Not sure where to start...

So, we finally booked our hall a few weeks ago...super excited bc it's exactly what I wanted.

Everyone keeps telling me I 'have plenty of time' but i'm not sure how true that is. I don't want to wait to book vendors and then have my date not be available!

Should I start with DJ & Photographer/videographer, then florist and limo? Is it ok if I wait another month or so? The wedding is in 17 months. Let me know

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That's what people told me to. Some just don't understand how fast things book up etc. I did it I'm this order hall officent photographer DJ dress bridesmaid dress.
My next to do is florist but I wanted to know my color scheme first and have a def bum color

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After the venue we booked, church, Photo/Video, DJ, Limo. My next thing will be the florist. You should def start sooner rather then later, things are booking up. You'd be surprised. I'd especially do it if there is a specific vendor you want.

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Thanks ladies, that's what I thought :)

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My timeline for example:

2/14/12: We got engaged

3/4/12: Booked venue (The Inn at New Hyde Park)

7/26/12: Booked videographer (GT Modern Creations; they're a husband and wife company that only does one wedding a day, so we got first pick)

7/28/12: Booked photographer (Lighthouse, which was a good thing because we got first choice of which photographers we wanted to work with)

11/26/12: Bought my first dress, had dress regret, and cancelled the order by December. (Made this decision WAY too fast. Went with the first dress I tried on in the first store I went to)

12/3/12: Booked Photobooth & DJ

01/05/13: Booked limousines (Camelot Limo...again, each company only has so many cars, so we got first pick)

Mid January '13: Bought my wedding dress (Bridal Reflections, expecting my dress to arrive in July)

3/23/13: Booked flowers (Flowers by Brian)

04/01/13: Sending out Save the Dates

and now I'm currently looking at bridesmaids dresses, and I've started looking at hair and makeup.

Do everything at your own pace! We knew exactly which companies we wanted to book for the big choices, so if you know what you want, go ahead and book early! If you're the type of person to have doubts, like I did with the wedding dress, hold off for a few months and take your time.

Good luck with your planning!

ETA: I just saw we're venue twins! AMAZING choice! I'm so in love with the Inn at New Hyde Park! :)

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I did it: Venue, Photographer/Videographer (you want this to be your second or third thing so that you can choose your photographer if there is more than one in the company, and these are the first vendors who book up), florist, now I'm working on band.

I'm looking for a dress throughout it all, and my bridesmaids aren't going to start looking for dresses until the end of July (one of them is in law school and taking the Bar Exam in July, and I know that is more important than dresses).

Take your time, but not too much. It's always disappointing when someone tells you they're booked.

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We did: venue, church, band (we already knew who we wanted so it was just a matter of setting our date in stone), photographer/videographer. Next up is limos and florist, dress, hair/makeup and bridesmaid dresses.

While I had no problem booking all of my vendors since it was still two years out, some of them did say before I booked that another bride was interested in the same date. You never know really if they're just saying that to pressure you into booking, but I definitely wouldn't wait too long to start calling up vendors you're interested in!

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I literally got engaged three weeks ago and already have my venue and church booked. I am calling up a DJ we found later today to most likely book and are meeting with a photographer we love in a few weeks. I don't care what anyone tells me, I am SO paranoid of my date booking up! The first photographer we contacted was already booked! I plan on getting all of the big things out of the way so I can concentrate on the fun details and not worry about it being a waste of time. :)

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We did church, venue, band, photographer, and I will be ordering my dress within the next couple of weeks. Next is flowers!

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i got engaged last april and booked venue right away, then a month after booked photo/video...2 months after that bought my dress.. then in oct booked dj, january booked florist, feb booked limo... i did everything far in advance because i was afraid if i waited the vendors i wanted wouldnt have my day. Good luck!

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Congrats RH twin!!! Loveeee the Inn! I got engaged in August- picked the venue by Sept - videographer in Sept- photographer by November and Band by December. So far I have my engagement photos on May15th and dress shopping on June 4th.

Go at your own pace! But I would get the most important things done first (important to you)

Good luck!!!

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Congrats on booking the RH! That's a huge check!

Like the other girls, I booked photographer/videographer and DJ within a few months of booking the RH (I got engaged Dec 2011, booked the RH in April 2012 and booked my photographer, videographer and DJ in the summer of 2012). Figure out what's most important to you (in my case it was photography) and go for that next. My photographer owns his own company. I'm obsessed with his style of photography and didn't want him to book my date, so I booked him almost 2 years before my wedding date. It's never too early if you know what you want!

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It's nice to have all the time because you can take 'breaks'... It's like having ll day to get ready to go out vs. running late ...
When you have 'all day' (aka 17 months) you can book your big things and think about the little things.. Take your time doing research and make the best decisions for you..
When you're 'running late' (planning in a 9-12 month schedule) everything is back to back and on a guideline and timeline Nd too stressful and too fast!!!


I spend a lot f time explaining this thought process to people (not this in depth though) lol.
So enjoy this! Book what's important to you NOW so you get what you want!! :)

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we booked the big things right away because we had our specific date in mind. We got engaged 12.13.12 and our venue was booked within a month. Then we booked the DJ and Photographer so my 3 major vendors were booked within the first 2 months of being engaged. I had known who I wanted as a photographer since before I got engaged so I wanted to make sure I got him!

Like Simonenarissa said... you can take 'breaks' ... I'm currently on a 'break'. I figure I'll start picking up more things around June/July. I also am trying to get things done sooner rather than later because I have 7 weddings in the 18 months before my wedding... one of which is my FSIL and the other wedding I'm in so theres just going to be a lot of planning all around so I want to make sure I don't put my own wedding on the sideline while I'm worrying about everyone elses wedding.

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I still have the same thought as you do it's funny my videographer/photographer was booked before the venue now I'm looking into getting a DJ people kept telling me I have time and I see other people on here almost done planning their wedding im still undecided abt my colors n theme writing this right now making me go crazy..,

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All the ladies are giving great advice on the order to book your vendors... and although I personally would suggest starting sooner than later (that way you get your first choice and not whoever is available that day) I also know a lot of brides who really take their time with booking. Some brides are not as picky and don't care who their photographer is, as long as they have one. It's really your preference on how 'fast' or 'slow' you want to move the plans along. Good luck :)

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I wanted to book vendors right away because I didn't want to risk someone being booked on my date. I did venue, DJ, Photographer, Videographer, Florist. Now all my major vendors are booked and I can relax!

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Thanks girls, I took your advice and made appointments for both photographer/videographer and DJ this week!

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I definitely think DJ and photo/video are the most important after venue. There are 45734834893 florist and limousine companies out there

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omg, reading this post has me freaked out even more now lol. I'm still trying to find venues and I'm aiming for a August 2014 date as well. Could you share how much the Inn at New Hyde Park is? I want to schedule a tour there.