Is it possible to plan a wedding in 8 weeks?

[weddingplannc]

An opening came up at my local church for the weekend of mine and DP's 10-year anniversary this year (June 15th). We were supposed to be having a party at my parent's house anyway with some family and friends; kind of to celebrate an engagement/anniversary/both of our 25th birthdays. It's 8 weeks on Saturday. And I just bloody booked it. It seemed like too much of a coincidence not to.

I rang DP at work, he said to go for it, but he won't be home until 11pm tonight and I'm freaking myself out. I think we're going to have to go on a ringing spree over the weekend to invite anyone else we want there.

Where do I start? What do I do? I feel like I'm already wasting so much time. Oh GOD. Why have I done this? It is such a ME thing to do.

Any advice? Anyone done anything similar? Anyone want to comfort me?

Wow. I guess it’s possible as long as you‘re not too fussy with where you’ll have your reception or whether you’ll find suppliers for everything?

• reception / catering
• wedding dress (something off peg) and alterations, grooms suit
• photographer
• choose and inform bridesmaid(s)/groomsmen
• flowers / entertainment etc

It might be tricky because June is busy for weddings but good luck to you!

Do it. What do you really really need. Just you, family and DH. You can get a dress off the peg, have a laugh, I can imagine worse ways to get married. Just think how freeing it will be not agonising over everything and just making snap decisions.

I did it in ten. It’s fine.
First thing, get a save the date out basically straight away - even if you can’t completely finalise the list you will know your “must haves”.
Can you do the reception at your parents’ house? If so that really takes pressure off.
Buy a lovely high street dress.
Book a photographer.

Done.

Yep, I planned my wedding for over 100 people in 5 weeks!
Email invitations (paperlesspost are good). Spend a day ringing round photographers, florists, caterers etc and get all that booked first. Once all the big stuff is in place you can enjoy choosing your dress etc without stressing too much over the other details.

Oh and don’t get hung up on a colour theme. I went for all pretty pale whites, creams, blush etc so it looked lovely together but didn’t matter that it wasn’t perfectly matched.

Good luck and enjoy

yes I did mine in 12 weeks,
the minister at church was a friend of mine .... he owed me for lots of babysitting his kids so church cost was £0

1. keep guest list small ideally under 20-25

2.buy dress off peg get local dressmaker to do minor alterations get DP to buy suit or whatever

1. if your parents place is not suitable just book a restaurant for a large group meal then nearer the time let on its a wedding and ask will they cut cake
2. you can print everything yourselves invites service sheets etc we did just got nice parchment style paper from paperchase

5 my sisters were bridesmaids I asked them to get something they would wear again but would fit in with colours rich cream brown a little gold and pale pink ( even with 2 years I could never have got dresses that suited them all

1. my sister took the photographs with a decent digital not quite a SLR but in between compact and SLR

7 I made my own cake 8 we used our own cars with ribbons

we did all that including a week self catering in France for £2000 ( we did not have a dance or evening reception)

We can definitely have the reception at my parents house. Confirmed that this evening with my mum. They live rurally and have a small holding with a currently unused field that we could use for a marquee... if we can get a marquee of course. God knows what we will do if we can't.

We've already got caterers booked for the original party but just for a canapés/drinks reception type thing so my mum is going to call tomorrow and see if they're able to provide staff/food for a bigger event.

My sister and her husband are wedding photographers so that's sorted (I only want a few shots of me before with bridesmaids and parents, and coming out of church with my new husband really - after that I'm happy with just guest snaps). I'll have to ask them if they mind but fingers crossed they'll help me out or be able to recommend someone with availability. They're pretty good for connections actually so I'll ring her in the morning.

This doesn't feel so scary anymore. I'm so overwhelmed but equally fairly relaxed. Whatever happens I'm getting married in 8 weeks!

I organised a full white wedding for over 200 people from all over the world in 16 weeks. It's not easy but it can be done:

Dress - ex samples, off the peg high street or (carefully) buying online all possible but ASAP in case it needs altered. You'd actually be timing it really well in terms of ex sample stock as boutiques will be clearing stock for new season samples for the high season. In fact I would recommend if possible you head to places this weekend (you may need to make appointments with the better boutiques but they also have the nicer dresses which also get marked down a LOT at this time of year. You could easily get a dress with a rrp of a few £1000 for just a few hundred. Also don't be afraid to haggle they're used to it, if they won't haggle on price try getting accessories thrown in)

Ditto bridesmaids dresses. You may have to compromise by eg having them all in same style but different colours or vice versa

Menswear - again entirely possible as long as you're flexible but get it sorted ASAP.

Cake - you don't need to use wedding bakers, a simple but elegant design can be made by any baker

Flowers - again simple requests can be fulfilled by any florist

Transport - be open minded and consider all options - there's actually some really fun ideas out there like vw campers or cartoon based ones - but get it booked ASAP. Or else just borrow a friends/relatives higher end car and decorate. Ribbon is easy to get.

Photographer - you have sorted.

Catering - if you stick to a party at home this can be achieved relatively easily, keep it simple and cover the main likes and don't go for anything niche. Meat, fish and veggie options, plenty of sides plenty of carbs. Red and white wine, something sparkling for toasts (most people really can't taste the difference between champagne and cava!), most commonly drunk spirits (vodka, gin, rum) and mixers, a decent lager for the beer drinkers would usually be adequate.

Entertainment - again if you're doing at home adding to a playlist while you're chilling of an evening (mners will be happy to make suggestions) that you can then play through good speakers will be enough.

Decorations - can I suggest Easter colours? Yellows and pale oranges then you will be able to snap up a load of cheap decorations next week. I did something similar.

Stationery - the only essential stationery is invites. These can easily and relatively cheaply be picked up in card shops, stationers and dept stores. Or print your own - plenty of templates online. If you wish get special pens to write them out with - silver/gold, calligraphy markers etc orders of service are not essential, the church can direct people to the right page in hymn books and most services are fairly easy to follow.

Email - the problem with that is a lot of people no longer check their emails regularly and older guests may not have email at all. Plus it is a nice little keepsake for guests.

It can be done. But you have to be super organised.

I would say start a hard copy folder for everything (to store contracts etc) and start if you haven't already a shared calendar with your fiancé so you both know when appointments are etc (my ex forgot to book a day off to get the licence/banns bit sorted and had to pull a sickie! If he hadn't we couldn't have kept the date)

@Graphista you are amazing. Thank you.

DP has pretty much given me the go-ahead to organise everything, so today has been full steam ahead.

I ordered some invitations online that should arrive on Tuesday. We (my mum, dad, sister and I) have already called around most of the family today to give them the heads up. Everyone is excited so it's given me a bit of a boost.

My mum and I were originally going to make the bridesmaids dresses and my own (just simple slip dresses with a lace overlay for church) but not sure if we have time now so am looking for other options.

Have had no luck with sourcing a marquee but there are still quite a few places to try. Not sure if we need a big one to have a party in, or if a couple of smaller ones set up closer to the house would be better.

Marquees - think outside the box. There's your usual event suppliers but also consider asking charities and other organisations that may have their own for events if you can borrow their in return for a donation to the organisation - eg bowls, cricket, rowing and golf clubs, scouts/guides - putting the word out can have surprising results. And people actually love to help. Just be sure to remind your fiancé to thank them in his speech too.

Making dresses I don't think you have time to be honest it's a big commitment and most people aren't used to working with the fabrics involved which are very difficult to work with and difficult to repair. It's extremely physically demanding work and very hard on the eyes which can result in major headaches. Personally I'd recommend boutique or high street. Remember too if you buy dresses on the high street you can still take to a bridal seamstress (I wouldn't use a normal high street seamstress) to alter either for size or to change a styling element. They won't care you bought on the high street and they can be extremely talented at how much they can change a dress. I've been completely amazed at how they've been able to change eg a princess Diana style meringue into a strapless modern elegant gown. Straps and sleeves and necklines and length can all be altered. Usually too if you find a dress you like it can be taken in by a good seamstress by up to 3 a sizes, letting out is trickier as you can't magic fabric out of thin air. So if you find a dress that you like but it's too big don't write it off immediately. You may even find a dress that's supposedly a bridesmaid dress but is in a colour that you like/is bridal and would suit. So be open minded.

Also traditional wedding gowns aren't a style we regularly wear so we don't necessarily know what will suit us - that's another good reason to head to boutiques to try the different styles on. As a bride I was very slim at the time and column dresses were "in" and I got my mind set on that style - but I'm also only 5'2" and when i actually tried them on realised I basically looked like I was trying to be invisible! I've since worked in the industry (could you guess?) and many brides have set out with an idea of a style they like or thought would suit they're figure only to struggle to find a dress they liked/suited them. I was able on several occasions to persuade them to try a style that from experience I knew would suit their figure and personal style, they were often unsure at first...and then when they tried them on - perfect! So many times I heard "I would never have thought of trying that style" when it turned out to be really flattering on them. Sorry I'm waffling on but I LOVED that job it was so much fun. I loved helping couples make their wedding day just right for them.

Boutiques also have pedestals so you can see how the skirt falls properly (samples/dresses are originally made to fit very tall ladies as obviously it's easier to shorten a dress) and plenty of full length mirrors so you can see from all angles. Plus you can try on with various accessories usually too - shoes, veils, tiaras etc

Keep detailed accurate notes (I cocked up on the transport and noted one companies name against another's phone number and almost lost my booking as a result. It was only thanks to my lovely mum's excellent negotiation skills it was saved)

Should have said that my mum has been making dresses for 50 years (makes her own ball gowns/made my prom and graduation dresses etc - she made her own wedding dress actually!) and I've been helping her for 20, so she will probably make mine, but yes I think adding in bridesmaids too would be too much in the short space of time so will be looking to the high street. Mum will have a fit but I need her help with other things honestly!

Yes about keeping detailed notes too @Graphista - but I have no idea where to start! Fab ideas re marquees too - thank you!

Totally possible- my grandmother did hers in three (admittedly this was in the 50s) as my grandfather was in the navy and only got short notice of shore leave.

How very exciting. Go for it and I'm sure you'll have a lovely day. You sound very well organised already!