The whole “first comes love, then comes marriage” statement is missing quite a few steps when you want to host a wedding to celebrate that marriage! Choosing your wedding venue and selecting vendors doesn’t happen all in one day! (The average couple hires 15 wedding vendors!) There is no exact timing to plan your wedding, but here are our expert suggestions to help you get started! Keep reading to learn more about Kansas wedding planning and when to book your vendors—especially the most sought-after ones like DJs and photographers.
Kansas Wedding Planning Timeline: When To Book Vendors
When to Book Your Wedding Photographer & Videographer
What’s a once-in-a-lifetime event without being able to look back on it and share it with future generations?! While some couples forgo a traditional wedding cake or wear something blue, we don’t suggest skipping out on hiring stellar cinematographers for your big day. You definitely don’t want to leave this to-do unchecked for too long. Most other couples are reserving photographers and videographers early and for that reason, you should book your photographer and videographer at least a year in advance.
When to Book Your Wedding DJ
Since every reception needs one, don’t sleep on reserving this key ingredient to getting the party started! Book your wedding DJ early is essential. With high demand and limited DJ schedule availability, aim to reserve your DJ about nine to ten months out from your wedding day. Many professionals offer DJ entertainment packages that include ceremony music planning, sound system setup, and even lighting. The DJ will also serve as a professional wedding MC, keeping your timeline on track and energy high all night. Skilled DJs don’t just play music, but will also be the host of your night to take the stress away from you.
When to Book Your Wedding Planner
Securing a wedding planner early on is one of the smartest moves you can make. Popular dates fill up quickly across the state, especially during peak seasons like spring and fall. An experienced planner helps you navigate every step—coordinating with vendors, staying on budget, and managing the timeline. Working with a Kansas-based planner ensures local expertise and trusted vendor connections. The best advice would be to select your wedding planner right after you get engaged, but some couples opt to choose nine to twelve months before their event.
When to Create Your Wedding Registry
A wedding registry is a great opportunity for the happy couple to receive gifts that they truly need or desire as they begin their new life together. While it’s tempting to wait until the last minute, it’s a good idea to start planning your registry months in advance. This allows you to take your time to select items that are meaningful to you, while also giving your guests enough time to shop before your special day. You can usually set up registries at multiple stores or even online, which gives your guests flexibility.
When To Order & Send Invites
When choosing to send your invitations and save the dates, the most important thing to keep in mind is where your guests live. If your guests live in the same country, two to three months out is a safe bet for sending invites. Save the dates are best to send six months out for these guests as well.
Now, it’s much different if your guests live internationally. You want to send save the dates to international guests as soon as you know your wedding date. Yes, that means a year or more out. This ensures that you give your guests plenty of time to save up money and look for plane tickets.
That goes along with invitations. If you have international guests, your timeline speeds up and you’ll also want to send those six months out. This gives plenty of time for them to receive the invite in the mail and for you to receive their RSVP back to you if you’re not doing online RSVPs.
When to Buy Your Wedding Dress
The dress. This is one of the topmost important parts of the wedding day that you’ll absolutely need, so it’s best to plan ahead. No matter what type of dress style you’re going for, you’ll want to buy a wedding dress ahead of time. If you have the privilege of being engaged more than a year from your wedding date, start researching what kind of style you’d like. Then go ahead and book appointments for the first fittings. Once you’ve decided, you want to actually buy the dress at least a year ahead of your wedding to give yourself plenty of time for fitting and alterations.
With lots of variables of what could keep your dress from arriving on time, including the pandemic, this will give you plenty of time. Once the dress arrives, you’ll also have to make time for alterations (possibly multiple rounds) if need be. To avoid the stress of rush orders, ahead of time is the name of the game!
When To Buy Men’s Attire
Looking for suits or tuxes takes a little less time than a wedding dress. Lucky for grooms, they will be safe in getting their suit four to six months out from the wedding date. This gives them time to have the suits ordered and tailored. Even if both the groom and groomsmen plan on renting the suits or tuxedos, we’d still suggest checking this off at least four months before.
When to Book Your Rehearsal Dinner
The rehearsal dinner is a wonderful way to gather your closest family and friends before your special day and celebrate the upcoming wedding. This event usually takes place the night before the wedding and gives everyone a chance to relax and enjoy each other’s company. Months in advance, you should secure a venue for the rehearsal dinner and begin finalizing your guest list. It’s best to book early to ensure availability, as many venues are in high demand during wedding season.
When to Plan Seating Arrangement
If you have decided on having a seating arrangement for your wedding, deciding on when to actually draft up the arrangement can be exciting. This will be something you want to do about two months out from your wedding. As you begin to get your RSVPs and finalize your guest list, you’ll also finalize your seating arrangement about three or four weeks out. This makes sure to give your booked vendors (especially your caterers) a good idea of how many people will be there and need to be fed!
Save More with Bundled Wedding Packages
Cut down on both costs and stress by bundling essential services into one package. Choosing a provider that offers wedding packages allows you to combine key services like photography, videography, DJ services, and guest entertainment options such as a photo booth. Not only does this streamline coordination, but it also ensures consistency across your wedding day experience. Bundled services often come with built-in discounts, priority booking, and better communication between vendors—all of which help your event run smoothly while staying within budget.
Complete Weddings + Events Kansas
Planning a wedding is an exciting time in your life, but when it starts to become overwhelming, know there are experts who are happy to help! Contact Complete Weddings + Events for advice or to set up a consultation for your Manhattan event!