"When do we have to decide?"

Couples shopping for a photographer often ask "When do we have to decide?" It's a difficult question to answer because there is no way to know if a particular date is on the verge of being booked or if it will stay open for weeks...or even months.

September Saturdays tend to be popular with the first Saturday after Labor Day usually being the most popular day of the entire year for a Maine wedding. Also, three-day weekends tend to be popular with Saturday and Sunday booking early. But that's about as far as the generalizations go. It's anybody's guess when any other particular date might book. My advice is to start your planning/shopping with the vendors who can serve only one client a day (most venues in Maine, photographer, band or DJ, some florists and some caterers). The earlier you shop these vendors, the better chance you will have of landing your first choice and not getting discouraged by the "sorry, we're not available" responses. After you get all of these vendors squared away, then you can shop the vendors who can service multiple weddings on the same day (wedding dress, attendants' dresses, cake, favors, invitations.)

How early is early enough? It's not uncommon for some couples to book vendors as many as eighteen months out, and if you are looking at one of the most popular dates or you have your heart absolutely set on one and only one date, venue, photographer, band, etc., there's no reason to wait. Go ahead, take the plunge, lock up your first choice, and you might even get in at a lower price (before the next price increase.)

Most couples, however, start to shop seriously about a year ahead, i.e., next summer's brides & grooms will use this summer to start planning their wedding.

Queries tend to pick up again around the Thanksgiving holiday, they are brisk through the Christmas/New Year's holidays, then things become highly competitive during January, as bridal shows can encourage a booking frenzy. Traditionally January is the single busiest booking month for photographers. February is also a busy month, and by the end of February many of the more popular Maine photographers will have booked most of their weddings for the coming summer, with only a few dates still open.

That being said, if you got engaged on Valentine's Day and want to plan a wedding for this summer, there is no reason to automatically assume that all the good vendors are gone. A very lovely wedding can be planned in just two or three months, and every year I'm impressed by a couple that is able to pull everything together in record time. The key to planning in this situation is to be flexible about your site and date, to not get discouraged, and to be able to make up your mind quickly when you do find a vendor you like who is available. Plus, each time you're told "sorry, we aren't available," ask for referrals. Often you'll get your best leads from other vendors.

If I had a daughter planning a summer wedding in Maine, I would give her two pieces of advice:

1. If at all possible, line up you vendors before Thanksgiving.

2. If you find a vendor who is open for your date and you decide that vendor is your first choice, don't drag your feet signing a contract or putting down a deposit. Once you've made up your mind, don't risk losing that vendor by delaying. Sometimes a vendor will have two (or more) couples asking for the same date, but will not tell either couple that their date is in jeopardy of going to another couple because that statement could come across as an insincere sales tactic. Or, someone could pop up the very next day asking about your date. So, if you find your perfect venue, photographer, band, etc., go ahead and do the paperwork to insure that vendor will be yours.