The simple answer? There are no hard and fast rules about how long you must or must not spend planning your wedding.
According to a recent study reported by the independent, a wedding takes an average of 528 hours of planning. They also reported that the challenging part was finding the perfect venue, and the average couple admitted to having 4 arguments in the lead up to the big day. Most commonly because of finding the perfect venue, the catering and the guest list! So maybe take a relaxing walk whilst discussing those points!
So, how long does it take to plan a wedding?
The moment you find yourself engaged; everyone will be asking the date of the big day! Don’t let this pressure panic you, no one knows when they’re going to get married the moment they are engaged, but people naturally ask and there are a number of factors to consider when you do make the decision and all of these will determine how long it takes you to plan your wedding!
The engagement stage
How long do you want to soak up the engagement stage for? Once you get married, you’ll no longer be a fiancé, so enjoy that stage and let that last as long as you would like!
Other events
Other events such as major holidays, other friends’ weddings or family events may influence how long your spend planning your wedding. You may decide to bring it forward, or wait a little longer if there is a major event in your calendar.
Finding the venue
Until you’ve found the right venue for you, you can’t name the date. This is because you won’t know the venues availability. The majority of wedding venues will only run 1 wedding a day, and some venues will have prime dates booked out years in advance. So, don’t set the date before the venue as you may find it widely restrictive.
Setting your budget
This will affect a lot of the decisions that you make about your wedding and it’s vital that you allow yourself enough time to pay for your wedding if you need to save ahead of the big day. There are tools out there that can help you calculate your budget such The Knot Wedding Budget Calculator (https://www.theknot.com/wedding-budget), however take these tools with a pinch of salt and always sit down with your partner to calculate a realistic timeline.
Hens and Stags
Have you always envisioned that you would have your Hen party or stag in Ibiza, Marbella or Las Vegas? Then you probably don’t want to plan a wedding in 3 months over the winter, because your dream send-off isn’t going to be possible. Consider that going abroad for a hen or stag is usually at the expense of your Bridal party and, to ensure everyone important is able to make it, allow enough time for them to save and have clear diaries.
The Season
Which season you would like to be married it will also impact how long you plan your wedding for. For example, you may get engaged in Autumn but also want to get married in the Autumn, leaving 12 full months for your planning.
Hiring a wedding planner
Whether or not you are thinking about hiring a wedding manager will also influence how much time you want to dedicate to planning your wedding. Event managers are experts and spend all day everyday speaking to suppliers, creating beautiful designs and negotiating costs. Therefore, working with a wedding planner will save you a lot of time and expense.
Although those aren’t all of the factors that affect how long it takes to plan a wedding, they are some that may significantly sway how long it takes. Every couple is different and will have a different timescale for planning their wedding. Your biggest enemy will be the website telling you that you should have certain aspects organised at different months – don’t let this panic you! Plan things in your own time based on what’s suits you as a couple.
Get in touch with Anopia events today, and let us help you plan your dream wedding!