When my partner and I got engaged, we toyed with the idea of having a very traditional wedding. We thought of touring venues, trying catering, table settings, linens, the DJ, save the dates… It all felt very overwhelming and VERY expensive. So we decided we would go small and have a backyard BBQ wedding. The thought was less stress and more fun! And so, these are the things I learned while trying to plan a wedding in two months.
There is a lot to do my dear!
There's so much more that goes into planning a wedding than you think! My Husband and I secured the table/chair rental and the caterer after about two weeks. And we thought “We are pretty much all done!” Boy was that silly. What about plates/cutlery? What about the music? Drinks? Are you going to have a photographer? What about decor? Are you going to have interactive games? Where are people going to pee!?
We quickly were slapped with the realization that we had barely scratched the surface, and were now only 6 weeks away. If you are planning a wedding in a short amount of time, try to think of the play-by-play guest experience, and that will help you make a list of all the things you need.
Example: “My guests come back from the ceremony and are going to grab some appetizers.” You now realize you need small appetizer plates and extra forks/napkins. Doing this can help you and your fiance think of the small things you need, that you may have overlooked.
Caterers Book Fast!
Trying to find a caterer who wasn't already booked felt nearly impossible. Make sure you make finding a caterer priority numero uno. We called many caterers and none were available for our date, which isn't surprising how last minute it was. If all traditional caterers are booked, think outside of the box! My husband and I ended up going with a food truck, who had never worked a wedding before! He had great reviews and had our date available so we quickly tried the food and booked him ASAP. The food ended up being amazing, the service smooth, and there was more than enough leftovers to go around!
Be Flexible
Because we only had two months to plan, we couldn't be too picky when it came to some details of our wedding. Like I said above, finding a caterer was rather tricky. So once we found a great food truck that had the day open, we were sold! And when it came to decor, we tried not to stress trying to make everything match, or even have a theme. I made some simple dollar store centerpieces, and just made sure we had enough plates, silverware, and napkins for all. There was no time to ponder whether we could find a better ‘this or that’ somewhere else, we saw it, it worked, we grabbed it. Be flexible when it comes to decision making, you don't have the time to hold out for those specific color cups that are out of stock, get what you can and your day will still be perfect.
Accept The Help
My Husband and I are both pretty stubborn, and we both felt like this was our decision to get married at the last minute and so we needed to make it happen. So when help was offered, we shied away at first. We would say things like “no need, just come to the wedding and have a good time” and “don’t worry about it, just come and have fun.” But when the list of ‘To Dos’ became longer and longer, and the date became closer and closer, we realized we needed backup. All the family that came rushing forward to help, was heartwarming. And we quickly realized people were not offering to help because they felt obligated, but because they genuinely WANTED to help make our day come to life. So if you're planning any type of big event, save yourself a lot of stress and anxiety and accept the help when it is offered.
In the end our wedding ended up being everything we dreamed of and more. It was perfect because not only was it a celebration of our love, but because seeing all our hard work and planning come together made it that much more special.
