How to Plan a Perfect Wedding (in Half the Time!)

When D. and I got engaged on April 8th, 2007, I knew I was in for a whirlwind of wedding plans, but I had no idea how stressful it could be. It was my first wedding (and my last!), and all of the wedding timelines I found online were over the course of a year.

A whole year to wait until I was married? No, thank you. I wanted to be married NOW, danggit!

But of course I didn't want to get married over the winter when it was cold (even in Florida, we get pretty cold weather in January/February), and getting married too close to Thanksgiving or Christmas was out of the question. So that left October, which meant ::gulp:: 6 months to plan a wedding. Not a backyard wedding or an elopement with a little party afterward. A full-on, cut-the-cake, hire-a-band, wear-a-crinoline type wedding.

Can it be done?

Spoiler alert: It can. While working full-time.

You may have found yourself in a similar predicament or are wondering if it's still possible to have a June wedding like you always wanted when you got engaged on Christmas. Here are just a few tips I can share to get the wedding of your dreams in a short amount of time.

1. Make a list.

This is something that every wedding should start with. You can take a one-year timeline as a starting point, but don't assign any tasks to a particular month. Just make a list of everything that you want to get done: cake, florist, venue, dress, engagement party, etc.

You don't need a fancy "wedding planning" notebook for this (I bought one and NEVER used it), a simple spiral notebook with a pocket will do perfectly. Maybe have a small tote bag to hold all those pamphlets you're going to collect.

2. Book the venue SOON.

Checking out the Tap Room at Dubsdread.

Because your wedding isn't too far out on the calendar, you'll be at the mercy of the venue in regards to dates. Which means that if you want to get married on the anniversary of your first date, you may have to relax your standards somewhere—either by picking a venue that has that date available, or rethinking your date of choice. By the time we found the banquet hall where our wedding took place, they had one day in the entire month of October available. Luckily, it was a day that worked for us, but if we had waited a few weeks longer, we might not have gotten it.

Getting your venue and date set in stone also means you'll have a definite date to give to the photographer, band/DJ, and any other vendors that will need to have the same availability. (You'll also be able to order your invitations!) Of course, if you care more about having a certain DJ than having your wedding at a particular location, then by all means, hire the DJ first (based on his/her availability). I won't judge you. 

3. Leave out unnecessary details.

Because you simply won't have the time, let certain things fall by the wayside. For us, it was wedding favors. The good favors started at $1 a piece, which would have meant at least $150 on wedding favors alone. Once we realized that we never used (or cared about) the favors we received at other weddings, it was no trouble leaving them out of ours.

Maybe there's something else you don't mind letting go. The ring bearer's pillow? "Save the Date" announcements? Welcome bags for out-of-town guests? (We didn't have any of these.)

The best litmus test is: Would it feel wrong NOT to have this? Would my guests think it was rude or weird not to have this? If the answer is "no," leave it out.

4. Simplify!

For the things that pass your "should I include this?" test, you might consider simplifying them to make things a little less stressful on yourself. This can also help you save money. (More funds for the honeymoon!) One of the best examples that I can give you comes from my florist.

Rather than shopping for a cake topper (most of which are incredibly cheesy anyway, in my opinion), my florist suggested that I use my throw-away bouquet to top the cake. By the time I was ready to throw it, the cake had already been cut. 

She also suggested a very simple centerpiece of roses floating in a shallow glass bowl. No arranging needed. All I had to do was order the bowls and everything was assembled on the day of. A friend of mine had to build her centerpieces one year in advance because (what with working full-time and everything else on her schedule), it took a month to construct each one. If you need 10-12 tables, that's time you might not have.

Our stunning, delicious cake.

It looked like this from the back (where no one could see it but us).

 

 

 

5. Have plenty of help.

I don't know if I've ever told her this, but I couldn't have gotten married without my mom. (She reads this blog, though, so I guess I'm telling her now!) My incredible mom actually printed out each place card for the tables, tied a ribbon on each one (a ribbon that not only matched my color palette, but indicated the entree that each guest chose for dinner!), and created an entire seating arrangement chart. It took a huge chunk of time off my hands.

Similarly, the wedding planner that came along with the venue was a rock star when it came to making sure everything was delivered, set-up, and ready to go on the Big Day. Having someone (not a guest) responsible for accepting deliveries, making sure the room was perfect, and keeping everything on schedule was a lifesaver. If your venue doesn't have a wedding coordinator that "comes with" your room rental, I would strongly suggest hiring someone to take over those details for you. Even just for a day.

 Lastly, remember that this is your special day and it's all about you and your husband-to-be. That means this is the time to enjoy yourself and celebrate building a life together. After you've been married for 7, 15, or 20 years, you won't even remember those little hiccups that went into planning your wedding, much less care about them. Get the big stuff in order (like your marriage) and the rest is just details.

Did I leave anything out? Let me know in the comments!

In related news, today is my parents' 33rd wedding anniversary! Congratulations!