One thing that many couples don’t really have an understanding of is what needs to be booked when, so here are some tips from your friendly Toronto Wedding Planner. Remember back in grade school where you learned about the “order of operations” in math? Where you have to do your multiplication and division first before doing any addition and subtraction (unless these were in brackets)? Well in the wedding world some things really should be done before others and there is a natural order to it all.
So you are engaged, what now?
First, come up with a tentative date. Unless this is a date that has significant meaning for the two of you and it must be that date at all costs, be prepared to change it if need be to get everything in order. And then come up with your second and third choice for dates…. just in case.
Then come up with a tentative guest list so that you know the size of the wedding you will be having.
And come up with a rough budget. This part is often very challenging for couples because they have no idea what is reasonable to spend on various line items in a wedding planning list. This might be the perfect time to call a Toronto wedding planner!
If you are getting married in a church, the next thing to do is discuss your preferred date(s) with the priest, pastor, minister, rabbi, etc. If your preferred date is available, that can be pencilled in tentatively but also about your other two choices and availability for them too.
Next you start the venue hunt. If you are having a ceremony onsite at the venue, this is where you start. Think about your budget and the type of wedding you are having. And have a rough idea of how many guests will be attending. This is the part where hiring a Toronto wedding planner can really bring a lot of experience to the table and save you many hours of research time and a lot of stress. Your wedding planner will know the venues across the GTA and will suggest ones that will work for you. Then come the site inspections, the proposals/quotes and finally a decision! Often, venues may be booked on the date you had in mind, so that’s why it is good to have second and third choices in hand.
Once you have a date that matches for the officiant and the venue – book them right away! Often this is about a year before the wedding.
Then send out Save The Date cards to your guests.
After the venue has been booked and the date has been set, next would be to hire a photographer. The best and most affordable photographers get booked quickly, easily a year in advance, so you want to make sure you get the one whose style you love and whose price you like! There are hundreds if not thousands of “wedding photographers” in the GTA so here is another area where having a Toronto wedding planner in your corner is very valuable. She can send you recommendations for trustworthy and talented professionals who will be within your budget. Again, time and stress saved!
Videography, if you are having that, runs a close second after photography.
Ceremony musicians should be booked next, as there aren’t that many ensembles and everyone seems to want them for their ceremony and cocktail hour so there are peak times when they are in high demand. Best to lock yours in quickly!
DJs, unless you have your heart set on a very specific one rather than a preferred company, should be booked about 6 months in advance.
Flowers, decor and cake can be done together, roughly 6 months in advance of the wedding.
Invitations need to be sent out 3 months in advance to in-town guests and 6 months in advance to out of town guests (but less if you have sent Save the Dates) so working backwards, you would want to have selected your invitations about 4 months in advance to allow for printing and addressing.
Limos can be booked as late as 3 months in advance but of course the more time you give the better.
If you did not hire a Toronto wedding planner you may still want to consider hiring a Toronto wedding coordinator to do “Day Of Coordination”. The best planners will be booked up on your date if you leave it too late so I would suggest hiring one about six months before the wedding.
Happy planning!
Photo from weddingclipart.com
