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I don't see the harm in booking it now if you already have an idea of budget and guest list size. You might be able to lock in lower rates than if you waited until closer to the wedding. I would make sure you can get your deposit refunded though.
I think you could definitely start looking and getting ideas, but wait to book until you are closer to the wedding date and have a better idea of your budget and guest list.
A lot of places won't let you book until a year out but will put it on "hold." It's never too early to start looking!
I would book the venue a year and a half out, not one year out. You'll probably miss out on your preferred date if you wait till one year out.
Definitely go and look and decide what you might want, but wait till this winter to book. You never know what may happen with budget, guest list size, etc.
The norm is to book at about 18 months out to secure your prime date. You need to keep in mind budget, guest list size, etc. If you book this early there are a few benefits, usually you'll lock in 2011 pricing for 2013 which will probably incur a 10% hike in pricing! Good Savings! But you'll want to make sure that your contract has an open policy on your deposit, should anything happen between now and then! Also check there weather and construction sections of the contract, a lot of people don't think when booking out that far about natural disasters or potential renovations the venue might undergo.
As MrsCoachBtoBee said above it is possible that a venue will put a hold on a date for you in case you want to book in 6-8 months. You will however not lock in any pricing from your hold date to your booking date.
My sister got engaged over the holidays and booked her venue for April 2013 in March. She is working on a very tight budget and really only saw the savings in it. Normally I wouldn't have recommended booking so soon!
I think it's great that you can start looking now. You may not be able to book so early, but if you fall in love with a place that has a huge waiting list, you can get on the list! Good luck and congratulations!
I say look, look and look some more! It's good to know what's out there so you can compare and contrast with other venues and don't get taken advantage of! Not to metnion they do book super fast and when you find what you want it'll be good to keep an eye on it for the appropiate time.
Like PP's have said, there's nothing wrong with starting your search early. But don't be in a rush to book a place yet - the nice thing about a long engagement is that you shouldn't have to rush into any decisions that might result in buyer's remorse later. If you go back east in August and look at a few places, you can go back home, think about them, send emails with follow-up questions (I always think of more questions about a week after I've actually looked at a place), and start cracking down on your budget and guest list. You have enough time that you can think about it for a few months and still book a place over a year in advance.
I got engaged last November, and we decided to have our wedding in August or September of next year - so almost a 2-year engagement. I started researching venues in February, started visiting venues in March or April, and just very recently I made my decision as to which venue I want to book, after a couple months of research and discussing budget and guest list with my FI and my family.
Our wedding is only 6 months before yours and I booked our venue about 4 months ago :) Definitely not too early to start looking!
We booked our venue just shy of 2 years out. It's a popular venue for the time of year we wanted and after checking it out, we knew we didn't want to look anywhere else. Plus, we got it $400 cheaper than what it's booking for now. If you know what you want, there's no harm in putting a deposit down. We could cancel all the way up to 6 mo before the wedding and still get our deposit back & not lose any money [although we knew we didn't have to worry about that]. Just make sure you read the fine print on the contract just in case you do decide to book.
Hope that helps!
My fiance proposed in November 2010. We are getting married in August 2013, due to us having to finish our Bachelor's degrees. So, our engagement will last three years. We picked our venue after sifting through so many choices.
And we are paying for everything so we knew we wanted to start planning everything early...and saving up as well! :) We are having an intimate wedding with our closest loved ones in Santa Barabara's beautiful courthouse and having a quaint dinner reception at a restaurant afterwards. It is also a destination wedding (two hours away from where most of us live), but we're happy because we don't have a lot of money to spend and it is less stress for us in the future. We can enjoy being engaged and not worry so much about the wedding...there's a lot of freedom in that!
When it comes down to it, it's your guys' day and no one else's. You can do whatever you want. My mom was in the wedding business and she said it's never too early to start looking! So my answer is no, it's not too early. Go ahead and look if you want, whatever you and your dearest want to do.
Best wishes to you on whatever you and your fiance decide, congratulations & happy planning! :)
Its not too early at all, I got engaged in May this year and am getting married in summer 2013. Lots of places are saying that if we want a saturday in summer we better get our skates on, we will probably book around 18 - 20 months in advance.
I think looking now is the best part! You can make sure that you get the pick of the litter, so to speak, when it comes to the venue you want. I would hate to fall in love with a bunch of places just to find out had I looked earlier, they would've had my date open but as it is, all full.
Nope it isn't too early to start looking.. You might not be able to book yet since it might be too far in advance.. But if you find a place that you love and want to have.. Find out when they do start accepting 2013 reservations and call that day to reserve your spot.. Since you are wanting to get married right in the "prime time".
We got engaged at the beginning of February of this year.. our engagement is over a year and a half.. and some venues were already booked for the summer of 2012 when I called then! If you know your place is popular, don't waste any time. You might be able to lock in the current rates before (if) they go up.
Once you have your venue then you don't have to be as worried about booking the rest yet..
I thought I was having a 2 year engagement, but looked anyway. How could you not! Its so exciting! I am glad I looked though because my family was a lot more generous than I anticipated and due to their very considerate donations, we moved the wedding to next year and because I was prepared, I pretty much booked the entire thing in a 2 week period as I knew what I wanted :)
START THE SEARCH...MY RECEPTION VENUE IS ALREADY BOOKED TILL NOVEMBER OF 2012. IT'S IN SUCH DEMAND THAT SHE SAID SHE STARTED HAVING A LOT OF SUNDAY WEDDINGS SINCE ALL THE SATURDAYS ARE TAKEN. AND THE PRICE IS GREAT...DIDNT WANT THEM TO GO UP ON THE PRICE SINCE IT HAS BECOME A POPULAR VENUE SO I WENT AHEAD AND LOCKED MINE IN. NOT DOING ANY REAL PLANNING TIL OCTOBER OF THIS YEAR JUST WANTED TO SECURE MY LOCATION
I'd say start looking. A lot of the good places as mentioned above will be book up months even years in advance. I know some venues here don't book til a year out but then they book up quickly. If you start looking now, you can find what you want and book it as soon as they allow you to. My FI and I have a 19 month engagement. We got engaged Dec 5th 2010 and had our venue booked before Christmas 2010. We were told if we knew our date to book cause after Christmas every year there are lots of bookings and my venue was fully booked for summer 2012 by march 2011!!!
Hi! I'd definitely start looking at venues. If you find one you like, book pronto or get on a waiting list. I starting looking at venues in March and our wedding isn't til Nov 2012. We found one, tried to book it for Oct 2012 (our preferred date before daylight savings) and was told it was already reserved. Now I have to consider having my wedding an hour early (ceremony/reception at same location) so that the ceremony is at sunset like I wanted and end at 10 pm or pay for an extra hour. I plan to start booking florists/photogs/djs in the next couple of mths. I don't want to lose out on preferred vendors...rather play it super safe than be sorry later.
I still have a year until my wedding and every place I have looked into in NYC and surrounding areas have almost all dates available. That being said, I agree with the others that it could be beneficial to lock down a price.
There's no harm in looking, especially since you already have a flight booked. We booked our venue 1.5 year in advance so it's never too early in my book!
I think it would be better to start looking now. You may even get lower rates if you book early! Most places raise prices every year. We booked almost 18 months out :)
Depending where you go ther can be YEARS waiting list! =) Never too soon!
If you find a place you really love, I say book it now, if they'll let you. You'll have a better selection of dates to choose from. :)
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Hi everyone! I'm newly engaged and we are planning to have a wedding in summer 2013.
I live in San Diego, CA and we are planning our wedding in the north shore of Boston, MA.
We typically only come home twice a year, and actually have booked flights for August, my fiance & I both talked about looking at a few venues when we come home but my parents say its okay to browse but not to book anything until one year before the wedding.
Is there a proper way to do this? My thought process is the reason we are having a long engagement to spread everything out especially because of the distance. Now I wonder if I should wait to start planning or booking things until closer to the date?
Advice? Experiences? help?
:) Thanks brides xoxo