Wedding Wedding in 3 months

[luvthemstrawberries]

I am looking for some advice from all of you who have seen this done, been through this already, are doing it now, or are planning to do it and have some things in order already. We are wanting a short engagement, only about 3 months. I don''t want the inevitable stress that comes from all the planning to have to last any longer than it has to, and from what I do know from friends'' and family weddings in the past, 3 months is doable. But I also realize some things would be done very differently than with, say, 1 year of planning.

I also know that wedding planning has some crunch time no matter what, but it really is as stressful and crazy-detailed as you decide to make it. There are certain details I know I want, but other than that I tend to take things in stride and go with the flow. I''m fairly organized and have been getting some things together already, but I would just like to know how it went for other people. Were there things you had to give up on because of lack of time, did you have a hard time securing venues and vendors, any specific details you''d like to point out to be aware of, etc... (We are looking at a winter wedding. Not huge, but include all the family and close friends that we love. We are very easy going and want a relaxed and special atmosphere, not lavish or stuffy.)

Thanks for any help!!

 

[luvthemstrawberries]

I should clarify that we''re not engaged yet. The title of the post should read "Planning a wedding in 3 months" or "How to plan a wedding in 3 months."

 

[Shoopy]

I''m my best friend''s MOH.

She got engaged in November 2007. Found out she had Ovarian Cancer in February 2008. Got surgery in March 2008. Took through June 2008 to recover. Dragged her feet with the wedding planning through August 2008.

We have started her planning from September and the wedding is in December

She''s having a 75 person wedding in Key West. I was able to find her a beautiful, cheap, and available garden to do her ceremony and she got a restaurant to host her reception. We are going this weekend to the keys and our itinerary includes a meeting with 3 photographers, 2 bakers, 4 DJs, and 2 wedding coordinators.

LMAO

So we are beyond stressed but it''s been a lot of fun and having it all come together has been great.

I say start with picking a theme so that if you have to order favors, you get them as soon as possible. Pick a person by your side that will get down in the dirt with you to get this done. I''m not trying to toot my own horn but had she picked another friend for the MOH, I doubt they would have gone into so much detailed planning as I have.

Oh and one of the biggest tools we''ve used so far is throwing in the fact that the wedding is 3 months away with vendors. We start off each conversation with "the chances of you getting business from someone else in this short of a notice is highly unlikely so work with me" and they have.

Good luck!

 

[bootsiekin]

haha! I had a similar experience. One of my BMs got engaged in September (of 05) and got married that December (I was her MOH). Her wedding was pretty small, I would say around 50 people and was pretty much just family. She used her family church and instead of a traditional reception, we had an Italian restaurant rented out and had a formal dinner. Unfortunately I cant comment too much on the vender availability, since she didn''t have a DJ or even a wedding cake, and her brothers friend was the photographer.

I''m not sure when in the winter you are thinking, but if its December I would say to find a venue and DJ first because they get booked for holiday parties. Though if you are thinking January or February, I think you should have some good options to choose from, since they are less popular months for weddings.

 

[luvthemstrawberries]

Thanks so far!

We are looking at January, maybe the 3rd, or possibly later in the month. I have had friends with weddings at the church fellowship hall, with no DJs. Two of them didn''t dance at all, and one played some CDs for just a few dances.

I''m torn between using a church or not for the ceremony, because I don''t have a home church anymore (left it a while back), but I LOVE the big organs and awesome architecture in some of the churches around here - hardly any decorations needed either because everything speaks for itself. But for the reception, I''d like to have it somewhere we can have some fun and make some special memories with my family and friends. We definitely do want some dancing, and some kind of cake. Probably a full meal too.

(I''m in central North Carolina. Since we''re looking at the winter, I''ve played with the idea of having the wedding at a ski resort in the state or possibly Snowshoe, WV. I just love the idea of actually having snow around us. Any idea if things like this take longer amounts of time to plan??)

 

[bootsiekin]

Date: 9/23/2008 1:11:46 PM
Author: luvthemstrawberries
Thanks so far!


We are looking at January, maybe the 3rd, or possibly later in the month. I have had friends with weddings at the church fellowship hall, with no DJs. Two of them didn''t dance at all, and one played some CDs for just a few dances.


I''m torn between using a church or not for the ceremony, because I don''t have a home church anymore (left it a while back), but I LOVE the big organs and awesome architecture in some of the churches around here - hardly any decorations needed either because everything speaks for itself. But for the reception, I''d like to have it somewhere we can have some fun and make some special memories with my family and friends. We definitely do want some dancing, and some kind of cake. Probably a full meal too.


(I''m in central North Carolina. Since we''re looking at the winter, I''ve played with the idea of having the wedding at a ski resort in the state or possibly Snowshoe, WV. I just love the idea of actually having snow around us. Any idea if things like this take longer amounts of time to plan??)

The ski resort idea sounds awesome! (can I come?

) Do you know if the resorts you are interested have a ballroom/banquet room space? There is definitely an abundance of cute winter wedding favors and decorations. If you are going to have it at the resort, I guess youd have to find a church nearby or forgo the church and have the ceremony at the same location..

 

[luvthemstrawberries]

I do know that some of them have banquet spaces. I''ve been to some of the smaller resorts on the East Coast before, but never to any of the ones I''m considering using. But according to their websites, a few of them have spaces. The one in West Virginia is my top pick, but it''s 5-6 hours away from here. I''d probably only get one trip up there for planning purposes. BUT it is so beautiful. They have a Catholic chapel that they allow to be used by all denominations (we''re not Catholic) - here is a picture:

 

[luvthemstrawberries]

I attached a picture of one of the awesome spaces they have for receptions (this is all assuming it''s available, of course). I also searched online and found a wedding website of a couple that got married up there during the summer. They show views inside the chapel, which is small but has beautiful architecture, and breathtaking views of the mountains from this reception place - the windows look out over this view and there is a veranda you see in the picture.

 

[luvthemstrawberries]

A big thing I''ve been thinking about with a short engagement is the notice to friends and family to make plans to come. Most of my family is in state but a few hours away, so they''d either have to stay the night or leave the wedding in time to get home that night (with kids). I love the idea of using a ski resort, but about half my family would probably complain about not being able to drive in the snow, and some of them would probably end up not coming because they often can''t really afford to pay for the hotel rooms (not cheap at ski resorts in winter). But I hate the idea of not having some of my family there just because of where I chose it to be instead of here in central NC at home.

Anyone with this experience?