Your first instinct may be to pick a date.  It's not a bad place to start, but there are lots of factors that can affect that date.

Some couples have a special date that is significant to their relationship, and nothing is more important than that date. These couples may need to be a little more flexible on location, budget, or guest list.  For others, they simply must have 350 people on their guest list - here in Jacksonville, that means that their venue options are a bit limited.  If an oceanfront wedding is most important, the couple may want to think about a Friday or Sunday wedding if they choose a popular venue.

So where do you start?  Try setting your priorities by numbering these items from 1 (most important) to 10 (least important):

Once you have a list of your priorities, you can look at your budget and decide how much to spend in each area based on its rank.