Just engaged and don't know where to start

Bibbleskip

So after almost 8.5 years together and all sorts of planning for one day (i've been on the knot for over a year) I'm FINALLY engaged and I have no idea where to actually start. 
I know a venue is going to be super important to figure out quickly - which will be hard as my FH doesn't exactly move quickly (as you can tell.....).  I want to get a planning guide/binder and I'm just wondering if anyone has a suggestion as to which one of the hundreds available they found most useful (or not useful).  I get overwhelmed looking at the shelves and shelves of books at Chapters/Indigo.

SO EXCITED!!!

kristbot

Congratulations!

I would skip buying a pre-made binder and just make your own with page dividers and page protectors. You can find lists of what to include all over the internet.

As for where to start this is what I tell everyone:

The first thing you should do is sit down and discuss with your FI what kind of wedding you two want to have. A small, intimate affair? Destination wedding? Huge wedding with everyone you know?

Once you figure that out you should then discuss how much you can comfortably save between now and your wedding day. That will give you your budget then you can plan how many people you can host and start creating a guest list.

It will all start coming together from there because your budget and guest list will dictate what kinds of venues you can afford, how much you have to spend on various extras, etc.

The only Knot Tool I ever recommend is the budgeting tool. Once you've figured out your budget you can plug in the number and it will help give you an idea of how much you have to spend on things.

tiny speck

I agree with pretty much everything kristbot said. Don't waste your money on planning tools when there are loads of online tools out there, and plain old excel spreadsheets (that's been my go-to in planning). Good luck, and congratulations!

cnf2013

I bought the best checklist I ever found off Etsy for $2. PM your email and I'll happily send you the pdf for free. 

AddieL73

I made my own binder with office/school supplies. Congrats and happy planning!