Wedding planning is always stressful for both the couple and the planner themselves. The chaos is almost constant as tastings, fittings, and other miscellaneous meetings begin to fill the schedule. Now combine that with multiple other clients and their weddings, and you may feel like you are living a nightmare.
Most event consultants, managers, and planners thrive off of this unpredictable chain of events. It is a balancing act that rewards the planner with an incredible amount of satisfaction when the wedding goes off without a hitch.
However, a shortened timeline always adds an extra degree of difficulty. That is why we here at Rent Letters have put together a short guide on how to plan the perfect wedding in under 6 months.
The Essentials
The first things to pin down are all of the necessities. Yes, a horse-drawn carriage covered in roses and thousands of twinkling lights is gorgeous, but is it critical? This is the question you need to be continually asking your client to remind them of what is most important for their big day.
Budget
Before anything can be determined for sure, you need to know what kind of budget you are working with. This will provide boundaries to your plan, which will significantly narrow down the number of decisions you and the couple have to make.
The Venue
Sometimes the venue may be the very reason behind a constricted time schedule. The couple may have only one place in which they wish to be married. In this case, everything else comes second to the venue. If the venue has already been selected and booked, great! If not, you need to get the ball rolling very soon.
Do not worry if you or your client are struggling to find a suitable venue. For more ideas about venues, check out a couple of our favorite articles like “Unique and Affordable Wedding Venue Ideas” and “How to Spot a Great Venue Before Visiting”.
Guest List
The next most important step is to find finalize the guest list. This list will work in tandem with the budget because it will give you a good idea of how much money you have left to spend once you subtract how much it will cost for each guest to attend.
Additional Vendors
After the budget, venue, and guest list have all been put into place, the next step is to hire any additional vendors. Florists, caterers, and entertainment are the most common additional aspects to a wedding.
A shortened timeline is a perfect proponent for creativity. If your preferred caterer or DJ isn’t available, no worries! Find something more unique and enjoyable like a food truck or a live orchestral band. The nice thing about these extra components is that they can be switched and substituted rather easily.
Smooth Sailing
Once you have reached this point, you now have way more flexibility. Things like the wedding registry and invitations are still very important, but they all pale in comparison to major factors like the venue and guest list.
From here, the best thing that you can do for yourself and the couple is to stay organized. Write everything down. Color code if you have to. Just do whatever it takes to remember as many details as possible because this is what will impress your client and allow the wedding to go as smoothly as possible.