With 2021 officially in full swing, we are SO excited to see the weddings we have been planning for 1, 2, or even 3 years finally come to fruition! Seriously. we could not be more grateful after an insane year to finally be back in the action doing work that we LOVE. Some of our couples have been waiting far too long to exchange vows in front of their family and friends. Which begs the question, how far in advance SHOULD you plan your wedding? We are going to break down your wedding timeline today!

Before we get too far into it, you should know who you are taking advice from! Seriously, there’s a lot of bad advice out there on the internet. Welcome to Borrowed and Blue, a wedding planning and design company based in Northern Georgia. We work with couples getting married all over Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. If you haven’t booked a wedding planner yet, make sure to check out our different wedding planning and design packages here. If you book with us, we will build your wedding from the ground up so it’s even better than you imagined. We only take on a limited amount of couples each year to make sure you have our full attention. If you are eager to get started planning, you can contact us here or check out our favorite wedding venues here.

How Far In Advance Should You Save the Date?

First and foremost, you should always choose a timeline that works for you and there are far more factors to consider than we could ever fit into a single blog post. That’s what 9 years in the wedding industry will get you! With that in mind, as wedding planners we do have some general advice to consider. Most of the weddings we plan start the process about 10-16 months in advance which tends to be a sweet spot! If you have another timeline in mind, we have some pros and cons below that you may want to consider!

Pros and Cons of a Longer Wedding Planning Timeline

For couples who enjoy the wedding planning process, a longer wedding planning timeline can look appealing. The biggest benefit to a longer wedding planning timeline is that you have more time to make decisions, but this can quickly become a con if you are indecisive or become overwhelmed easily. Sometimes a tiny bit of time pressure actually makes the process a bit more enjoyable (trust us, we have planned 100’s of weddings by now).

Another pro is that vendor availability is typically less of an issue the farther out you book, but keep in mind some wedding vendors may only open their calendars a year or so in advance. If budget is a concern, a longer wedding planning timeline also gives you time to save for the wedding splurges you want! The only other potential con to consider, is that a longer wedding planning timeline can be harder to commit to for you and your guests. What will you be doing 2 years from now? Is there a chance you will move states? Start your family? The longer the timeline, the more risk of needing to make larger (often costly) changes to your wedding plans.

Pros and Cons of a Shorter Wedding Planning Timeline

First, you get to marry your person sooner! Let’s file that under pro 😉. With a shorter timeline, it’s easy to keep the excitement and enjoyment throughout the whole planning process. At Borrowed and Blue, we always love to keep planning fun and memorable anyway, but this is even easier with shorter wedding timeline. Another benefit? Less time to second guess every decision you make. Like we talked about with the longer wedding planning timeline, if you are incredibly indecisive or become overwhelmed with too many options easily, a shorter timeline will be MUCH more enjoyable for you.

The biggest con to a last minute wedding (a shorter wedding planning timeline), is that availability will likely be an issue with some of the top wedding vendors, so you’ll need to be flexible with your wedding plans. Being flexible does NOT mean that it won’t be wonderful though! A shorter wedding planning timeline forces us to think outside the box sometimes, but it’s always worked out for the best. Another negative that you might want to consider, is it may be harder for guests to attend with less notice. If a majority of your guests are from out of town, they may have already committed their vacation days and it may be difficult for them to attend.

2022 Wedding Planning

Because so many weddings have been postponed and rescheduled over the last year and a half, 2022 may require a little extra planning time than what we have recommended here. Wedding venues have limited space, so your options are to book early or create your own wedding venue by planning something at home. If you are considering a home wedding, make sure to read this post. It’s not just wedding venues that are booking up fast either. We recommend, even with a longer wedding planning timeline, you book the vendors that are most important to you as soon as you have a wedding date. If you are looking for a wedding planner, we would be thrilled to be considered! Once you have a date, make sure to get in touch with us here. Whether you have a long wedding planning timeline, a short wedding planning timeline, or something in between, we are ready and waiting to turn your wedding into a reality!