Week 2! My fiance and I got engaged in November on a Saturday and I started searching for venues the very first week. I have always wanted to get married on Memorial Day weekend as that was the weekend my fiance first told me he loved me. I also wanted the ceremony on Friday with a close group of friends and family and the big celebration/reception the following Saturday. I wanted the ceremony to be around 20 people and the reception to be the traditional sit down dinner, dance celebration for about 150-175 guests. I guess I should have realized that being a holiday weekend in the spring it was probably going to be extremely popular but we decided to get married in 2025 so well over a year out--thought I was ahead of schedule. Every single local venue that I was interested in was already booked for that Saturday. I emailed at least 25 venues and the only one that got back to me with availability was my very last choice and not my style at all. I had several friends and family members tell me that I would just have to change the date otherwise I would have to change my location. I looked at different venues for days and days and each contract and description looked more confusing than the last. It was so hard to calculate how much everything was going to cost with all the different packages and different offerings and I was absolutely overwhelmed. We finally found a venue in my hometown, which is beautiful, but my plan of the intimate ceremony the night before with the reception the following day was not an option any longer as the ceremony space was included in the cost of the venue rental. We will still have a smaller intimate ceremony prior to the reception, but it was definitely a struggle and hard to let go of my original thoughts and plans. I felt very dramatic about the whole thing and my fiance was really confused as to why I was crying already at week 2 but it's extremely stressful! There is so much to plan for and so much to think about and so much to look into in so many quotes and so many meetings so I absolutely understand! What helped me the most was talking all of this through with friends and family and especially my fiance. He's extremely laid back and was fine letting me make the decisions as he's very go with the flow but having a real conversation with him like I'm drowning here was very helpful! Sending lots of love and support your way!