How to Plan a Wedding in 6 Months or Less

Can you really plan a wedding in only 6 months? The only true requirements for a wedding are the marriage license, an officiant and a ceremony. As long as you start with that - you’ve got a wedding!

No matter how much time you have, begin by booking your ceremony venue and officiant. As soon as you’ve got that covered, you can find your reception venue. Once you’ve chosen both your wedding venues, the rest is just shopping. You can start shopping around for vendors. Then go shopping for clothes, and any accessories you want to buy for your wedding. You can absolutely do that in six months - or even less.

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How Long Does it Take to Plan a Wedding?

A year is recommended because some things will take time. If it’s important for you to have a popular wedding venue, you might need to book it a year in advance. Or if you want to wear a designer dress, you probably do need to order it 12 months ahead. But if you’re more flexible, you can definitely plan a wedding in a lot less time.

If you want to plan with less than a year, you can choose the best venue you find that’s available on your date. You can order a dress off the rack, from a department store, or even online. As long as you’ve got a marriage license and an officiant, the rest of the plan can be made up as you go.

Prioritize Your To Do List

If you only have six months to plan, you can’t spend too much time on the smaller details. You’ll need to start with the most important items first. That way, if you run out of time, you’ll still have enough in place to get married. As long as you’ve got a marriage license, an officiant and a place to hold your ceremony, your wedding is on.

Once you’ve got your wedding ceremony planned, you can book your reception venue and start thinking about the menu. Next you can hire your vendors and start your wedding shopping. Keep moving down the list and you’ll have everything organized before you know it.

Priority Checklist For a Short Engagement

1. Book Your Ceremony

Plan to apply for your marriage license within 90 days of your wedding.
Book the venue for your wedding ceremony.
Find your officiant and reserve your date.
If you’re getting married at your place of worship, find out if there’s a requirement for premarital classes or counseling. Make sure to complete it in time.

2. Book Your Reception Venue

Find the venue for your wedding reception.
Book a caterer, if the venue doesn’t have one in house.
If you’ll need any rentals, reserve them asap
Book transportation from your ceremony to your reception

3. Book Your Vendors

Hair and makeup
Day-of coordinator
Photographer
DJ
Baker
Florist

4. Start Your Wedding Shopping

Wedding rings
Wedding dress
Bridesmaid dresses
Menswear for the groom and groomsmen
Invitations
Thank you cards
Postage stamps
Guest book
Favors for your guests
Gifts for your parents
Gifts for your bridal party
Gifts for each other

Ready to start planning? Check out this wedding planner. It’s arranged in exactly the right order - start at the beginning and work your way through: The Short Engagement Wedding Planner - available now on Amazon

How to Save For a Wedding in 6 Months

No matter how long you have to plan, the first thing to do is set your budget. You need to decide how much you want to spend on your wedding. The best way to figure out how much you can afford is by sitting down and doing the math:

Check your accounts and see how much you already have saved. Talk to your parents to find out if they can contribute. Then decide how much you can save up in the time you have until your wedding.
Remember to think about your cash flow, too. In simple math, we can figure out how much to save each week, then multiply it to get our total budget. But the total budget doesn’t come due all at once.
You need to put deposits down on everything when you book it. Most venues, caterers and vendors will ask for a deposit of 30 to 50 percent. Make sure you have some cash available to pay it when you sign the contracts.
Some bigger expenses, like your venue or caterer might ask you to agree to a payment plan. Instead of paying one big bill at the end, you’ll send 3 or more payments in the time leading up to your wedding. As long as you’ll have the cash in time, it’s better to avoid a huge expense the day after your wedding.
As you book your wedding venues and vendors, add notes to your calendar so you’ll remember when each payment is due.

How to Plan a Wedding in 6 Months if You’re on a Budget

Planning a wedding in a shorter time could end up saving you money. As long as you don’t panic. Once you’ve decided on your budget, stick to it. Remember, the only thing that is truly mandatory for your wedding is your officiant and your marriage license. Everything else is optional. Start with your highest priority and book that. If you’ve still got time and money, move on to your next priority.

Most of your guests will know that you planned quickly, so if you do miss or skip something, you can blame it on that. If you don’t have time to find a fancy cake knife - don’t worry about it. Spend your time on the big picture items that are most important to you.

Find Your Wedding Venue

The toughest decision - and most expensive - is probably going to be your reception venue. Start by deciding on your date, the number of guests and how much you want to spend. If you have some alternative dates in mind it’ll be easier to find a venue. Next, make a big list of all the venues that might be right for your wedding. Then work your way through them.

Call or check their websites to get the details:

Is your date available?
Is the venue the right size for your guest list?
Does it fit your budget?

If the venue might work, add it to your short list. As soon as you realize one is too expensive, too small or unavailable, cross it off and move on. Don’t spend time trying to make it work, just cross it off and move on to the next. Keep going until you find the one that works for you.

Tips For Finding an Affordable Venue Fast

Look for an all inclusive wedding venue. If you can get one price, it’ll be easier to stick to your budget.
If prices at a ballrooms or banquet halls are too high, consider having your wedding on another day. Some venues will offer discounts if you book on a weekday instead of the weekend.
Look for less traditional venues. You can plan your wedding at a community center, a bed and breakfast or even a restaurant and save a lot of money.
Think about serving a meal that’s not dinner. Dinner is the most expensive meal to cater. You could plan a brunch wedding or a cocktail party wedding instead.
Consider doing DIY or semi DIY for your wedding food. If a traditional caterer is too expensive, you can order dishes from a local restaurant and serve it to your guests buffet style.

There’s a lot of details to keep track of, but if you stick to your priorities, you can get it all done in time. Don’t overthink things and remember what’s important - at the end of the day you’ll be married!

Want more info, tips, checklists and worksheets? The Short Engagement Wedding Planner is designed to help you plan a wedding in 6 months or less:

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