If you believe the wedding magazines with their pages of itemized planning checklists, it’s going to take you at least 12 months to plan your wedding. But I got engaged on October 31, and there’s no way we were waiting a year-plus to swap vows. So I’m happy to report from the other side {We were married the following July. } that it’s totally possible to plan a wedding in less than 365 days. Here are some easy ways to fast-forward the planning process.
Kelly and Patrick planned their wedding in weeks! Click her for more pics.
1. Minimize the DIYs. One well-intentioned spin on Pinterest and you’ll want to hand-carve your wedding invitations into bark. I get it. But you already have a shocking number of to-dos to check off, so you don’t need to add “Skin birch tree” to the list. If you’re in a hurry, leave everything you can to the pros, who are used to hustling.
2. Be flexible with your date. Popular dates (any long weekend) and days (Saturday) are booked up quickly. Figure out which dates you absolutely CAN’T do (the weekend of your mom’s marathon or your sister’s college orientation) and go from there. If you start the process insisting on a must-have date, you’re bound to hit roadblocks at every turn.
3. Skip traditional wedding dress boutiques. Most boutiques want three or four months to fulfill your wedding dress order. If you need a quicker turnaround here are three faster options: 1) Check out Watters’ rush-delivery dresses. 2) Buy something off the rack, like this sleek, chic $135 Ralph Lauren gown. 3) Rent your dress. This to-die-for Reem Acra gown can be yours for just $70 (SEVENTY BUCKS!) from Rent the Runway.
4. Trim your guest list. You’ll have considerably more options if you can get your guest list down to around 125 guests. Loads of venues just can’t accommodate more, and those that can book up quickly. Even more options will open up if you go less than 100.
5. Stick to one venue. If you can pass on a religious ceremony at a church, synagogue, etc., you won’t have to coordinate dates and times between your ceremony and reception sites, which will be twice as hard as locking down a date and time at one.
6. Don’t consider every last option. You didn’t date EVERY guy out there before promising forever to your groom, so don’t feel like you need to interview EVERY caterer (or florist or band leader) out there before signing on the dotted line. I’m not saying you should settle for the first Tom, Dick, or hairstylist who comes along. But do your research, narrow down your vendor selections to no more than three, then pick your favorite.
Did you plan your wedding in less than a year? How did you streamline the process? Or are you a bride who needs at LEAST two years of planning time?