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I booked my venue 11 months ahead, BUT we have only been engaged for 3 months. I say if you KNOW you want it that date, why wait?
All the venues we looked out wouldn't let us book that far ahead. The place we went with only books 18 months in advance. We booked it at 14 months ahead and they had about 3 inquires about our date in the same week.
We booked 15 months ahead of time, because we needed a specific date and we liked that venue. We figured: we knew we needed the date, and we'd be disappointed if we couldn't get the specific venue, so we just went ahead and did it!
I think it really depends on your region. We were engaged last Valentine's Day and weren't really planning on booking a hall until April or May (until I finished school). Out of sheer curiosity, I started calling around in late February to see if our date was available in various venues. Imagine my surprise when our top 3 picks was booked solid for June 26, 2010!
So yeah, it really just depends on where you live and how highly demands are for reception halls. Here we've heard that it's normal for couples to book as early as 1.5-2 years ahead to ensure they get the venue they want, when they want.
I agree with the others: if you know where you would like and there is nothing else stopping you (ie: financial constraints), go for it!
We got engaged in December and booked in December. We knew we wanted a September date. When we inquired about our date there is already someone interested but that fell through. We were lucky though because the remaining September dates were taken and I believe so were October at the time.
It really all depends on the venue. Some venues allow booking far in advance while others choose not to. Also, it all depends on the location.
I think it really depends on the venue...some book up a lot faster than others.
We booked ours 10 months away...but we had like a 2 month window that we wanted to have our wedding and did not have a specific date in mind, so we could be somewhat flexible. We did want a Saturday evening wedding so that limited us somewhat on dates...I think for our particular venue if we had waited any longer we probably would not have gotten a date we wanted.
We booked ours 1.5 years out, and our original choice of date had been taken! It's shocking to me how far out everything is booking.
I think if you know what you want, go for it! You can cross something off your planning list already.
Like others said, I think it depends on the venue. We booked our venue almost exactly a year in advance, May 5th, 2008 for our May 16, 2009 wedding. We knew we wanted May 2009, and didn't want the first (graduation at the college in our city) or last weekend (Memorial Day). That left us with only two weekends, so we wanted to book quickly. We actually got engaged on Friday and went in to book our date the following Monday.
Definitely depends on your venue, plus time of year/area. We booked our place around March09 for a November wedding, but weddings at that time of year in Minnesota are NOT popular so pretty much everywhere we looked, even 7 months shy of the date, was open. I know people that try to book weddings in June or September here often have to wait a year or 2 to get a date that they want.
we booked about 8 months in advance. we had 9 months from engagement to wedding and started looking at venues straight away. if you already know that's the location you want, have a date in mind and have the funds for a deposit, why wait? (unless you think you'll be able to negotiate a better deal later, etc)
I agree that it depends on the region and popularity of the venue. However, I would book now because you'd get today's price. Usually venues have cost increases every year and you'd be locked into the 2009 rate in 2011.
If you are certain on your date, and are getting married in prime wedding season I would book it asap. You never know when someone else will swoop in a take your date. At least then you will have a piece of mind that the day is set.
I think if I had gotten my act together, I would have had the date I originally wanted (excactly a year after my engagement date). Of course someone else had put a hold on the date I wanted . . . so if I wanted that date for the venue (I had decided I wanted that venue early on), then it was going to be a very late reception. Finally, I worked out that a month later might actually be better (even if it had been hotter). If I hadn't had to reschedule, I would have booked back in June (10 months before the date). The rescheduling took me to 9 months before the date (and 3 months after engagement date). Still, I had a hold since early June on the date. I didn't sign the contract until I got messages from the venue asking if I wanted to release the earlier of my dates.
I think it really depends on the venue.
We got engaged Monday and booked it on Friday or so. I'd been eyeballing it for months online. Our goal was to book something before his R&R was over.
As long as you don't think you'll change your mind...=]
We booked our reception venue in 10/08. Then our date was 11/09, but we've since moved it up to 9/09. This was the first major thing we booked for the wedding.
I just booked my venue (TODAY!!! YAY!!) and our date is July 31, 2010...So a little under a year out, although we had checked the place out a few weeks ago. Having been recently through the venue visit gauntlet, I say it really depends on the venue itself..I met with one vendor in particular, whose venue is booked through November of NEXT year....so, if you feel comfortable with it, and that is THE place for you to celebrate your wedding, go for it!!! I really dont think its an issue to book so far out, especially if the popularity of the venue calls for you to do so.
i think it's wise to book your venue as soon as you know you want it to be your venue! What if that's someone else's motto and they swoop up your date?! How devastated would you be!
Well over a year out. But we had a really long engagement. Booking our "big" vendors early allowed us to lock in cheaper rates, and ensured we got our first picks!
If you're sure about the venue, I'd book it. We booked ours about a year in advance, because we were sure we wanted a particular date, and there were only a couple of places in the area that could accomodate the numbers we wanted. I say go for it!
It depends on the time of year. Some of my friends gave me looks when I told them I was getting married in April and we booked our reception hall in late May. Everything for this summer and the following (may til sept.) has already been booked.
My best friend was having a hard time looking for a vendor for sept. 2010. When I told her about doing it in october she said it would be too cold...oh well.
Go for what you think is comfortable. Remember though, you might beat yourself up if you wait too long and the date that you'd like is already booked!
We got engaged in Feb 09 and booked our hall and church in March 09. We're getting married in June 10. There was no one else booked on our date at that time.
However, I just started looking at DJs (10 months to go) and I'm under the impression that most people book their DJs earlier than that. So, some of the bigger, well-known companies are pretty well booked, but I just had a guy tell me he has one booking, 7 total crews and 5 couples interested in my date. So I think for the DJs, we're right on time.
For our hall and church though, we were way early. Which turned out really good for the church because they only do one wedding a weekend. I would say that between 18 and 15 months to go is a good time to book a location if you have a longer engagement. If you have a shorter engagement, then everything gets lumped together and you can get what you can!
What a shocking poll! We booked our venue in January '09 for our wedding in March 2010. At the time, I thought I was being ridiculous, but knew I needed to get it done as soon as I could because I live six hours away from my home town now. When I just took the poll, I thought I was going to be in the minority! Happy to see I'm not alone!
i agree with the other bees that if you know the venue you want, you should go ahead and book it! we have already booked our venue and our photographer and you and i are month twins! we locked in 2009 prices for both of those things, and our photographer plans to DOUBLE his prices next year, so i am all for booking things in advance!! :)
Thanks for all the good advice, guys!
At least now I know I'm not crazy for wanting to book early :).
And for those who said for us to go for it if we're sure... Well, I'm sure we're sure :)! We just know the place is for us! And I guess this means we can book sooner than later!
Thanks again!
We are about 15 months away and I've been researching venues like crazy - everyone told me I was doing it way too early, but one of the venues I like already has our date booked! I say if you know you like it, the sooner you book the better!!
Since you're a Chicago bride like me I'd say book as soon as you can! We found our reception venue 15 months before our wedding and already there was only ONE day left in the month we wanted. If you wait too long you're preferred date(s) may be gone before you know it.
We booked ours about a year out and there were only two weekend days (both Sundays) left for the summer to choose from. The affordable venues in Chicago really seem to go fast.
Also, having this booked so far ahead is a real relief. And it's great for the rest of your planning, being able to envision it exactly how it is and already having a working layout, etc. to describe for other vendors that you're exploring.
We booked at the end of March 2009 and are getting married at the end of May 2010. When we were looking, there were quite a few venues with multiple bookings in 2010 already!
I think if you know what you want you should go ahead and book it now. We booked fourteen months in advance of our wedding, just two weeks after we became engaged! We went to look at our venue and they only had two dates within three months before or after time timeframe we wanted, so we went ahead and did it then. It would be a real shame if you waited until December and some couple had come along and booked the exact date you wanted!
I think it depends a lot on the venue, where you live and your date. One of the first things I discovered when we started looking for a venue is that May is a <span style="text-decoration: underline;">POPULAR wedding month. We started looking around a year ahead and there were very few venues in our area with May openings.
If you already know that you want to have your wedding at that venue, I think you should go ahead and book it. It's always better to be safe! It'd be sad to put it off because you thought you had time, only to find out that it was booked on the date you wanted.
we booked our 14 months in advance... but that was because I moved away temporarily and wouldn't get back to the area until 9 months before...
Booking the venue was the first thing I did after getting engaged - about 17 months out. If you know where you want the wedding, why not make sure you can have it there before someone else books way early ahead of you? Especially if you're set on a particular date.
We went to look at our venue 14 months before the date and they only had one room left, which was the room we were looking at. Don't wait, especially if the place is really popular, like mine is. They'll book up really quickly!
It totally depends on the venue... and the year! We booked 8-9 mounths out, but apparently there were already more dates for 2010 booked up than 2009!
If your venue is the one telling you to book early - do it! As long as you're sure it's the venue for you and your date won't be changing again.
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So Hive,
I'm curious about booking our reception venue. We know where we want to have the reception (we went and looked at quite a few places a while ago, before we pushed back our date a year). At that time, we were told that it was all ready being booked for a few dates the same month as us, which was 1.5 years away so we thought that we'd just do it then (but didn't because we pushed the date back, no big deal).
Recently my dad was talking to the man who runs the Venue (his company does work for the venue sometimes), and my dad mentioned that we were looking at that venue to be our venue. The guy said make sure to book no later than 1.5 years away. With our wedding being in May 2011, he said book no later than this coming January (2010). FI and I planned to book in this coming December (2010) just in case.
Today at dinner, my dad questioned us as to what we were waiting for. He says we should book it now, just in case. I know he's excited (as are we) but really, is booking the venue almost 2 years (we're 22/21 months away) out a little excessive? How long out do you normally book them?
Thanks!