Planning
A wedding planning timeline that assumes you have a job.
Most timelines are written for a full-time planner. This one is written for two people with work, and it collapses hard if your venue is all-inclusive.
4.9 · 1,400+ Google reviews Three venues, one estate Booking 2026 & 2027
Twelve to eighteen months out
Only three decisions actually matter this early.
Set the real budget, not the aspirational one
Agree the number you will actually pay, all in. Every later decision is downstream of it, and most couples set it twice because the first one ignored catering and bar.
Pick the season before the date
In Florida the season decides more than the date does. Decide whether you want the dry cool months or you are comfortable with a summer afternoon plan.
Book the venue
It is the only vendor that constrains every other one. Guest count, date and budget all resolve the moment it is signed.
Nine to twelve months
This is where the two paths split.
If you booked an à la carte venue, this is the long stretch: caterer, bar, photographer, DJ, cake, officiant, florals, rentals, coordination. Eight or nine contracts, each with its own deposit, its own timeline and its own failure mode.
If you booked all-inclusive, most of that is already done — this is the list. What is left is the dress, the rings, the guest list and anything you actively want to add.
Six months
The things people leave too late.
- Send save-the-dates, especially if guests are traveling.
- Book accommodation blocks while there is still choice.
- Start the dress. Alterations take longer than anyone budgets for.
- Settle the guest list properly. Every later cost scales off this number.
Six weeks to the day
Short, if the venue is doing its job.
- Final guest count and seating.
- Final walkthrough and timeline with your coordinator.
- Confirm arrival times for anyone you brought in yourself.
- Rehearsal, and then stop. Nothing decided in the last week improves the day.
The honest version
The timeline is mostly a function of one choice.
How long your planning takes is decided almost entirely by whether you are managing vendors or someone else is. Everything else on this page is the same either way. The comparison between the two is the decision worth spending time on.
More on planning
The rest of the timeline.
- On-Site Wedding Planners
- Choosing Your Wedding Season
- Barn vs Ballroom Comparison
- When To Book Your Venue
- Outdoor Setup Timing
- Avoid Outdoor Planning Pitfalls
- Choosing Your Wedding Date
- Outdoor Itinerary Timing
- Wedding Day Timeline Guide
- Managing Wedding Stress
- Morning Wedding Planning
- Plan A Multi-Day Wedding
- Choosing an Event Planner
- Enchanting Venues Overview
Booking 2026 & 2027
Come walk it before you decide anything.
A tour takes about an hour. You’ll see all three venues, the Bridal Cottage, and leave with real pricing for your date and guest count — not a brochure.
- No-pressure tour
- Real numbers on the day
- 4.9 · 1,400+ reviews
- Rather just talk 813-909-3414 We answer the phone.
- Quick question Text us Send your date, we’ll reply.
- Coming to see us Get directions 45 min from Tampa.
103 S Saxon Ave., Brooksville, FL 34601 · 45 minutes from Tampa · 90 minutes from Orlando