Christmas lights are still up, there’s snow on the ground, and you’re happily sipping mulled wine with your intended. A summer wedding seems light years away, but the truth is that the big day will be here before you know it. While some people want to dive into the planning details right away, too many of us are all too willing to put it off. If you’re a procrastinator, here are three important reasons you have to start planning your summer wedding right now.
You need to deal with people
Much of the stress in life comes down to interactions with people, and weddings always involve a lot of people. You need time to come up with a guest list, send out invitations, and give those you’ve invited time to respond. If you have some VIP guests that simply must be there, you’ll need to give them plenty of lead time to save the date.
Guests aren’t the only people you’ll have to coordinate with. If you’re hiring a DJ or a band, you need as much time as possible to make arrangements. You’ll need some time to choose the musical style you want, to make the decision about DJ vs live music, narrow your choices to a few, and then find out which ones are available on your dates.
Finally, you’ll want to hire a wedding videographer and a photographer, consider catering services, and contact a rental company if you’re planning an outdoor wedding. Rental tents, tables, chairs, and linens get booked up fast, and the best photographers and caterers will be in high demand during the summer wedding season.
You need to find a venue
You probably have some pictures of your beach wedding in your head. Getting those pictures to translate into reality is the trick, and you need time to do that. The finest venues like Dallas wedding venues or Foxboro Weddings will book up fast, but making sure you get your ideal date nailed down isn’t the only reason to contact venues as far in advance as possible.
For one thing, starting the conversation early means you minimize any chance of surprises close to the date. Some wedding ballrooms provide items like tables and linens while others require you to rent those things yourself. Some venues have restrictions on decor or color choices. Knowing what to expect early will save you a lot of angst down the line.
Your choice of venue might also affect the size of your guest list, so you may need to settle the venue decision before you can even send out too many invitations.
You need to get the hard conversations out of the way
The closer you get to the wedding, the harder those uncomfortable conversations will be. The two things you’re most likely to get into an argument about are budget and wedding roles, so it may be wise to plan ahead.
If you talk to your fiancé and family about the budget now, it’s less likely there will be a blowup later that might still be brewing on the day of the wedding itself. It’s also a good idea to choose bridesmaids and groomsmen early and make the tough decisions about best man and maid of honor.
Don’t forget that you’ll also need to decide who will sit at the head table, who will be allowed to give a speech, who does (or doesn’t) get to sing a solo, and who’s coming to the rehearsal dinner. These all have the potential to be unpleasant conversations, but getting them out of the way now increases your chance of keeping harmony as you approach the wedding date.
These are just some of the reasons to get started now planning your summer wedding, but there’s one other reason that should top all the others. Your wedding is the biggest day of your life, so do everything you can to make it what you want it to be.