Benefits to a long engagement
Just engaged – when’s the wedding?!
Having a long engagement has some perks! Hear from a few of our favorite vendors on the benefits and our top three reasons to longer planning.
Just engaged – when’s the wedding?! Having a long engagement has some perks! Hear from a few of our favorite vendors on the benefits and our top three reasons for longer planning.
Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.
Be clear, be confident, and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right, right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.
Money
It’s no secret that weddings are an investment. Once you get into wedding planning, you may experience some sticker shock here and there. A long engagement can allow you the time to space out payments. Think about it like this: buying a car and paying it off in six months vs paying it off over the course of a few years. Plus, you’ll lock in your vendor’s rate at the time of reserving and beat any price increases!
“There are about a million amazing photographers out there these days. It can be difficult to filter through them all to find the right one for you. If you’re lucky enough, you can strike gold by finding a rising star photographer whose schedule is not already full. But, more often than not, a full time professional wedding photographer who has five+ years in the wedding business is booking 8+ months in advance. Currently, at Chris Klas Photo we are booking, on average, 10-14 months out. That means, during “proposal season” (December-February) couples should be looking to plan with a photographer not for the upcoming summer – but for the one after that.”
Wedding Date
The state of Washington sees an average of 45,000 weddings each year! With summer weekends being the most popular, those dates reserve quickly. The Gardens operates just 5 ½ months out of the year and only hosts a maximum of 45 weddings over those months, which means, peak Summer dates (July and August) tend to reserve over 20 months in advance. Though it is completely realistic to plan a wedding in under a year, you often must be flexible with your preferred date, venue, and vendors to all be available on a specific date too.
“We are trained in feeding and serving large guest counts. We are able to troubleshoot any issue that may come up. We have been in business long enough to know how to deal with obstacles and are equipped to deal with things. If people only knew what can come up behind the scenes they would hire professional companies.”
Vision
Pinterest is your best friend / worst enemy. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in picture-perfect weddings only to leave you feeling unsure of what your vision truly is. A long engagement allows you time to look at inspiration all while not feeling rushed to make final or impulse decisions. And in the end, you may avoid feeling like planning is all-consuming and overwhelming.
“If a couple is considering booking far in advance, we would be inclined to offer them discounts. As long as you have the date and the venue there is no reason not to book your DJ. Plus pricing can go up, go ahead and just check it off your list!”
“We recommend choosing your dress 9 months in advance. Dresses can take 4-6 months to arrive at the shop and then alterations can take 2-3 months to complete.”
