Planning a wedding can feel overwhelming, especially when you see timelines suggesting 12-18 months of preparation. But don’t worry, it’s absolutely possible to plan a perfect wedding in 6 months or less! Many couples, and even wedding planners themselves, have successfully pulled off beautiful weddings with a shorter timeframe. If you’re facing a tighter deadline, here’s how to plan your dream wedding without the stress:
Can a wedding be planned in 6 months?
Absolutely! A fantastic wedding is achievable in 6 months, or even less if necessary. While you might need to be a little flexible on certain things, a beautiful and memorable wedding is definitely within reach. Just because typical planning timelines are longer doesn’t mean you can’t have what you want. It simply means vendor availability might be more limited.
How can I plan my wedding fast?
The key to fast wedding planning is to get started immediately and systematically check things off your list. Prioritize these three crucial elements right away:
- Wedding Budget: Determine how much you can realistically spend.
- Guest List: Decide who you want to celebrate with you.
- Type of Wedding: Define the overall style and feel you envision (formal, casual, big, small, etc.).
Setting your guest list and budget first is highly recommended. The number of guests directly impacts your budget, so these two should be considered together. For example, a 100-person guest list with a limited budget might mean opting for a cake reception instead of a full dinner.
What is the first thing you do when planning a wedding?
Once you’ve established your budget, guest list, and wedding vision, the real planning begins. The first major step is securing your venue.
Venue:
This is where flexibility is crucial. Many venues (and vendors) book up a year or more in advance. If you’re planning a wedding in under 6 months, be open-minded and consider venues you might not have initially thought of.
Tip: If you have a must-have vendor, especially a venue, contact them first to see what dates they have available within your timeframe. This might effectively set your wedding date, but it ensures you have that key element in place.
Using a Wedding Planner:
Don’t hesitate to use your favorite wedding planner! Simply adjust the timeline within the planner to reflect your 6-month (or shorter) planning period. This will help you stay organized and on track.
Planning a wedding can feel overwhelming, especially when you see timelines suggesting 12-18 months of preparation. But don’t worry, it’s absolutely possible to plan a perfect wedding in 6 months or less! Many couples, and even wedding planners themselves, have successfully pulled off beautiful weddings with a shorter timeframe. If you’re facing a tighter deadline, here’s how to plan your dream wedding without the stress:
Can a wedding be planned in 6 months?
Absolutely! A fantastic wedding is achievable in 6 months, or even less if necessary. While you might need to be a little flexible on certain things, a beautiful and memorable wedding is definitely within reach. Just because typical planning timelines are longer doesn’t mean you can’t have what you want. It simply means vendor availability might be more limited.
How can I plan my wedding fast?
The key to fast wedding planning is to get started immediately and systematically check things off your list. Prioritize these three crucial elements right away:
- Wedding Budget: Determine how much you can realistically spend.
- Guest List: Decide who you want to celebrate with you.
- Type of Wedding: Define the overall style and feel you envision (formal, casual, big, small, etc.).
Setting your guest list and budget first is highly recommended. The number of guests directly impacts your budget, so these two should be considered together. For example, a 100-person guest list with a limited budget might mean opting for a cake reception instead of a full dinner.
What is the first thing you do when planning a wedding?
Once you’ve established your budget, guest list, and wedding vision, the real planning begins. The first major step is securing your venue.
Venue:
This is where flexibility is crucial. Many venues (and vendors) book up a year or more in advance. If you’re planning a wedding in under 6 months, be open-minded and consider venues you might not have initially thought of. Finding your venue first is highly recommended as it will answer many questions, including which vendors you’ll need to hire and which are included in the venue package.
Tip: If you have a must-have vendor, especially a venue, contact them first to see what dates they have available within your timeframe. This might effectively set your wedding date, but it ensures you have that key element in place.
Setting Your Date:
You may not have your choice of the first date you want if all of your vendors are booked for that day. If you absolutely must get married on a specific day, it is definitely possible, you will just have to be that much more flexible when choosing your vendors. If you just have an idea of the month you want to get married in, it will be easier to have things fall into place.
Wedding Invitations:
After you have set your date and have your venue, you will want to give all your guests enough time to plan to come to your wedding…especially if they are coming from out of town. With a timeline of less than 6 months till your wedding, you will probably be skipping your Save the Dates, but we recommend sending your invites just a bit earlier than normal then. Invites are typically sent around the 3-month mark, but if you haven’t done Save the Dates, and your guests don’t know the date, we would recommend sending at least 4 months in advance.
Before you send your Invitations, you may want to set up your:
- Wedding Website: Your wedding website is for more information for your guests and can also be the place where they RSVP rather than having them send back an RSVP in the mail.
- Registry: You may want to add your Wedding Registry on your invitation as well, so you would want to have that set up so your guests can find it on the invitation.
Vendors:
Tip: We recommend joining Wedding Groups on Facebook and searching for local vendors you can hire. You can also send out a post asking if any specific vendor is available on your date. This can help make the process faster as well.
- Caterer: Depending on your venue, you may be able to or choose to bring in your own caterer. Your Venue may have a “Preferred Vendor List” that you can go off of to make this easier.
- Photographer and Videographer: When looking for your photographer and/or Videographer, you will want to send an inquiry to see if they are available while you are asking for their packages/pricing. You can quickly eliminate the options that are not available.
- Band/DJ: Be sure to book your Band and or DJ and any entertainment you want at your wedding as well. These tend to book quickly, so start your research, and reach out in Facebook groups as well, if you need help.
- Day of Coordinator: If you have the funds to get a Wedding Coordinator from the beginning, then do that. It can save you lots of stress to have a professional making sure you are doing everything you need within your timeline. If you are excited to plan your own wedding, go ahead and do your thing, but we HIGHLY recommend you book a Day of Coordinator. (Some venues will actually require it.) Your Day of Coordinator will allow you to be the bride and not worry about anything the day of the wedding. They will make sure everything runs smoothly, and we think they are essential to a great day!
- Flowers: If you are wanting to hire a florist for your wedding, be sure to book early as well. Especially if the florist is going to set up your wedding. DIY flowers can be so much more affordable.
- Officiant: Without your officiant, you can’t legally get married, so book one soon. If you have a home pastor from your church, you can ask if they are available, or you can find one online. You can also ask a close friend or family member to perform the service, but they will need to get their license online, so give them plenty of time to do so.
- Cake: If you have a specific idea for your cake, you’ll probably want a professional baker. Unless you have a family member or friend who can make it. Your Cake should be fairly easy to find, but make sure you ask the bakery how far in advance you should order your cake from them.
- Rentals: Again, depending on your venue and what they provide, you may need to hire a rental company. Rental companies can bring in chairs, tables, arch for the ceremony, bar, tableware, etc.
Wedding Attire:
- Wedding Dress: Depending on how much time you have for your wedding will determine where you can get your dress. Several wedding designers take anywhere from 3-9 months to order your dress. Don’t be afraid to buy “off the rack”. You can find great deals at bridal shops, or trunk shows as well. And there are several Facebook groups where brides are selling their dresses as well.
- Wedding Veil and Accessories: One of our favorite tips is to buy your veil on Amazon! You are almost guaranteed to get it in on time, since its Amazon, and they are sooo cheap there too. You will save tons of money than if you bought it from a bridal store.
- Groom’s Attire: The Groom’s Attire is actually probably one of the easier ones to get, since you can go to almost any tux rental shop, and have your tux within a week. However, you should choose the style and color, so you can plan your Bridal Attire. (Your Bridesmaid Dresses will probably take much longer than the groomsmen.)
- Bridal Party Attire: There are several ways you can do your bridesmaid dresses. If you have a specific dress you want all of your Bridesmaids to be wearing, you will want to set an appointment ASAP to get your girls fitted and the dresses ordered. Bridesmaid dresses don’t typically take as long as a wedding dress, but be sure to ask the shop how long you need to order them to get them in on time. If you are pressed for time, you can always go the Amazon route, get different dresses that are in the same color, or even ask your bridesmaids to find their own dresses according to your color.
The Details:
Once you have all of the above figured out, you can probably jump in a normal wedding planning timeline and finish up all your details. You’ll want to make sure you remember all the additional details including:
- Flower Girl and Ring Bearer Attire and Accessories (flower girl basket, ring bearer pillow)
- Guest Book
- Cake Cutting Utensils
- Toasting Glasses
- Centerpieces
- Send Off (Bubbles, Sparklers, etc.)
- Rings
- Song Lists (First Dance Song, Father/Daughter Dance, etc.)
- Place to Stay the Night
The Last Thing You Need to Know About Planning a Wedding in Less Than 6 Months
So yes, it is definitely possible to plan a wedding in less than 6 months. And you don’t have to be a stressed basket case the whole time. Just remember to write your list, and start checking things off as soon as you can. You may have to compromise on some vendors, your venue, or your date, but at the end of the day, you will be marrying your best friend and starting your life together…and that’s what it’s all about!
