Wedding planning tips?

[jez1110 0]

Hi all,

Does anyone have any tips for planning a wedding on short notice? I know we can't plan too far ahead as we don't have NOA2 yet, but I have been looking at venues, photographers, etc in advance just to have ideas. It's so hard not being able to plan!

[NikLR 13,227]

Plan a small tiny court house wedding. Then plan out a larger wedding to have later when you can set plans in concrete.

[Ontarkie 14,227]

We figured out our guest list and menu. I bought my dress before the move. Planned for an outdoor wedding. The location was pretty much first come first serve, no need to reserve it was great. The place had 2 weddings while we were there.

Since we live in the South and ppl are weird here and don't really do the whole reception and dance thing. We had lunch catered and picked up the cake on the way back from pictures. Lots of food and drinks, it truly was perfect and I wouldn't change anything.

You can really do just about anything if you think about what you really feel is important. We thought about doing a wedding package up in the Ozarks it was really pretty and would of been pretty small also.

Like NLR said you can do a court house wedding and then plan a big wedding if that is something you would be happier with.

The only problem I had with it, was did I really want to bother with it in a few years. So we did what I posted above. It took a month and a half as I really wanted my parents to come but needed to see when my Uncle could get time off as my father had a stroke and could not drive.

[NikLR 13,227]

I managed to plan my relatively small wedding in about 3 months (feb to may) and it was long distance as well. We were married in a park where you didn't have to reserve anything. Got the marriage license the week we were getting married. My mom was the minister. I planned the cake pops (no large cake) ahead of time and also my dress. Did the guest list (which managed to get bigger thanks to my mother and aunt... LOL) and planned a few little things. We had a few hitches but nothing major and it all went wonderfully. I made a hand fasting tie to go with the wedding (some people do a candle or sand thing) but forgot the tie at my sister's. We had lunch at a nice restaurant overlooking Okanagan lake, in a hotel. They had a great selection and a 3 course meal for only $17 per person, which my stepfather wonderfully paid for. No dance. No wedding reception. Nothing major. There was a get together the day before at my Aunt's house and that was it.

It did help that my mom and sister were in the area and were able to help. So if you want a small wedding vs a little and big one, then enlist local help.

The one thing I didn't have, that I wish I had paid for, was a wedding photographer. If the wedding is small and short, they'll often give you a reduced fee because there is less work for them to do after the fact.

[berber_wife 90]

Some people do the "go to the courthouse and have the big wedding later" thing. I was not interested in that because I've never cared too much about having a big, fancy wedding in the first place and I would've felt weird having a big wedding if only my side could be there.

Our backyard wedding and reception was planned in only a few weeks. Here's how we did it.

1) We had a 15-minute standing ceremony at the beach. A standing ceremony is good because then you don't have to worry about renting chairs. If you have elderly relatives, you can bring a few chairs from home for them. If you live in a warmer climate, outdoor spaces like parks and beaches are easy to reserve for a short ceremony. If you want a religious ceremony and belong to a place of worship, I'm sure they let members use the church for free or for a low fee. Some people even have the reception at the church also, in the activity center or whatever.

2) Keep the guest list small. Have a "family only" or "family and close friends only" policy. It's easier to find venue spaces that way. Our wedding had about 25 attendees.

3) We found a caterer who did EVERYTHING. Aside from providing delicious food, they took care of stuff like liquor license, setup, linens, plates, decorating, etc. We rented only a few tables and chairs: everything else they worked with what we had. They literally transformed my parent's pool area into a fairytale like garden. I would say they took care of 90% of the prep work.

4) "Food stations" are big right now and a lot cheaper than plated meals. We had a made-to-order salad and pasta bar.

5) Consider a dry or beer and wine only reception. You'll have less issues finding venues and dealing with liquor licenses that way.

6) Also consider a brunch or daytime wedding and reception. You'll find more availability that way too.

7) We used a website called Thumbtack to find our photographer and we were happy. I'm sure it can be used to find other vendors and services too.

Happy planning!

[Pheebs1201 269]

Some people do the "go to the courthouse and have the big wedding later" thing. I was not interested in that because I've never cared too much about having a big, fancy wedding in the first place and I would've felt weird having a big wedding if only my side could be there.

I was just about to recommend the courthouse thing and saw this post, and I just wanted to say, this is a really good point. Us long distance folks pretty much know that the true importance of getting hitched is to actually, finally, be together in the same place, and not about some outrageous and expensive wedding.

However, I will still be choosing the courthouse route for two reasons:

1) I feel stressed about the ambiguity of when the visa will be in hand, so wouldn't do very well trying to plan anything at all

2) I want my family there from the UK and they will need a good amount of 'heads up' to be able to afford to fly over for my special day

However I agree with berber_wife, if these two aren't considerations, there are plenty of options for planning a beautiful, simple and elegant wedding in a short time span.

(I recommend pinterest, it can link you to an article on just about anything to do with weddings )

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/515099276103040629/

Edited February 6, 2015 by Pheebs1201

[berber_wife 90]

2) I want my family there from the UK and they will need a good amount of 'heads up' to be able to afford to fly over for my special day

His family coming over just wasn't an option. Morocco is not a VWP country and getting a tourist visa is hard. We're actually planning to do something like you just switched - we want to have a celebration of marriage this summer in Morocco. That way my family can come over and meet his and he gets to celebrate with all the special people in his life too.

[Pheebs1201 269]

His family coming over just wasn't an option. Morocco is not a VWP country and getting a tourist visa is hard. We're actually planning to do something like you just switched - we want to have a celebration of marriage this summer in Morocco. That way my family can come over and meet his and he gets to celebrate with all the special people in his life too.

It's definitely a luxury being from a VWP and not having to factor in such worries! A celebration in Morocco is bound to be amazing though!

Edited February 7, 2015 by Pheebs1201