Wedding Blog

Getting this event together in only a few months means there are a few things that I have to keep in mind as I proceed.

First, priority. Decide which things are important to you. For Mr. Robin and myself, this is setting and food. With only a little over three months after we arrived back engaged from Mexico, a venue was actually the first thing that needed attention. I would definitely recommend making the decision quickly as possible because wedding venues tend to fill up sometimes as far as 18 months in advance. If you only have a handful of weeks like me, don’t lose hope, think outside the norm. I was looking at barns, warehouses, empty retail space downtown - if you could pack 140 people in it and have it look pretty cool, I looked at it.

What I ended up with is the lobby of a theater. You’d be surprised at what you can find - a family friend got married underneath the Broadway Bridge. And spaces like these are often available much closer to the wedding date.

After we nailed down a setting, we contacted the caterer because it was the next priority. We actually know someone who works for one of the only four caterers that are allowed at the Armory. The Vibrant Table does amazing food and events. They are not really just a caterer - they will help you plan out the mood and theme of your event, help you keep the details of the schedule for the day and even find other vendors for you.

They are not the cheapest caterer in town, but the premium is definitely worth it for me, and not really for the event planning aspect, but the food, oh the food! If you are going to have a short engagement then finding a vendor that can fill more than one role will save you some headaches, but maybe not money.

Second, Flexibility. With a short planning time like this you cannot fall too much in love with anything. It may turn out that it is just not possible in such a short amount of time, without incurring considerable extra cost. One thing that I seriously lusted for were Lynn Lugo bridesmaids dresses. However, upon visiting the site there were several barriers to this becoming reality. One, there are only two shops that carry her line and neither is very convenient for my maids. Two, the larger barrier was the ordering notice on the site: “you should order your dresses at least 18 weeks from your actual wedding date to allow for shipping time and alterations.”

I didn’t even have 18 weeks between my engagement and wedding! So I let them go, because it is important to be flexible. My advice is that if it won’t ruin your day not to have something, then forget it because it may not be worth it.

Lastly, do your homework. Everything will take longer if you don’t walk into a meeting having a good idea of what you want. Vendors will try to help you, but often they don’t have a clear pictures of your style, or some will try to take advantage of your lack of preparation to try and upsell you to higher priced packages. So with an idea of what you want to spend, bring examples of things you like - paint swatches of wedding colors, magazine spreads that evoke the color or theme that you need, etc. I have brought this one before to vendor meetings:

I think it captures the vintage modern style I am looking for, and is the exact color scheme. A picture is worth a thousand word when you are trying to describe your theme. I was actually really excited to see the inspiration board blog Snippet & Ink that Mrs. Bee posted a few day ago. I can’t wait to make one!

Hammering out the basic details of vendors quickly, and without confusion, will allow me to do some of the DIY projects that I would like to do in the last two months. This includes having a friend who is a graphic designer help me do my invites, creating the centerpieces with my mother, doing the ceremony programs by hand, and I am sure I will think of others. Way too many others.

Anyone else have short-term planning tips?