How to Plan For Your Wedding Through the End of the Year

It’s coming up on the end of the year. The holidays are in full swing!

But, with everything going on, what’s happened with your planning?!

Wedding planning at the end of the year is different from planning the rest of the year.

Why?

Purely because of the holidays.

Once the holidays hit, everyone starts slowing down and focusing on holiday planning. That includes you, vendors, venues and yes, even wedding planners.

So here are some tips to help you plan for your wedding through the end of the year.

How to Plan For Your Wedding Through the End of the Year

If you’re getting married soon…

So, first, if you’re getting married soon (either at the end of the year or in January or February) you really can’t allow yourself to push your planning to the side.

Because it will only hurt you, the success of your wedding and your stress level.

So, make sure you get any last big decisions, information and finalizing of plans done BEFORE Christmas and New Years.

And ideally you want to take care of it a week before Christmas (which means now!). Because lots of people take time off early.

Now while you likely won’t be in contact with your vendor team over the holidays, this doesn’t mean you should stop planning your wedding.

This is the perfect time to work on anything you personally need to take care of.

That could be shopping and buying those last minute items. It could be finalizing your seating chart. Or it could be working on that DIY project you’ve been meaning to finish.

While you should definitely enjoy the holidays, don’t forget this is a good time to work on your wedding too!

Because work should be light and you have time off. So, capitalize on that to get everything squared away.

And then come the new year, you’re either all set for your wedding or you just have a few lingering to dos left.

Which is much less stressful than having to finish everything with only a few days or weeks left.

No one wants that.

If you’re planning a wedding in the new year….

If your wedding isn’t until later in the new year, you likely have already pushed planning to the side.

Am I right?!

This isn’t the worst thing in the world since you do still have time.

But, by doing so, you are losing a month or half a month of planning time.

And for those with a short engagement, this can be really detrimental. And make it that much harder to get everything done without going crazy.

So, like those with a wedding soon on the horizon, it really benefits you to work on your wedding during this time of year and not push it to the side.

Without rushing the process, you’ll want to hire your vendors before the New Year if possible.

Because most vendors change their pricing every year and while not all coincide with the change in year, many do.

So, hiring your vendors before the New Year can not only help your planning, but your wallet too.

Outside of that, get what you can get done before Christmas, but really utilize the slow time off to work on your things.

Now depending on where you are in your planning, this can take different forms.

It might be sitting down with your partner and discussing the menu you want for your wedding. It could be figuring out what your wedding party is going to wear. Or it could be working on your ceremony and the wording.

Utilizing this time to not only get your vendors on board, but work on your things will really set you up on the right foot.

So, that come the new year you’ll continue planning without missing a stride.

If you’re newly engaged (or about to be!)…

Now if you’re newly engaged, you’re probably wondering, what should I be doing right now?

If it just happened, congrats! I always recommend you enjoy at least a few days, if not weeks of just being engaged before you dive into wedding planning.

Wedding planning comes with all kinds of questions, pressure and stuff.

Enjoying the moment is important.

And so, pushing planning off until you’re ready to dive in is really important.

But, if you’re ready, take this time to talk with your partner and talk about what you want for the wedding.

Talk about what’s important to you, talk about your financial situation, talk about what you envision. Figure out how you both feel about the wedding and what you care about.

This is the most important part of planning your wedding as it will drive everything else.

So, use this down time to have those conversations.

If you’re on the same page, great! And if not, use the time to create a plan together that makes you both happy.

This is also a great time to sit down with your parents or parent figures (since you’ll likely be seeing them anyway) and discuss their involvement with the wedding.

That could be financial, who they want invited and/or just with regards to the planning.

Having the conversation allows you to figure out what’s important to them. And it gives you the opportunity to share what you have in mind so they understand what is important to you.

But, it’s very important that you and your partner have talked first and come together BEFORE you involve your parents.

You want to be on the same page (i.e. a united front), before you start talking to your parents. Because these conversations can sometimes be tricky.

If you already know that the conversation will be tricky and/or touchy, it may be better to save it for after the holidays.

Although on the flip side, the holidays can put people in really good moods.

Use your best judgement here knowing your parents.

Whether you have the conversation with your parents or not, make sure you’ve at least sat down and talked over what you want together.

That way when you start planning in the new year, it will be much easier.

It can be really easy to let your wedding planning fall to the wayside at the end of the year, but don’t let it!

While you don’t need to go crazy on planning and should still enjoy yourselves, working on your wedding now will make it easier on you in the new year.

Whether your wedding is weeks away, months away or you just got engaged, use this time to work on what you need to get done.

It will make the rest of your planning much easier and less stressful.

Want to know exactly how to plan your wedding? And do it without all the overwhelm?

Here’s how to get started:

Become a Passport to Joy member!

It’s the first step to making wedding planning easier and happier. So you can enjoy your engagement and also keep all your hair.