Expert Advice from wedding guru, Sharon Naylor

Answer:

Hi Brittany!
There's lots of time, so don't worry! A wedding coordinator can really help you time out your planning, so look at www.bridalassn.com to find a great coordinator who can help you out.

First, make your guest list to see the size of wedding you plan to have, and that will show you what kind of locations that may be best. A small wedding can call for a gallery or museum, and a big wedding can call for a hotel ballroom or country club. When you have a starter guest list, you can figure out how your budget will work. To do this, you and your fiance should list out your top priority items, like the catering, music, photos, flowers, etc...so you can see where you're going to devote the bigger parts of your budget. Also, list out what you don't want.

Next, start looking at places for your ceremony and reception, and think about an afternoon wedding (that often costs less than a nighttime wedding and can be identically formal to a night reception.) When you book your ceremony and reception spots, you have your wedding date, and from there you can get into doing the rest of your planning.

My book, The Busy Bride's Essential Checklists, will help you with each step of the planning, so look for it on Amazon. And also, use the planning tools here at Wedding Mapper to have some fun with your planning!

For your bridesmaids' dresses, a light green with light green and pink bouquets would be pretty, but it's entirely up to you. It also depends on the season of your wedding.

And it's okay to have just ringbearers and no flower girls! you can plan your wedding party however you'd like!

Have fun, don't stress, and take it one step at a time :]

Sharon