for your date and you can lock in their prices for this year if they eventually go up the next year. Plus it's one less thing to stress about! Good luck with everything! :)

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OMG YAY im not the only 2017 bride!!!!!

Re: Excited!!

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Posted by ADJRWED

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Posted by Jackie816

Hi! My wedding is also in 2017 (January) and I booked my venue about 3 weeks ago! Since then, I've booked my DJ and the church we will be getting married at. My next vendor is going to be photographer/videographer, and I want to get that done asap so I have one less thing to worry about!

It's never too early to start looking at vendors. This way you know they'll usually have availability for your date and you can lock in their prices for this year if they eventually go up the next year. Plus it's one less thing to stress about! Good luck with everything! :)

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OMG YAY im not the only 2017 bride!!!!!

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I know!!! I was excited to see I wasn't the only one on here either! :)

Re: Excited!!

Congratulations and welcome! I say pace yourself to get all you can for your budget but definitely don't pace too slowly. I got engaged in June 2013 and waited until Jan 2014 to plan my wedding thinking it would be enough time...well my wedding is coming up this April and from the day I officially started planning, time has flown by. Some days I just can't wait for my wedding day, others I'm like OMG there aren't enough hours in a day. And I have a 4 year old so I never stop lol. My FH and I met with like 5 venues including The Venetian Yacht Club. When we saw it we instantly knew that is what we wanted but we did shop around to make sure we were getting every bit of our buck. We couldn't be happier with our choice. We kept in contact with the Manager while we were venue shopping to make sure the date we wanted was available and to avoid losing the spot. From there I went for the rest of the vendors within 6 months to space out deposits and such. I probably should have done it in a shorter time span because now final payments are right on top of each other. If I would have compressed the meetings with vendors I think I could have planned my payments a little better. Definitely make a list of what services are more key to you that will also help with screening vendors. Happy Planning!!!