Things can take a dramatic turn when you have less than a month to plan your wedding. Follow these simple steps, and make sure your special day goes off without a hitch.
Find a Venue
With a month before the big day, you can probably forget about your city’s most lavish churches and temples. They usually fill up months ahead of time.
Instead, look for alternative venues such as: parks, large backyards, museums, and historical buildings. When you get married will also affect your venue options. If you get married during the week (or at least not on a Saturday); you should have more options. Also, ask venues if they host morning weddings. Few couples book their weddings in the morning, so you could have your pick of locations.
Keep Your Wedding Party and Guest List Small
You don’t have a lot of time to invite distant relatives. Choose the people closest to you so you can keep the guest list as short as possible. Keep your wedding party small, too. It’s much easier and less stressful to coordinate the schedules of just 1 or 2 bridesmaids and groomsmen, so keep that in mind as time ticks down.
Get Your Clothes
Image via Flickr by Wonderland
With one month to plan, you can’t spend too much time looking for the perfect dress. There are plenty of discount design boutiques that have tons of beautiful gowns from last season for a fraction of the cost. You can also look online and have something delivered to you. Just have your measurements ready, and find a fast and dependable tailor, in case you need alterations made. The groom and his groomsmen can get off a bit easier by just renting a tux. They have tailors on site and the whole thing can be done in less than a week. If you’re not too picky about what your wedding party wears, just tell the bridesmaids your colors, and let them find dresses they like (and will actually wear again).
Find Hotels For Your Guests
If you have people coming in from out of town, then you will want to find cheap hotels that will make the trip affordable for them. You’re not exactly giving them a lot of time to save up for an extravagant trip, so it’s important to keep accommodations as affordable as possible. Make sure they book their rooms as soon as they can. Hotels can fill up quickly, especially if there are other events in town. A single conference could fill every room in a hotel.
Send Your Invitations
The day that you know your venue and where guests can stay, start working on your invitations. Unfortunately you don’t have time to pick out handcrafted and ornate cardstock with beautiful calligraphy, but that doesn’t mean they have to look cheap either. You can go to any local copy shop with your design, pick your paper, and have them print out as many copies as you need. Drop them off at the post office, and you’re home free.
Make Arrangements for Food
Unless you happen to get married in the middle of winter (the slow season); your area’s best caterers may not be available. A great catering business will have its schedule full more than a month in advance. So, what do you do? Look to non-traditional options. Ask local restaurants if they can cater your event. You might not get a full staff of waiters, but you could have a great buffet from your favorite restaurant.
If that doesn’t work, hold a potluck. It may seem kind of strange, but potluck receptions have become very popular recently. You can assign dishes to people on their invitations, or just leave it up to them. Just be sure to supply the main course so you’re not stuck eating 5 different kinds of potato salad.
A month may not seem like enough time, but with these simple steps, you can make your special day a reality.
