how to plan a wedding in 2 months?!

[sweetpea&babycorn]

Not for me! My sister got unexpectedly pregnant (I'm so excited!) and my dad has basically forced her and her fiance to get married before the baby is born. They were engaged before she got pregnant so it's no big deal, but I can see the stress and anxiety in both their eyes, so I could use some help to calm their nerves! Unfortunately, 3 of her 4 bridesmaids are scattered across the world (DC, California, and Israel) and it's just my mom and I helping out. I plan on organizing her bachelorette party and bridal shower. Anybody have a timeline handy for a wedding that's on March 20??

She definitely wants her wedding to be a traditional wedding, as if they were planning for a year or whatever is a "normal" amount of time and stress level. It seems like she doesn't want to skimp on much and if she had to pick, she'd take it easier on the decorations and centerpieces.

They've already got the materials to make the invitations, they're visiting a venue they saw at a bridal expo on Saturday, guest list is finalized, and she already has her dress.

Things left to do include music, BM and GM attire, photographer, flowers/decor, food (but that will come with the venue), cake, and other logistical stuff such as hair, makeup for the girls and the schedule of events for the day of.

Any thoughts are welcome! Thanks!!!!!!

 

[slg47]

well if you can, I think an all-inclusive place would be easiest. That way you don't have to worry about arranging so many things.

 

[sillyberry]

One nice thing, in a really backwards way, is that a lot of the options are limited. So for the things like caterers, florists, DJs, etc, you'll be able to quickly call and check on availability and then make a decision knowing who is free that day. Otherwise - just find a checklist online and start plowing through it. If you like a vendor, go with them and STOP LOOKING! When you have a year, everything seems to take forever because you have time to dilly-dally. For a different reason (I was moving away from the city I'm getting married in), I got my venue, caterer, DJ, and photographer all picked out in a matter of weeks. It's totally possible if you just put your head down and make the calls and run the errands. (Poor sister having to do this while in the first trimester - hopefully she's feeling okay!)

Also, figure out things to just skip. Favors, intricate placecards, a rehearsal dinner, whatever it is that she doesn't care about - don't do it. No one will care!

Is there any room in the budget for a day-of coordinator? In my experience those are often more like "month of" coordinators and can take a huge burden off the bride. March is a little before big wedding season starts, so there might be some availability.

 

[vc10um]

Congratulations to your sister and her fiance! It's unfortunate that your father is putting them in this position, but you are a wonderful sister for being so helpful!

I'm in the same situation as SB...I'm marrying in a different city half way across the country from where I live, and it really made things easier because I had to narrow down my choices before I even looked at venues and vendors.

Diamondseeker may be very helpful in this...she and her daughter planned the daughter's wedding in a matter of weeks as well!

For the Bridesmaid attire, they most likely won't be able to order dresses in that short of time without large rush fees. I would recommend choosing a color (black in March would be easy and lovely) and a length and letting the bridesmaids choose their own dresses from their nearest retail store. Target has a large selection of really cute and reasonable dresses right now that fit true to their size chart, so that may also be an option. In the same vein, perhaps the groomsmen could just wear black suits (which they probably already own) and then purchase the gift of coordinating ties? You can still rent the groom's suit or tux, but won't have to worry about getting the whole bridal party in for fittings and whatnot.

For the photographer, I would set a budget, then start googling and calling around for availability! I found my photographer through weddingwire.com which is also really really helpful for finding other vendors and I don't find it as overwhelming as theknot. Check the photog's blogs and websites, but if photography is important to your sister, I would try to set up a meeting with the favorites ASAP to check for comfort level and to see a full portfolio (as generally online will only display their "best" work).

For the rest of the vendors, I would ask the chosen venue and the photographer for their recommendations. The venue will probably have the best suggestions for food and cake (if not already included), and the photographer will probably have awesome suggestions for floral, DJs or bands, and hair and makeup artists. They may overlap in expertise as well, so don't hesitate to ask your venue about florists and your photographer about catering!

Don't forget to book a hotel block ASAP as well! Many of them require the rooms any unrented rooms to be released 2-4 weeks before the event.

My only other suggestion is to get those invites out ASAP! As this is kind of a last minute change of plans, your sister's guests will need as much time as possible to make travel plans. If for some reason they won't have a set menu by the time the invites need to go out (I'd say give people at least 6 weeks!) they can always call and follow up with their guests after the receive the RSVP.

I'm sure some of the ladies wouldn't mind doing a little legwork for you either...if you don't mind telling us where the wedding would be, what you need help finding, and what the budget is for that vendor!

Best of luck to your sister!!!

 

[TooPatient]

Congratulations to your sister!

Venue (and book rooms if needed!)
photographer/caterer/officiant
INVITATIONS!
rings & wedding-party-clothing
dj/band/florist/cake
make sure menu is set & alcohol is set
music selections (including special dances)


I like VC's idea of using one of the online checklists to make sure you've got it all.

Let us know if there is anything that they need help with. Even if you don't want to share general location, the ladies here are GREAT at suggesting flowers/music/clothing/.... (well... just about everything!)

 

[sweetpea&babycorn]

Thanks for all the great suggestions! It was a little sneaky of my dad, but he is a very traditional person, and can't fathom that my sister would have this child without being married first.

The nice thing is that they are getting married in the "off season" and many DJs are willing to give them a discount. They're also getting married on a Sunday so hopefully venues will offer some sort of discount as well. They have their eye on one venue and it seems like they are ready to book it when they see it on Saturday. They're looking at anywhere in the western Massachusetts region.

The issue right now is that their wedding budget is $10,000 for a wedding with about 130 guests, which is quite tight. So I think they will avoid a coordinator of any sort. But the online check list sounds good, I guess we'll have to breeze through everything that needs to be done 2 months before the wedding and chop-chop on the stuff that's within 2 months before the big day!

So I'm not sure how they are allocating their funds, but they hope to get a DJ for less than $1,000 (maybe if they're lucky in the 600/700 range) and they thought that $2,000 for the photographer is too much. My cousin is trying to start his own photography business so I'm sure he could do it as a wedding gift for them. We'll have to follow up on that.

Dresses - my sister found 2 that she liked, and wants her BMs to choose the one they like an order it. But now she wants to see what they look like in person so she'll have to find a retailer, take a look at them, and hopefully give us the go-ahead. Even with rush delivery she said the dresses will be ~$150 each which is totally reasonable.

I have nooo idea when they are going to send out invitations, but she's already working on them and is waiting for stuff she ordered online (way cheaper than going to Michael's or another craft store) to finish them up. I think they will get them out by the end of the month/very early February. That's probably cutting it close, but it seems like she doesn't have a choice and she is pretty insistent on making these invites herself.

Luckily, there are only a few out of towners, so I think they or me or my mom will take care of them on an individual basis.

I am super excited to become an aunt. I already bought my sister a couple of pregnancy books and of course books to read to her baby!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Oh, boy, do we need to talk! As someone already mentioned, I just did one in 6 weeks although I had been accumulating some info on venues, etc. before that. I will tell you that a night wedding with a meal involved and beer and wine for 130 will be very hard to do on $10,000. I have a LOT I can tell you. I literally wrote down everything I did every day for those 6 weeks. I can tell you how much things cost here in the southeast...where are you? We did get a discount on the reception venue due to it being off season and the venue not being booked yet for that date. Almost everything else was not discounted, however. But I was a real bargain shopper and did the reception centerpieces myself. You really made decisions daily and went on to the next thing the next day. No time to change your mind and second guess. She found her dress the first day we shopped...we bought one off the rack...original price $1999 but marked down to $850 and it needed minimal alterations. Veil and shoes added $400 more. This is where you could cut some money, but that is about the only area we could have cut.

It's too late to add more now, but I'll check in tomorrow. Ask anything you can think of. We had no problem lining up photographer, DJ. florist, etc. We just looked at a couple of each and then made a decision. We were extremely happy with almost everything.

I honestly think it was a joyful time because we did it without a lot of second guessing and never really had any drama. I doubt it would have been a bit better if we had planned for 6 months or more! (Edited to add: we would have only spent more money had we had extra time!!!)