Image by White Fluffy Cloud via Sweet Country Picnic Engagement Shoot
My fiance Chris and I are terrible at celebrating anniversaries – in that we celebrate any potential anniversary that could possibly be celebrated! We have the date we first started chatting on RSVP (2 October 2011), our first date (6 October 2012), the date I moved in (16 July 2012) and the date of our engagement (26 September 2012) – and we’re about to add 21 March, our wedding date! We’re so obsessed that we celebrated Valentines Day as “one year, one month & one week” til the big day, and today is one year one month! 😀 We did something special for every month anniversary our first year dating and even though my mum thought we were a little too nuts about it (Mum! It’s our ten month anniversary!), for a couple who had never found love before, never had a partner, and never really dreamed of falling into a committed relationship practically overnight (thank you RSVP!) it’s great to celebrate the small stuff. 🙂
Oh dear, a tangent! I’m good at going off on those… anyway back to the point of this post. After we got engaged in September last year, we were quick to hunt for venues (or more correctly, my parents came over from New Zealand and did most of the legwork for us!) and easily settled on Harbour Room at the Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron. My parent’s reception was at a yacht club, and my brother’s at a marina, so it just seemed fitting. Next we had to choose a date. We basically ruled out January and February as being too at risk for extreme heat (with many guests coming from NZ and not used to that, it was only fair), and early March as being at risk of collision with the Grand Prix. Practically by default we settled on 21 March 2014, even though it’s my brother’s birthday!
So… we ended up with an 18 month engagement – ironically six months longer than we knew each other before we were engaged. But of course I am always slightly anal-retentive when it comes to planning things – and incredibly enthusiastic when it comes to planning this wedding that seemingly popped out of the blue into my lap – and determined that I’d get onto things sooner rather than later! Hence, with a year and a month to go, our venue and photographer are already booked, and I have a folder full of florist, car, cake and other quotes that I’ll be taking home to NZ with my at the start of March.
But I keep getting these surprised exclamations from vendors when I tell them my date! And in fact I was glad when we ticked over to 2013 so I could finally say “next year”. How early is too early? Surely being of the super organised persuasion isn’t a bad then when it comes to planning such a complex event? And surely having more rather than less time up our sleeve can’t be bad? I’m going to be a lot happier when I know who we’re working with, even if we don’t sort out the finer detail til later in the year. Regardless, I’m keen to make sure everything possible is pinned down by Christmas, so we can enjoy our final three months as an engaged couple without me morphing into Bridezilla.
So I have to ask… how early is too early? Am I crazy to be planning this far out?
Ms Gingham says: I don’t think you’re crazy Carly! There is no harm in being organized earlier rather than later that’s for sure! And I love the theory of being organized so you don’t turn into a Bridezilla. I think that’s very valid!
Carly says: “My “day job” is as a receptionist (hoping to get a new job soon!) but I also run my own pageant site – long explanation needed there but it brings me a lot of satisfaction, I’ve made some amazing friends in the US and was even blessed to have them donate two and a half grand to get me to Vegas for the show last year. 
”
Good for you, Carly! I love an organised bride.
Planning early means you get your pick of wedding professionals and can really think about what you want, rather than feeling like you have to make a decision in case you miss out. I’ve been contacted by desperately stressed brides who are 6 weeks out from their wedding and panicking because they still haven’t found a celebrant or other suppliers. It’s not a fun situation to be in.
And for the record, my fiance and I had all our plans locked down 10 months before the wedding. Now we’re just enjoying the lead-up to the big day.
I almost feel over-organised at the moment & we aren’t getting married for another 6 months! I think when you are so excited about the wedding & marrying somebody that you love so much, you just can’t wait to get stuck into the planning of it all! Being organised is so much better than leaving things to the last minute! Best of luck with all of your plans!
Sounds like you have everything under control Carly. I see nothing wrong with getting in early with the planning. I also got engaged this past September and was in full planning mode by the end of that week.
Originally we were getting married January 2014 so I wasn’t really jumping the gun, but now we’ve pushed it to January 2015 and I’m still out there planning everything.
It’s better to be prepared and ready for anything than to be rushing around at the last minute.
Keep it up and you’ll be so relaxed come the day that you won’t understand why everyone else gets so stressed out.
Congrats and best wishes to you both.
It’s lovely to have you here Carly!
I don’t think 18 months is too long at all nowadays., I know vendors are booking 2015 at the moment! I think it’s easy to think “oh my god that is so far away, people are crazy!” when you’re busy keeping up with day to day!
Lovvvve your venue too- check the blog next Tuesday for a wedding there!
I couldn’t think of anything more stressful for me (and any other super organised people) than having to organise a wedding in anything less than a year. I don’t know how people do it! I’ve been spending about 7 months organising so far, with another 6 and a bit months to go, and because of this timeframe I haven’t had any issues with my favourite vendors being booked out, and I’ve been able to love every second of it. And now that I’m about the half way mark and all the big things are well and truly taken care of, I can look forward to some diy and crafertoons to take care of all the little things as well.
Congratulations, Carly!
Nope, not crazy at all! I’m getting married the week after you and was told by everyone to book the venue, celebrant and photographer ASAP. Rule of thumb – a supplier that can only do one wedding per day (ie a cake maker can do more than one; a photographer not so much) needs to be booked quickly, especially in popular months like March.
As it was we had to visit a dozen venues and eight photographers before we found ‘the ones.’
Enjoy the fun of planning!
I like that rule (vendors that can only do one wedding a day) Brilliant thinking!
Love that rule too! And that will be a good one to help explain to others (like my parents) why certain things are so important to me and why I feel they should be booked with plenty of notice 🙂
Thanks for the comments everyone, nice to know I’m not alone in my love of being super organised!
It’s never too early. As a creator of wedding details, I get brides order as early as FOUR years ahead! Especially if you are someone who loves the unique and maybe unusual, ordering early is important. I loved reading about your multi anniversaries though. FUN!
Definitely not to early I go engaged in January and I have already booked most things I am getting Married in september next year and as I am getting married overseas I need to be organised 🙂 its never to early.
Lol, this sounds exactly like me and my partner. Started dating Sept 2011, Engaged 1 year later and the wedding is not until 8th March 2014. We had the Venue, Celebrant and Photographer all booked by Jan this year but since then we’ve been a bit slack and only just started doing a few more things since then. But like you I’m hoping to have most things organised by December so we can sit back, relax and wait for the day (while googling all the things we want to do on our honeymoon 🙂 )