Planning a wedding in 4.5 months, or less?

[ChocolateLover]

My BF still hasn''t proposed (but has the ring. As we want to get married this year, we''ve been comparing venue''s and discussing dates. Our first choice has available weekends left in June or September. Many other venues are already completely booked for the summer. BF prefers the June date as the days are long, and we won''t end up spending our summer wedding planning.

I''m not sure I can find a dress that quickly as most new ones need 4 months to arrive & the used selection is slim in the "smaller" town I live in. Not to mention I still have to hold off telling my out of town family & friends about the date as we''re still not engaged!!

I''m stressed about this, but also somewhat amused. This type of planning, or lack thereof, describes my BF perfectly.

anyone else sense this sort of situation heading their way?

 

[Lauren8211]

I planned a wedding in less than 4 months. It wasn''t hard, granted I only had 35 people coming and no out of town guests except my parents.

The ONLY issue was the dress. I could not order one, so I had to buy a sample. That ended up not being a big deal since I''m generally about sample size, but I could see how it could definitely pose a problem. Also, my wedding was October.. and I imagine vendors are more available in October than they would be in June.

It''s definitely do-able!

 

[monkeyprincess]

Hi, I got engaged over New Years, and we're getting married in August. We officially set our date exactly 7 months before our wedding, which I feel is plenty of time to plan. One venue we considered only had two openings in June and no others until September 11th. I really liked the venue and debated it, but in the end, I decided 5 months just wouldn't be enough time for me to plan a wedding without being a complete stress case. I think it really depends on the size of wedding you want and your personality. One thing, I have a wedding dress appointment on Saturday, and when the lady I talked to asked when the wedding was, she acted like I was really cutting it close because she said you should plan on 6 months for a wedding dress if you are going to alter it in any way. Something to think about.

Oh, and tell your boyfriend to propose already!

 

[ChocolateLover]

Date: 1/13/2010 11:55:33 AM
Author: monkeyprincess
Oh, and tell your boyfriend to propose already!

LOL - if only!! I agree, I think we can plan the wedding in 4 months, but it would be a lot nicer to have 7. Sadly I think I''ll just end up having to buy a used or non-wedding dress. At least we''ll save money this way.

We''re going skiing this weekend, and I''m really hoping he''ll finally get on with it. Our first real date was a weekend ski trip, so I think it would be a romantic gesture!

 

[Laila619]

Well I planned a wedding in 5 months for 130 people, and while it was stressful, it was doable. Ordering the dress would be your number one priority because, as you said, it can take a while for a dress to come in.

 

[Bella_mezzo]

We planned ours in 6 weeks and it was truly the wedding of our dreams! We loved it! I got my dress on ebay which saved a ton of money and didn''t make time an issues except...I got it two and a half years earlier when he first said that he was going to propose. (he ended up being out of work for a year and half after that which kind of threw a wrench in things

If you love a dress I''d order it now or get one off the rack, like Davids Bridal, or from ebay.

Are you planning a big formal wedding with a couture dress? and/or do you want the big girly dress shopping trip with your mom/friends to only happen after you are engaged? That''s really the only scenario where I''d see an issue...personally I wanted to get the dress on my own so it wasn''t a big deal...

 

[TooPatient]

You might consider buying your dress now. Even before he proposes. (you wouldn''t be the first LIW to do this)

 

[4ever]

I think it can be done.

If your willing to be a bit flexable about the dress that would help. The smaller the wedding I guess the easyer and the less out of town guests. It can be done.

Hopefully your bf will get a move on with the proposal.

 

[LilyKat]

Yes, it can easily be done, provided you're flexible. You may not get your first choice venue or first choice date - but if this doesn't bother you, and you're not the obsessive type, it is absolutely possible.

I would consider having a Sunday or Friday wedding - venues and vendors are often not booked for these even quite close to the date in the popular months, so you'll have a lot more choice (not just with the venue but also with the photographer, florist etc).

With the dress - honestly, when I look at the dresses on that brides here post, I really can't tell the difference between those who've spent months and thousands of dollars on finding and fitting the perfect dress, and those who've bought something off the rack/eBay/a sample gown - they all just look glowing and gorgeous! As long as you're flexible, you can easily find something within your timeframe. I would encourage you to look at preowned dresses (mine is, and fits perfectly with no alterations) as a way of saving time as well as money.

 

[vc10um]

Date: 1/13/2010 5:02:21 PM
Author: LilyKat
Yes, it can easily be done, provided you''re flexible. You may not get your first choice venue or first choice date - but if this doesn''t bother you, and you''re not the obsessive type, it is absolutely possible.

I would consider having a Sunday or Friday wedding - venues and vendors are often not booked for these even quite close to the date in the popular months, so you''ll have a lot more choice (not just with the venue but also with the photographer, florist etc).

With the dress - honestly, when I look at the dresses on that brides here post, I really can''t tell the difference between those who''ve spent months and thousands of dollars on finding and fitting the perfect dress, and those who''ve bought something off the rack/eBay/a sample gown - they all just look glowing and gorgeous! As long as you''re flexible, you can easily find something within your timeframe. I would encourage you to look at preowned dresses (mine is, and fits perfectly with no alterations) as a way of saving time as well as money.

Ditto to all this. And also, a LOT of BM dresses come in white/ivory/cream/champagne, and those come in a lot quicker, generally, than wedding dresses, so don''t be afraid to scope those out as well!

 

[AustenNut]

You''ve gotten some really great advice so far. I think that 4.5 months is doable. But before you go shopping for anything (dress, venue, etc) I would try and figure out what your budget for the wedding is going to be. Once you have a ballpark budget you can figure out how much to spend on the various things (including your dress). That way you don''t fall in love with a dress that will not work for you at all. Also, in addition to ebay/sample dresses, etc, are there any family dresses that would be possibilities?

 

[Bella_mezzo]

Yes, get a sense of your budget and general vibe as soon as possible, then you can research vendors and get a dress earlier rather than later. We really didn''t feel rushed at all planning ours in 6 weeks and we had a semi-formal brunch with dancing for 145 people and we stuck to our budget (well, pretty close)

 

[crossmyfingers]

Hey ChocolateLover. You said venues were booked through September, other than one weekend in June. Are you absolutely set on the day of the week you''ve picked? I assume you''re planning on a Saturday, but what about a Sunday? I want to get married on a Sunday (at least I think, so far, lol) and I know venues I''ve looked at here have a *lot* more availability then than on Saturdays. Just a possibility. Might not work for you, but maybe it''ll help.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

We planned our wedding in 7 months, but the dress and venue were the only things I booked before the 3-month mark. Since you already know the venue, then it really just does come down to the dress. I second those who suggested ordering a bridesmaid''s dress in ivory or white if you can''t find a sample you love. I''ve seen many bridesmaid''s dresses that look identical to a wedding dress, but usually they come in within 2 months and are such a great cost-saving solution.

I wouldn''t sweat the vendors. There are so many wedding vendors out there, I don''t know of anybody who couldn''t find a photographer/caterer/officiant/etc. even at the very last minute. Four months is plenty of time!

 

[KimberlyH]

We planned our wedding over a 7 month period, but didn''t do a single wedding-related thing for several of those months. We didn''t have a lot of guests, but had all the same vendors/needs as a larger wedding would. I definitely think 4 months is reasonable. If you''re concerned about particulars I''d have a discussion with your boyfriend about getting started now with the things you''re afraid won''t get done: set the budget, dress shop, nail down the venue.

 

[ChocolateLover]

Thanks for all the tips and advice!!

we''re not set on one particular date, the June thing came up because one venue we like is fully booked for the summer, except that June date. We''re starting to re-think though, just feeling too pressured to make a decision so quickly.

I think we DO need to set a budget asap, right now its all over the place. What we can afford is different than what we want to spend... we need to sort out our financial priorities for this year (should we save for a wedding or more home renovations?).

We live on an Island, in a smaller city - and have a limited number of venue options compared to many other places. The selection in used dresses is also limited (and I have NO problems with used). I''d love to head over to somewhere bigger and look for a sample, or used dress - but I''m not sure the cost is justified. It costs $160 just to get on/off this island!! So, maybe I''m better just buying new? We have about 3 dress shops in town, and they only carry samples in sizes much to large for me.

But, I could certainly order online... especially now that i have a better idea of what I like and what fits! And yes, I have already tried on a few dresses. One pre-owned and a few new. I''m found a couple in the $1000 I like, but would really prefer to spend around $500.

Thanks for all the advice, much appreciated!!