Planning a Wedding on Short Notice - Part I

From the dress, to the location, to the flowers, to the makeup... planning even a normal wedding can seem like a vortex spiraling out of control (especially for your groom-to-be). And when you pack all of that into two months (or less), it is easy to feel like your head might explode. But let me tell you from experience--it can be done. Maybe it's not the most ideal thing for everyone, but it is possible. And believe it or not, it's even possible to do without throwing a dish at the wall (or something worse).

I'd like to introduce this topic as Part I of a series I will be writing over the next month. Consider it a "journal", if you will, of a bride-to-be on the fast track to her wedding day. I will be giving you tips to plan a wedding on short notice as well as little things I'm learning along the way. I think it's comforting for brides to know that there's someone out there who's done it (or is doing it) and can relate.

To begin, how do I know all of this?

I have been engaged to my fiance, Jordan, for a year and a month now. We have tried to plan many different dates over the course of the last 10 months, none of which worked out--for various reasons. Either his parents were going to be out of the country, or my parents didn't agree with it, or we didn't have the money. Finally, we just decided--alright--it's been over a year now. Let's get this thing moving!

Both sets of parents were equally surprised, I think, when we told them we had picked a date, and we weren't going to change it again. They tried to thwart our dastardly plans but we would not be had. So, eventually (eventually being within a few days to a week), they resigned themselves to the fact, and actually started to help us. Now this wasn't the end of the battle, of course, but it was a start at getting everyone to work together ...

From there, the wedding planning began. I already had my dress (from one of the previous times we tried to plan our wedding and almost succeeded), so that part was over--I strongly recommend to anyone who begins at the two-month mark like we did, to order your dress IMMEDIATELY (I got mine from bridalonlinestore.com)--but we still had a lot to do. I think the most stressful part of the first couple weeks was finding the location we wanted, and nailing down all the nitty-gritty details to make sure it would work. But we did that too! (Although it did take us pretty close to the one-month mark to finalize everything.)

The next thing was food. We looked at a few different caterers, but all of them were really expensive... and my parents didn't really have a whole lot to spare since everything was happening so quickly. We were almost to the point of just making everything ourselves, when I talked to my friend Elisha, who is getting married in November, and she referred me to an amazing, budget-conscious, super friendly caterer that we are now using as our own.

The important thing, though, is that I have never planned a wedding before. I've looked at many wedding magazines (as all brides-to-be--or girls, for that matter--have), but never actually sat down and tried to figure out details, or made a list of all the people we "must" invite, or argued over who to have officiate it, or what the bridesmaids should wear. This is all new to me. I'm not a professional at wedding planning. But at the same time, I'm telling you, you can do it too. You don't need to hire a professional to have a great wedding. It can be just as special and beautiful if you are the one to put the icing on the cake. (Not literally, of course, you should have one of your friends do that... but you get the idea.)

So, take a deep breath. Do you love this man? Are you going to cherish and honor him as long as you both shall live? Then two months of planning is really nothing at all, in light of how much you have ahead. Just think, you'll get to spend the rest of your life together! If you're ready, then by all means, don't hold back now ... Let's get planning!