As the weather starts to turn the page from winter to spring, time is starting to run out if you're planning on tying the knot.

"It's much busier," says event planner Lorenda Howell, owner and creative director of Lorenda Howell Events. "You have to get a lot of things out of the way earlier."

Howell and many other wedding planners have been busy meeting with lots of couples planning their big day.
More than two and a half million weddings are set to take place this year, according to a planning site appropriately called "The Knot".

"If you just got engaged this year and you're still trying to get married this year, chances are you won't get the DJ you want or the band you want or photographer because these people are all booked up and some of us are booked up for at least the whole year," Howell said, adding that people are ready to party and celebrate. But if you find yourself behind the 8-ball in your wedding planning, start with tweaking the guest count.

Consider "...where are we crunching numbers? How are we saving money? And if money isn't an object, it's where are we going to put all this stuff, where will all these people sit? Where's the cookie table going to go?" said Howell.

Something else you can't wait for - custom stationery.
Not only are calligraphers booked solid, but those pesky supply chain issues are making it a double-whammy.
But what you should do next depends on how far along in planning you are.

"If you're in that beginning phase which we call development and research, you still need all your vendors at that point," says Howell. "We are closing our books this year as of May 1...and I have people booking out into 2023 and 2024."

Which means you might have to wait a little longer to be sure the biggest day of your life goes exactly how you imagined.