Another Wedding Question...UGH!!!?

Question

So I have decided on a date for our wedding. It is in September of 2010. Now instead of waiting to do all of the little things then....should I just get them done and over with and store them.

What I had in mind was making my invites, place cards and other paper products myself. I am pretty handy so I thought it might be a good idea.

Doing things WAY in advance also gives me time to shop around.

Would you start this early? I also want to get some of the money stress out of the way by buying things in advance...

Thanks

Answer 1

I definitely would not start on the paper ideas this early unless you have known for years exactly what you want. As you start planning other details, you might have a theme, or start changing your mind which will be very common as you are planning. Well you might think it will save you time, it might waste your time and money in the long run if you end up doing something completely different next year!

Answer 2

Well, your wedding is almost 2 years away so doing something like an invite might not be the best idea since any changes to date, time, place, etc. would need to be fixed. If you make name cards and put names on them, well, it's possible they won't be able to make it or you'll decide not to invite them. Another thing to think about is that it's possible your paper products would begin to become dingy since the would be stored for so long.



There's nothing wrong with doing things this far ahead of time, just be sure that what you work on now will still work when it comes time. Maybe you could start collecting materials now, or do some basic groundwork (make the place cards but don't put names on them yet).



Another idea if you just want to start putting money towards things now so it won't be so much of a stress later would be to put big deposits down on your vendors. Less to pay off at the end. :)



Good luck and congrats!

Answer 3

My wedding was planned for 18 months after my engagement. I really wanted to start early so I wouldn't be as stressed (& to save money as well), and it can work. Just start out taking care of the "bigger" things first as opposed to the details. For example, begin with the location, the caterer, photographer, etc. The details are harder to nail down so far in advance mainly because you may change your mind 50 times during the planning process. It's great to get ideas now - store them in a notebook divided into sections for easy access later - and then when its time to deal with those details, you have all kinds of inspiration, but nothing is set in stone yet. Also, some planning literally cannot be done until you are only weeks away from the wedding - that's just how it is. Shop around, take your time, but try not to get neurotic about everything! :)



**Be careful doing things like invites early...what if you need to change the time of the ceremony for some reason, or you change locations - you would have to order all new invites = total waste of money.

Answer 4

well what I did 2 years before my wedding which is still to come is I booked the venue and put a deposit down - most important thing



then I opened a high interest savings account



I then bought alot of bridal mags and still am for ideas of things to do



I then wrote a list of the things I would like on my wedding day under headings



e.g. photography, flowers, decorations, hairs and make-up etc etc



then I wrote an approx budget for each



so when I check my savings once in a while I see what I can pay for on my list and I tick it off (most important first)- this means that if I change my mind on theme colours etc It can still be done the way I like near to the wedding and within my budget



You might have a theme, colours in mind now but I assure you it will change alot unless you want to do simple plain black and white cards etc i suggest you do more planning than doing



hope I helped

Answer 5

This is your wedding and you want it to be the way you always imagined it would be when you were a little girl, so doing things a head of time so that everything is the way you always dreamed without having to break the bank is very smart! I am engaged and getting married August of 2009 and I started planning in June of 2008. I was in four weddings and trust me the brides who had things finished and put together in advanced was so more enjoyable and less stressful, and the bride's only job was to be beautiful and the bridesmaid just got to be happy. The wedding I was in where the bride waited til the last min. my dress was getting hemmed the morning of, the other bridesmaid were falling asleep cause we were all up til 2am finishing the party favors, and the future mother in law & sister in law had to wake up at the crack of dawn to decorate the reception hall.

Answer 6

I am marrying in June of 2010 and I started a few things... I have my save the dates and started purchasing gifts for the Bridesmaids to get those little expenses out of the way and I also bought my flower girl basket... As long as you booked your place, then go for it... Another time saver is to start pre-addressing your envelopes for your invites... Yes, people can move from now till then, but how often is that?

Another thing I did was I printed up all sorts of images that I liked for the wedding and made a "wedding book" for people to understand what I mean, especially my fiancee.. Haha. Whenever I go to Jo-Ann Fabrics, or Wal-Mart, wherever... I always check the wedding aisle b/c sometimes they have things on clearance.... Who doesn't love clearance? Have fun with it!! :)

Answer 7

Ive been engaged for 2 years and we recently set a date, I decided not to go ahead and do any of the planning, rather go full throdle doing all the dreaming creating ideas, I made a wedding binder with different tabs, (venues, photographer, invitations, guestlist, the braidsmaids, groomsmen, husband, wife, makeup and hair, gifts, church, to do, etc) and I got clear page protectors, and my scissors and glue out and went crazy!!! Now i have a book of wonderful ideas, and to be honest, some of the things i liked then, i sure dont like now lol...consider that as a way to start planning and organizing, remember if you start buying things youll have to store them, and moths love paper, and paper does have kind of an odour to it if it sits awhile, just keep those kidna things in mind

Answer 8

I think starting early is a good idea if you have the space to store the stuff. If you're going to be tripping over it for the next while then I'd wait a bit or ask a family member if you can keep some stuff at their house. But if there's space get started. But wait to finish invites just in case there's issue with times. I'd do a template for them, get the stuff you need to make them, but put them together a few days before they have to go out.

Answer 9

It's good to start the wedding planning early, then you can take your time and relax more throughout the process - and actually enjoy it!



My husband and I got engaged very early into our relationship (we went ring shopping after only a month of dating and he proposed 3 months later). We planned our wedding for a year and a half down to the very last detail. My husband actually did most of the work, even made our wedding cake. But everything turned out great and I was glad we took our time with it.

Answer 10

the thing is with you having a rough idea of what you want the end result to be, this gives you plenty of time to shop around and get a few bargains.........



Try to always have a sample of all the things you have already in the car so IF you happen to come across something you can just pop out and see if it will match / work with what you already have.



Good luck, hey I had 6 weeks to get my wedding ready and it still looked fine, so I would not worry too much about the little stuff.

Answer 11

Our wedding not until 12/05/09 the basic planning for our DIY wedding has just been completed. Bride will be in Hutto Tex at dog training school from July /09 til Nov/09. Groom finishes BLET school in June. We are beginning to collect materials now to store or working on things we can do now and store. It is easier on our budget and allows for a better cash flow. Good thinking!

Answer 12

I would its what I am doing now and my wedding is in a year. Its a good idea to do some stuff your self also cause that way you know you have what you want! It makes it easier and if you get the little things out of the way now its less stress for later. Congrats and good luck!

Answer 13

I bought the invites for my October 2009 wedding in November 2007 - - so yes, I would start early. I bought my dress & reserved my reception hall in February 2008. We're now in December 2008 and we're just in assembly & pay-for-it mode because I've gotten everything from centerpieces to tux rentals done and the initial deposits down on everything we need.



However, I wouldn't print up the invites just yet. If you want DIY ones, go ahead and buy them but don't print anything up until you are closer to the wedding date.

Answer 14

I don't think starting early could hurt anything and could take alot of stress off of you..

however, i think the only problem will if you plan to far ahead and decide to change your idea on a theme or anything, alot of all the stuff might already be finished.. but its up to you

Answer 15

you're rightly upset, inspite of the shown fact that it is affecting your thoughts and therefor your judgment. think of to your self, "Do i certainly want a clean "wedding ceremony"?" i might pass spending the money on yet another "wedding ceremony" in case you desire to get a dress you're happier in to take new photos then try this, get the dress and have photos taken, however the vows have been reported and you already professed which you're happy with that. no might desire to fly to Vegas (till you the two are finding for a physically powerful reason to take a trip). Alternately, you need to watch to your 10 365 days anniversary and have a vow renewal ceremony.

Answer 16

I'm already being contacted for 2010 weddings. :)



Some venues book a year plus in advance. If you find a venue you really want, you may have to book it now.

It's never too early to start ironing out the wrinkles. :)

Good luck!

Answer 17

only thing is, you'll probably change your mind about the invites you picked out, your dress etc ten times in the next 2 yrs, just wait a year and then you'll still have plenty of time and the things you decide on will be final decisions.

Answer 18

Doing these things in advance is wise as long as you're positive on the details. It gives you time to shop around, make up your mind about the little touches and supervise everything to your liking.

Answer 19

I did and am glad I did. I made my own invites, table decorations, kleenex flowers(have you ever made them? they are easy and cheap). I made candles for the tables (wax and coloring crayons) - cheaper than buying candles.

I even made my bridesmaids bouquets and groomsmen boutineers as well as my flowers. One to keep and one to toss.



I even went as far as to do labels for mailing the invites and then thank you's and added to the list as I went to make sure I had everyone.



Congrats and Good Luck.

Answer 20

yes defiantly do it in advance as much as possible, it's easier and cheaper in the long run. yes i'd start now. good luck and congrats.

Answer 21

Good idea..smart girl. :-)