Hey girls! I'm new to all this planning. I don't know where to begin! What am I supposed to do first?? If i want to get married next November, when should I be booking a hall? How far in advance should the save the dates go out? I have a very limited budget, does anyone know cheaper halls I could be looking at?
allornil
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Re: so overwhelmed!!
Hi welcome to the board and congrats!
Book now. Halls book quickly.
If you want to cut costs look into sun afternoons and off season.
JLWSJC
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Re: so overwhelmed!!
Hey Jenn!! You have plenty of time to do everything, so relax.
First, focus on the hall. think about how many guests you think you'll have. You and FH should get together, write down every person you can think of to invite, figure realistically who the non-negotiables are, get a rough number and start from there.
It's good that it sounds like you have a realistic ballpark idea of your budget, it'll make shopping a lot easier. Check out the reception hall list on this site, it's very helpful
Less expensive venues include Swan Club, Coral House... but you can get great prices in lots of places. It depends on a) what time of year (April through Oct is usually considered prime season in most places so the prices are a little higher) and b) what day and time. Sat nights are usually most expensive, where you can save money by having a Friday or Sunday wedding. Even more by having a Sunday daytime or Thursday night wedding.
Good luck and happy planning!! Welcome and ask anything you need to!
aquag12283
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Re: so overwhelmed!!
Congrats and welcome! I would book the hall first and then if you are not get married at the hall then find a place for the ceremony.
angelatp
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Re: so overwhelmed!!
take a deep breath! you'll get through it, that's why we're here. The girls are so great with advice and helpful suggestions.
Welcome and congrats!!!
FutureJOC
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Re: so overwhelmed!!
Welcome and Congrats!!!
You have a lot of time to get everything done so no need to panic now. I would worry first and foremost about getting the hall and the church (if you are having one) booked. After that, just thinking about how you envision your day looking, write down some ideas/what you might need and then start researching vendors you might want to meet with.
evita2781
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Re: so overwhelmed!!
welcome and congrats!
I would say look for the hall first. But be careful if you want to get married in the church and make sure that they're available on the date that you want!
Enjoy the planning!!
njoseph8
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Re: so overwhelmed!!
Welcome!!! I am right there with you with the limited budget. FH and I are paying for it ourselves and we have 2 kids so we are doing it the cheapest possible. We're getting married at the Coral House because they were by far the cheapest place we found and they didn't shun us when we said we wanted a wedding under 100 people. I found a florist that has really good prices too if you're interested FM me and I can give you the info
kedra5
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Re: so overwhelmed!!
I agree with the girls on here, I just wanted to say hello and Congrats!!!!
Welcome to your new addiction!!!
We're all here to help so anything you need help with dont be afraid to ask!! No doubt its been asked at some point
suzie411
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Re: so overwhelmed!!
congrats!!!!
like the other girls said. . you have plenty of time. The first thing you and your fiance will want to do is get idea of how many guests you want and visit some RH and book your ceremony site (whether it's a church, or at the reception hall).
This site (and the magazine) were very helpful to me! It gives you the average cost per plate and capacity of each hall. Also. . . .you can ALWAYS negotiate!
http://www.weddingsitesandservices.com/
Edited:::::::::: I do want to add that there are many more reception halls on LI then this site gives! I actually did not pick a Reception Hall that is on that site or in their magazine. But it was super helpful in trying to decide what i wanted from a RH and comparing costs
JTG4EVER
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Re: so overwhelmed!!
Welcome and Congrats! Let us know if you need any hall ideas. What are you looking for?
Jenn7982
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Re: so overwhelmed!!
Thanks for all the help!! I feel a bit better reading everyone's response! I'll keep everyone posted
soontobmrsmike
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Re: so overwhelmed!!
Just to help you out Im an 11/11/11 bride as well and i started planning october of 2010 booked in November so we got a great deal. You do have alot of time but since that date is so popular you need to start looking at places bc alot of the venues that are 1 wedding are booked by some LIW girls
So far Giorgios is booked for 11/11 not sure where else yet
I have my RH, dress ordered and church booked that is all.
DCgirl82
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Re: so overwhelmed!!
Congrats & Welcome!
You have a lot of time to get everything planned so don't worry First and most importantly I would starts looking at RHs, do you have any places in mind yet? Scout out different places compare pricing and see what works best for you and your FH. After you have the RH booked the next most important things in my opinion are Where you are going to do your wedding ceremony, DJ/Band, Florist, Limos and start looking at what types of wedding gown you might like After that all the little stuff just kinda comes between. And as always we are here to help!
pjc92980
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Re: so overwhelmed!!
welcome & congrats!!! You have a ton of time so relax and enjoy the planning part....it really is fun! Being that you want 11/11/11 you def should look into your venue asap. There is a great site (also a magazine that I used) to help get an idea of which locations to go to and which not to bother going to bc they give you price ranges for locations: http://www.weddingsitesandservices.com wedding sites & services Remember though, if you are looking for that friday evening you are probably going to be looking at the higher price range listed on the site.
From there make your appts and have fun touring the locations! Once you pick your place it should all fall into place...some venues will give you a list of the vendors you have to use, others will give you recommended vendors etc. combine that with this site and finding your photographer, dj/band and florist will be easy!
happy planning
leighlo1226
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Re: so overwhelmed!!
Congrats and welcome!! I'm 11/11/11 at The Woodlands. Apparently these dates book up really quick and some places consider special dates like 10/10/10 and 11/11/11 holidays because they are appealing. Luckily, The Woodlands doesn't do this, so I got a great deal for a Friday night in November.
As for booking, I got engaged 5/14/10 and I booked The Woodlands 5/28/10 after looking at a handful of places. Once I knew I wanted 11/11/11 I knew I had to move fast to get the place I wanted. Thankfully FH and my parents were on the same page as me. I haven't booked anything else yet. I've made a few appointments for the next couple weeks to check out band/dj and photography. But I'm pretty much focusing on the engagement party, which is 10/17/10 and trying to figure out what I want to do for my STDs.
Good luck!! I hope you become my date twin
Moonmist09
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Re: so overwhelmed!!
congratulations!!!!!!!
the earlier you book a hall, the better. only because you will have your choice of locations. as a side note, for some reason, 11/11/11 is a very popular day, and many places are already booked, so start looking now, if that is the day you intend to go with. off season is usually cheaper than 'on' season and day weddings are cheaper than night weddings. saturday is the most expensive day to choose. good luck!!!!
soontobmrsmike
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Re: so overwhelmed!!
Posted by Jenn7982
Hey girls! I'm new to all this planning. I don't know where to begin! What am I supposed to do first?? If i want to get married next November, when should I be booking a hall? How far in advance should the save the dates go out? I have a very limited budget, does anyone know cheaper halls I could be looking at?
Woohooo another 11/11 bride!!! Congrats and welcome!
CrazyLove11
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Re: so overwhelmed!!
Congrats and welcome!
Start now so you don't freak out later! First thngs first is the RH and the church (if you want one). Then book all your big vendors..like DJ, florist, photgrapher....
I got engaged the end of May and did nothing for about 2-3 weeks. Then I researched the RHs and vendors I wanted to meet with and booked all my appointments for the end of June - beginning of July (yes crazy busy we were!) but here I am the mid of July with all my vendors booked and I can relax!!!!
