When my husband and I got married last year, I discovered why many people these days have long engagements: It actually takes that long to plan a wedding and do it right, particularly with as big as the wedding industry has gotten to be in recent decades.

The biggest thing on which you will want to plan ahead is getting your venue lined up.  It is not uncommon for popular venues to be booked full a year in advance, since that is often when people start making their plans.  And the super popular places could be booked full several years in advance!

A destination wedding is particularly important to start planning in advance, because it generally takes longer to get everything just right when you are doing it all long distance.  You will probably have to take at least one trip to the location in order to make sure everything is going to be just the way you want it.  For instance, if you are having your wedding in Michigan, you will probably need to plan a trip so that you can visit the venue, meet with the caterer and try different dishes, meet with the florist and pick out your flowers, meet with the wedding photographer to discuss specifics, etc.

Your wedding is your day, and while you can’t expect perfection down to the smallest detail, you can improve your chances of it all going smoothly by planning all of the details in advance.  Even if you are not having a castle wedding, you are the princess of your event, and deserve to be treated like one!

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