How far in advance to book?

Hi, I booked mine in April for next January but mine is an easy wedding abroad with no guests.

people are booking for 2017. I suppose it depends what you want and if it's the Saturday wedding in a popular venue in the summer the earlier the better to make sure you get the venue and date you want.

when are you thinking of?

I booked a year in advance and our venue only had one date left in October (when we wanted to get married).

If you want to get married in the height of wedding season I would get things booked up as soon as you can. I know our tog is taking bookings for 2017 at the moment!

The venue(s) and photographer I would book as soon as you've fixed a date - probably a minimum of a year in advance, especially if you're getting married in late spring/summer. Everything else I started researching and booking around a year before, but it varies.

We booked 5 months before, but had to compromise on date and go for a Sunday.

We booked our venue 2 years in advance and the photographer not long afterwards.

However, a word of caution because, our photographer has had some financial difficulties, resulting in us having to find another photographer 7 months before the wedding. This is something to consider when talking to suppliers because this has caused us no end of stress, the last week or so with having to find someone else we both like and who is available!

We booked ours in October 2014 for August 2016 - as others have said you're better off booking your venue and photog as soon as you have an agreed date

Booked ours in June this year, for April next year.

No Fridays or weekends left, but way cheaper on a Thursday - they had two we could choose from.

If you know what you want and when you want it for, book now!

We booked our second venue in February this year for 19th August. We booked our first one in July last year for 22nd August.

I guess it depends a lot on the popularity of the venue - some other places I enquired about on the same time-scale were booked up, others didn't even bother to reply. Also, if you can be flexible on your dates that helps too if you leave it later.

We booked our venue 18 months in advance but didn't get the date we wanted (it was the August bank holday though).

We booked our venue 18 months in advance. At that point they didn't have loads of dates, but we got the one we wanted. Waited til 12 months before to book our photographer - we didn't get our first choice photographer but they were able to recommend a similar style and priced photographer who has been great so far.

Enjoy the start of planning! X x

A year is pretty much average but as others have said if you want a weekend wedding in summer you could even book 18 months-2 years in advance as they book up quickly. I've only just booked my venue for July next year, I would consider myself a bit behind compared to everyone else on here! But it is do-able

It depends on the time you want to get married but it is getting a lot busier recently for next year.

I booked in Jan 2014 for October this year. We weren’t planning on booking that earlier but fell in love with a venue and someone else wanted it for the same date, as we saw it first for that date we got first refusal.

A lot depends on when you are thinking of getting married. If it's at a peek time, jun-aug, then you will need to book early to be sure of getting the time and day you want.

It also depends on where you are thinking of holding the wedding/reception as popular places get snapped up very quickly.

I booked the register office, hotel, DJ and photographer 2 years in advance to make sure I got what I wanted. Since then I have found my bridesmaids dresses in a sale and so cheep (£22 each) that I bought an extra one in case anyone changes size etc. Closer to the day I will then use whatever dress is spare to make shrugs for the girls and some matching flowers for my bouquet.

I started dress hunting at about 14 months to go and have found a lovely dress. It was good to know I had lots of time so there was no pressure to buy until I found THE ONE. I also sorted out chair covers, sashes and balloon arch about that time too.

I now have 10 months to go and really only have my hairdresser to organise as I am doing my own cake, table decorations and bouquets

Planning ahead is definitely key when it comes to booking important services—whether it's a wedding venue or something academic like research proposal writing help. I’ve learned the hard way that leaving things last minute just adds unnecessary stress. For weddings, some places get booked up a year or more in advance, and the same goes for professional writing assistance if you want quality work. I once had to scramble for support on a research proposal, and having a reliable service saved me big time. So yeah, earlier is always better, no matter what you're planning!