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How to plan a wedding in under 3 months

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When I got engaged I honestly just wanted to get married as soon as possible. I often joke (or do I?) that I got married within 4 months after getting engaged, because I was scared my now-husband would change his mind.

We’d been dating for four and half years by that point, you see, and I was getting crazy.

A long drawn-out engagement or planning process might seem daunting or maybe you just need to get married quickly for other reasons. It’s not impossible. Heck, it’s not even that difficult.

Here’s the lowdown.

1.  Choose the two most important things and start from there

Let’s be honest – if you’re planning a wedding in three months, you won’t be getting your first choice of everything (unless you’re super famous or have bucket loads of money). Pick two things that are super important to you and work from there. For me it was the venue and the photographer.

I had a specific photographer in mind and asked which dates he still had open. With those dates in mind I started approaching venues. This is possibly one of the trickiest parts of planning a wedding in a short period of time, because popular venues tend to get booked out fairly quickly.

Fortunately, there are loads of new venues opening constantly. You might just need to move away from the more popular options and into the unknown.

2. Guest list and invites

As the general rule is to send out your invites 6 weeks before the wedding, get on that – stat. Especially if you plan to send out hard copy invites (as opposed to e-invites). First, set up a guest list (keeping in mind how many people your venue can accommodate).

If you are going the hard copy/paper route, it’s a good idea to let your guests know you’re inviting them before they actually get the invite (especially since it’s a wedding planned in a shorter time than others). Consider sending electronic save the dates.

The other unfortunate consequence of planning a wedding in a short period of time is that many guests will have possibly made other plans by that time or won’t be able to make travel arrangements so quickly.

3.  Outsource

Outsource as much as possible. If your venue has the option of giving food and you’re not obsessed about a certain caterer, go for the venue option. It saves time searching for a caterer. In fact, try to outsource the things you’re not that bothered about as much as you can.

Not overly bothered about doing your own décor? Hire someone to do it. Or rope in as many people as you can to do it for you. You could even hire a wedding planner to do most of the planning for you.

Three things I love. 1. Cute notebooks 2. Making lists 3. My fiancé So naturally this book spoke to me haha.

A photo posted by Amanda D (@excusememissfit) on


4.  Lists and planners

The three months leading up to your wedding will probably be quite fast paced. Consider searching and downloading a wedding to-do list.

Some of these might have preferred time periods for when you should be doing a certain item. ‘At 18 months before your wedding you should set your budget.’ Pffft. Ignore that. Own wedding, own rules.

On the topic of lists, keep detailed plans of what you’re doing and of your expenses. An excel spreadsheet could be your best friend.

5.  Don’t panic and be realistic

Many people will ask you why you’ve ‘waited so long’ before contacting them. Don’t let it go to your head. It really is possible (and fun) planning your wedding in a short period of time.

Remember to be realistic about your time and about you circumstances. Having less time to plan, means you’ll probably need to compromise often and that’s fine.

There are many other vendors out there.

Similarly, if you can’t afford that fancy dress or hotel, let it go. Weddings have a tendency to make people crazy. Relax. Breathe. You can do this.

After all, it's not about the wedding. It's about the marriage.

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