when is too early too early?

when i got proposed at (which is January 1, 2011, for those who just recently found this site), we immediately started researching for venues, suppliers, etc.... well, not really "immediately" as in immediately but sort of 2 weeks after the proposal....

since our wedding is not until 2 years at that time when we started inquiring (january 2011)  the most common reply was that we were too early....... i remember this one couturier who was so tactless and said something like "wow! aren't you excited. why are you starting sooo early?"(hmpf!)..... but there are some suppliers who were really honest and told us upfront that due to economic reasons they can't open their calendar for us until late this year or early next year........ you know what that means, right? they're planning to increase their rates some time between now and next year and they don't want to give me their current rates when they can ask for more money later...... i understand that ofcourse, business is business...... in fact i'd prefer that answer anytime than that snotty answer from that snotty couturier........ there are a few other suppliers, however, who weren't as surprised and who sounded like they're used to my kind of situation on a daily basis..... they weren't bullying me, they didnt sound condescending and with that im truly thankful to have found them...... who are they? they're our church, reception venue, videographer, photographer and HMUA....... we booked them right away (between jan - feb 2011)

so why did we start too early?

(1) because we want to get the suppliers we want and we don't want anyone to beat us into booking them.....case in point, our reception venue is sort of in demand and we want a saturday wedding so we really have to book fast if we want that to happen....

(2) we want to lock the rates... if we decide to book late this year or early next year i bet you, they have all increased their rates atleast once by then.....

(3) because we're planning two weddings (civil in the U.S. and church in the Philippines) and the sooner we got done booking the suppliers for one of the weddings the better
(4) because december-january is peak season for weddings so its advisable to book 1-2 years in advance.

and now for the million dollar question....why wait that long?

(1) no, it's not because im pregnant and have to wait til i give birth first
(2) it's so that we'll have enough time to save and we can have the kind of wedding we want....to quote my h2b :
           "you're already 34, you've waited long enough...you deserve your dream wedding"
            (original post here: "On Being a Budget-zilla" )
(3) due to some apartment/living logistics....my apartment rent ends december this year (i live alone) and when the h2b proposed i have just renewed my contract and pre-terminating it would mean i have to pay for the remaining months in the contract lease agreement......that's a lot of money..that's $950 x 11 months....
(4) because i want a beach wedding and we have to do it either spring or summer and doing it this year is just too soon.... we need longer preparation time.... and again, we would waste a lot of money because of my apartment lease if we get married this year
(5) i need to switch jobs first (why? cant explain it here..PM me if you really want to know)

and why wait til january 19 2013 for the church wedding?

(1) we want to get married civilly here first so it would be less paper work..
(2) we're looking for a date closest to a US holiday in january (which is martin luther king) so it would be easier for our U.S. guests to take vacation leaves.....
(3) we want it in january so it would be a little colder....

i know i've been sounding like a broken record and as entertaining as it is to hear people's assumptions, i'd rather explain this over and over before the assumptions reached my parents ears and get them upset....

anyway, for the fellow bride-to-bes who are just starting their preps and who's wedding is still 2 or 3 years in the future don't be intimidated by those other suppliers who tells you you're planning way too early...... if a supplier tells you that scratch them off your list.....you wouldn't want an unfriendly supplier who might just be a cause of stress for you, right? you have nothing to lose if you book/inquire early, you do however have a lot of discounts and savings to lose if you book later....... just go ahead and inquire..... "excel sheet" the suppliers.....it would help you and your h2b to decide which supplier to get if you have them all laid out in "columns" and "rows"..... and most importantly have fun while doing the preps......  you would learn a lot of things about yourself and your significant other while you're doing your wedding plan/preps......