How Long Does It Take To Plan a Wedding?

Many newly engaged couples wonder how long it will take to plan their wedding. Many variables affect the answer to this question, but in most cases, expect for it to take one year.

Within 12 months, most people can successfully plan a local wedding without compromising on things they want. However, you can easily plan a wedding in less time if you are flexible on some details. If you don’t mind switching up your date and you don’t have your heart set on a particular venue or wedding dress, you can pull off a short engagement! 

Are you hoping for a whirlwind engagement? Here are some tips that will help you plan your wedding in less than a year.
On the other hand, many couples take extra time to plan their wedding, with the average ranging from 12 to 18 months. Taking your time ensures you can save for, plan and secure every detail with minimal stress involved. 

On Average, How Many Hours Go Into Wedding Planning?

Are you wondering how many hours you’ll spend planning your big day? This number varies, but it typically ranges from 200 to 500 hours in total. 

Here are some factors that can affect how long it takes to plan your wedding.

• Finances — do you need time to save, or have you already been saving? Your wedding budget is paramount. After you know how much you have to spend and have a date in mind for your wedding day, you can establish when you'll need to make payments to specific vendors and determine how much you'll need to save before the wedding date. To help keep your finances in order during wedding planning, create a spreadsheet with each vendor and distribute your budget to each. This method can help ensure you don't overspend on any area of your wedding and keep your planning time productive.
• Lifestyle — do you have time to get a lot of planning done quickly, or will you need to take things more slowly? Your lifestyle plays a significant role in your wedding planning process because it determines how much free time you have to work on planning your wedding. Consider how much you and your partner work, your social lives and other time commitments that will impact your planning process. If you have a busy lifestyle, consider using a scheduling tool to block off hours where you can solely focus on wedding planning. If you have more free time, you'll be able to cross some things off your checklist fast.
• Vision — do you have your heart set on specific places, dates or other details? Consider what your dream wedding looks like. If you want a large ceremony and reception with all your friends, family and acquaintances, your planning process will take a significant amount of time. An elopement and small reception with only you, your partner and a few close family members will be reasonably simple to plan and execute in a short timeframe.
• Support — do you have friends and family willing to help with planning? Planning a wedding alone versus doing so with your maid of honor, best man, parents or other people who help you are quite different. If you prefer to complete most of the wedding tasks by yourself, you'll need to factor that into your wedding planning timeline. If others have offered to take on specific tasks, it can help speed up the process.
• Preferences — do you prefer to plan everything quickly, or do you want to take your time? Your personality will also impact your wedding planning approach and how much time the process will take to complete. If you're someone who prefers to take things slowly, you can expect more hours to go into planning. If you are hyper-organized and won't rest until things get accomplished, you can probably knock a few hours off your wedding planning process timeline.

If you’re busy and stressed about how you’ll make time for wedding planning, you may want to consider asking for help. Professional wedding planners can be excellent investments and will take care of many of the details, so you don’t have to. They will also make sure your special day runs smoothly without you needing to be involved in every decision. If you don’t want to hire a wedding planner, you can also try to recruit help from loved ones. 

Stop Into Koser Jewelers!

Koser Jewelers is the only place you need to go for all your jewelry-related needs! From sizing and polishing up your engagement ring to choosing the perfect wedding party gifts —we've got you covered! Come on in and let us help you speak without words.