How soon did you start actually planning your wedding? I don't want to start too soon but I know there is a LOT that goes in to planning a wedding and I don't want to have a bunch of stuff left over for the last minute. So when did you stop imagining and start booking things, doing interviews?

ASAP. I started a year in advanced right after we got engaged. But I was doing my interent searches and window shopping like 6 months before that so that when it came time to make appts with vendors I already had lists of people to call. I think you could do it in 7 months if you find the perfect vendor on your first try for most of them. Also if you are using vendors who do everything then you would need less time too because the less people you have to interview the better.
Good Luck

I did plan my wedding in 7 months. We were engaged on valentines day and married Sept 4th. I had plenty of time and we planned our destination wedding ourselves. It was perfect!