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sarahbro · 24-05-2012, 23:45

Got engaged about a month ago and we are planning on getting married in 2015, need time to save!

Having a civil reception and a small enough wedding.

But I'm just wondering how far in advance can you book things?
Was hoping to at least book the venue and registry office this year?
Will they even take dates that far in advance?

Totally confused now, the engagement excitement is turning into 'what the hell do I do now?'

Any advice on where to go from here would be soooo helpful!

*tinkerbell* · 25-05-2012, 07:45

I think booking now is far too early, it's 3 years in advance ... Your best bet is to start looking now and find out when they advise to book.

PCPhoto · 25-05-2012, 07:53

have a look at everything - and spend the next year and a bit doing as much research possible
- find the right venue for you ...
- find the little extras which will make your night magical.
- watch the prices/list of stuff included ...increase or decrease.

keep an eye on hotels in receivership - some of them could be gone by the time you book or want to visit.

enjoy your engagement - show off the ring, visit family/friends.... sit down and choose a date with your fiancee - watch some of the shows on TV .... my big fat gypsie wedding, there's also one about babies - but I cant remember the name, you'll probably be invited to some weddings in the meantime so take note of what you liked at their wedding and see if you want it for your own.

hoodwinked · 25-05-2012, 08:15

the above is great advice,

when we got engaged in 2009 for 2012, we went to every wedding fare we could find, met and spoke with the hotels and gave them the date we wanted they told us they wouldn't get the diaries in until January 2010 so we had to wait until then to make the booking,

if its a popular date find out when they get their diaries in and go down then to book it,

in the meantime, enjoy the freebies cake tastings/tea's/coffees...etc and take a good look around, its good to see the hotel room done up like it will be on the day you marry.

venues we thought we'd love we hated, venues we thought we'd hate that we went to see for the suppliers there we ended up loving so find whats right for you,

with all the other suppliers advertising at them you may just end up finding more than a venue.

Gatica · 25-05-2012, 10:14

Yes, many places won't be taking bookings this far in advance. However, do your research and start visiting the venues you want to consider booking. Some of them book out quicker and earlier than others, so there's nothing wrong with starting your research early.
We went to look at Cabra Castle and they had ALL weekends in 2012 booked out early last year (except 2 in December and one some other day). Once you know when they start taking bookings at least you'll know if you need to get your date in quick or not.
If you're having a civil wedding at the venue, once you have your eye on a venue and a date in mind, it's no harm getting the HSE (remember Mon-Fri only!) to book the date for you as they only usually have one registrar per county and they only do one or two weddings a day (or none on some days) and book-out fast; unless you want to go the Spiritualist Union Solemniser or Civil Office ceremony route.

Daisy M · 25-05-2012, 11:03

For now I would put it to the back of my mind or you could be in danger of letting wedding plans take over your whole life. Middle of next year would be a good time to start putting out the feelers. I would be loath to give a deposit to anyone for any service so far in advance in this current climate in case they went bust.

clint_silver · 25-05-2012, 12:01

popular single event services go fast usually 2 years in advance for popular dates, hotels, churches, singers, bands. things like food choices, dresses, cakes, rings, cars, florists, can all wait.

Weekends in july/august start filling up 18 months beforehand as the christmas engagements start looking around. So 2013 would be booked up early 2012. 2 years in advance would be a lot. Youll have handed over deposits to services providors and you dont know where your or they or you will be 3 years from now.

If you absolutely know exactly what you want, then maybe book up to 2 years beforehand but Id suggest thats the max to protect yourself.

Last january, I had someone looking for new years eve 2014. While I said it was too far out, contact me later this year, I have it in the diary, if anyone else asked about it in the meantime I'll get back on to person A.

paulbok · 26-05-2012, 10:32

A lot of hotels can be booked up to 2 years in advance for July/Aug dates, we booked early Feb 2011 for this August (2012) and had only a choice of 3 dates (Fri/Sat) in that hotel between July & early Sept.

Having said that, as Daisy M said, I wouldn't be in a rush to book this early, leave it until next year.The main reason is the danger of the hotel going under, see example here.
Also with too much time to plan it, it'll be harder to stick to a budget.
The hotel and band are the main ones to nail down early. Unless you have your heart set on a particular photographer etc, 12-15 months is plenty of time.

Sunny Dayz · 02-06-2012, 07:33

Far too early imo to book anything. Use the time that you have to visit wedding fairs, although they are mostly in spring, some in august / Sept also. Suss out pricings so you an idea how much a photographer etc should cost approximately.
One thing you could do now is set up a savings account for the wedding and start putting a bit by. Surprising how the cost of a wedding adds up so having funds built up takes away some of that pressure.
Best of luck and congrats!!

hoodwinked · 03-06-2012, 10:52

for those say its too early to book that can be a good thing too,

with our hotel when it came to booking (also handy if you wanted a particular date) we basically told them since the wedding was 2 and a half years away there was no way in hell i was paying the high deposit usually asked,

On a wedding costing €4000 in total I basically told them i would pay €500 there and then (with 75% back if cancelled but i knew we wouldn't be)

with another €1000 6 months before and another €1000 3 months before and the remainder on checkout.

we are now a month out and we were told at 6months the €1500 would be fine until after the wedding. Which suits us better as i found when working in a 4 star hotel they tend to be more on top of their game when they know you still owe them money.

the hotel is flying they are still busy and aren't in any kind of financial trouble so far. so i guess we've been lucky, but €500 was nothing to risk really in terms of wedding costs if it had gone wrong, and we had our date secured for 2 years.

oh and we paid by CC also just in case (but im not sure if thats even that secure tbh)

***Zaph*** · 03-06-2012, 15:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by hoodwinked

for those say its too early to book that can be a good thing too,

with our hotel when it came to booking (also handy if you wanted a particular date) we basically told them since the wedding was 2 and a half years away there was no way in hell i was paying the high deposit usually asked,

On a wedding costing €4000 in total I basically told them i would pay €500 there and then (with 75% back if cancelled but i knew we wouldn't be)

with another €1000 6 months before and another €1000 3 months before and the remainder on checkout.

we are now a month out and we were told at 6months the €1500 would be fine until after the wedding. Which suits us better as i found when working in a 4 star hotel they tend to be more on top of their game when they know you still owe them money.

the hotel is flying they are still busy and aren't in any kind of financial trouble so far. so i guess we've been lucky, but €500 was nothing to risk really in terms of wedding costs if it had gone wrong, and we had our date secured for 2 years.

oh and we paid by CC also just in case (but im not sure if thats even that secure tbh)

We booked the hotel about 18 months before the wedding (also 4 star) and the only thing we've had to pay is a €1,000 deposit. Everything else will be settled on departure, so it seems odd that the hotel would want any additional payments in advance.

hoodwinked · 03-06-2012, 18:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zaph

We booked the hotel about 18 months before the wedding (also 4 star) and the only thing we've had to pay is a €1,000 deposit. Everything else will be settled on departure, so it seems odd that the hotel would want any additional payments in advance.

the deposit they wanted was €1500 with a further €1000 6 months before but i was not handing that over 2 years beforehand

thats why im saying being early can put you into a negotiation position For us it means we are only paying €1500 instead of the €2500 most others would have had to pay to book this hotel.

btw a few hotels in Cork take €750 deposits so if you are in this area that might also help you take it down a bit if you aren't early booking.

Senna · 04-06-2012, 01:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by hoodwinked

gave them the date we wanted they told us they wouldn't get the diaries in until January 2010 so we had to wait until then to make the booking,

That's really poor form, you can order a diary for any year in advance, i've a 2015 diaries since Easter. If you are set on a date and a venue, a hotel should offer to put your name on a date, hotels should want to see future business coming in and making enquires.
In the last two years there has been a change in trends regarding wedding bookings, a lot of couples like yourselves need more time to save so are booking further and further away, my hotel has a couple of bookings for 2015. The other increase is the <1year bookings, these people normally cant be too fussy on dates, but they do get some great deals.

Gatica · 05-06-2012, 09:14

well according to one poster on another thread they were waiting til later than February I believe for the HSE registrar to get their "diary" sorted for booking civil weddings for 2013... That's ridiculous, considering they often book up very quick. We looked for HSE date a year in advance an already the dates we wanted were gone. Basically, someone had to be on the ball, constantly checking/calling til they were ready to take booking and book nice and quick. Civil weddings are becoming more popular so more and more people will end up finding themselves in this situation.
Hope you can book your registrar and venue for the dates you want, but just make sure you check regularly so they don't get booked out on you.

24-05-2012, 23:45	#1
sarahbro Closed Account Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 1,106 Adverts \| Friends	2015 Wedding Got engaged about a month ago and we are planning on getting married in 2015, need time to save! Having a civil reception and a small enough wedding. But I'm just wondering how far in advance can you book things? Was hoping to at least book the venue and registry office this year? Will they even take dates that far in advance? Totally confused now, the engagement excitement is turning into 'what the hell do I do now?' Any advice on where to go from here would be soooo helpful!

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25-05-2012, 07:45	#2
tinkerbell woohoo! Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 4,808 Adverts \| Friends	I think booking now is far too early, it's 3 years in advance ... Your best bet is to start looking now and find out when they advise to book.

25-05-2012, 07:53	#3
PCPhoto Registered User Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 6,204 Adverts \| Friends	have a look at everything - and spend the next year and a bit doing as much research possible - find the right venue for you ... - find the little extras which will make your night magical. - watch the prices/list of stuff included ...increase or decrease. keep an eye on hotels in receivership - some of them could be gone by the time you book or want to visit. enjoy your engagement - show off the ring, visit family/friends.... sit down and choose a date with your fiancee - watch some of the shows on TV .... my big fat gypsie wedding, there's also one about babies - but I cant remember the name, you'll probably be invited to some weddings in the meantime so take note of what you liked at their wedding and see if you want it for your own.

25-05-2012, 08:15	#4
hoodwinked Registered User Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 2,445 Adverts \| Friends	the above is great advice, when we got engaged in 2009 for 2012, we went to every wedding fare we could find, met and spoke with the hotels and gave them the date we wanted they told us they wouldn't get the diaries in until January 2010 so we had to wait until then to make the booking, if its a popular date find out when they get their diaries in and go down then to book it, in the meantime, enjoy the freebies cake tastings/tea's/coffees...etc and take a good look around, its good to see the hotel room done up like it will be on the day you marry. venues we thought we'd love we hated, venues we thought we'd hate that we went to see for the suppliers there we ended up loving so find whats right for you, with all the other suppliers advertising at them you may just end up finding more than a venue.

25-05-2012, 10:14	#5
Gatica Registered User Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 978 Adverts \| Friends	Yes, many places won't be taking bookings this far in advance. However, do your research and start visiting the venues you want to consider booking. Some of them book out quicker and earlier than others, so there's nothing wrong with starting your research early. We went to look at Cabra Castle and they had ALL weekends in 2012 booked out early last year (except 2 in December and one some other day). Once you know when they start taking bookings at least you'll know if you need to get your date in quick or not. If you're having a civil wedding at the venue, once you have your eye on a venue and a date in mind, it's no harm getting the HSE (remember Mon-Fri only!) to book the date for you as they only usually have one registrar per county and they only do one or two weddings a day (or none on some days) and book-out fast; unless you want to go the Spiritualist Union Solemniser or Civil Office ceremony route.

25-05-2012, 11:03	#6
Daisy M Registered User Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: The wild west Posts: 1,454 Adverts \| Friends	For now I would put it to the back of my mind or you could be in danger of letting wedding plans take over your whole life. Middle of next year would be a good time to start putting out the feelers. I would be loath to give a deposit to anyone for any service so far in advance in this current climate in case they went bust.

25-05-2012, 12:01	#7
clint_silver Registered User Join Date: May 2004 Location: dublin Posts: 1,320 Adverts \| Friends	popular single event services go fast usually 2 years in advance for popular dates, hotels, churches, singers, bands. things like food choices, dresses, cakes, rings, cars, florists, can all wait. Weekends in july/august start filling up 18 months beforehand as the christmas engagements start looking around. So 2013 would be booked up early 2012. 2 years in advance would be a lot. Youll have handed over deposits to services providors and you dont know where your or they or you will be 3 years from now. If you absolutely know exactly what you want, then maybe book up to 2 years beforehand but Id suggest thats the max to protect yourself. Last january, I had someone looking for new years eve 2014. While I said it was too far out, contact me later this year, I have it in the diary, if anyone else asked about it in the meantime I'll get back on to person A.

26-05-2012, 10:32	#8
paulbok Registered User Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 192 Adverts \| Friends	A lot of hotels can be booked up to 2 years in advance for July/Aug dates, we booked early Feb 2011 for this August (2012) and had only a choice of 3 dates (Fri/Sat) in that hotel between July & early Sept. Having said that, as Daisy M said, I wouldn't be in a rush to book this early, leave it until next year.The main reason is the danger of the hotel going under, see example here. Also with too much time to plan it, it'll be harder to stick to a budget. The hotel and band are the main ones to nail down early. Unless you have your heart set on a particular photographer etc, 12-15 months is plenty of time.

02-06-2012, 07:33	#9
Sunny Dayz Registered User Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 233 Adverts \| Friends	Far too early imo to book anything. Use the time that you have to visit wedding fairs, although they are mostly in spring, some in august / Sept also. Suss out pricings so you an idea how much a photographer etc should cost approximately. One thing you could do now is set up a savings account for the wedding and start putting a bit by. Surprising how the cost of a wedding adds up so having funds built up takes away some of that pressure. Best of luck and congrats!!

03-06-2012, 10:52	#10
hoodwinked Registered User Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 2,445 Adverts \| Friends	for those say its too early to book that can be a good thing too, with our hotel when it came to booking (also handy if you wanted a particular date) we basically told them since the wedding was 2 and a half years away there was no way in hell i was paying the high deposit usually asked, On a wedding costing €4000 in total I basically told them i would pay €500 there and then (with 75% back if cancelled but i knew we wouldn't be) with another €1000 6 months before and another €1000 3 months before and the remainder on checkout. we are now a month out and we were told at 6months the €1500 would be fine until after the wedding. Which suits us better as i found when working in a 4 star hotel they tend to be more on top of their game when they know you still owe them money. the hotel is flying they are still busy and aren't in any kind of financial trouble so far. so i guess we've been lucky, but €500 was nothing to risk really in terms of wedding costs if it had gone wrong, and we had our date secured for 2 years. oh and we paid by CC also just in case (but im not sure if thats even that secure tbh)

05-06-2012, 09:14	#14
Gatica Registered User Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 978 Adverts \| Friends	well according to one poster on another thread they were waiting til later than February I believe for the HSE registrar to get their "diary" sorted for booking civil weddings for 2013... That's ridiculous, considering they often book up very quick. We looked for HSE date a year in advance an already the dates we wanted were gone. Basically, someone had to be on the ball, constantly checking/calling til they were ready to take booking and book nice and quick. Civil weddings are becoming more popular so more and more people will end up finding themselves in this situation. Hope you can book your registrar and venue for the dates you want, but just make sure you check regularly so they don't get booked out on you.