All wedding plans have a beginning and an end.  When you are planning a wedding in a short time frame vs a longer engagement, you have to condense the timeline.  One of the most common place to begin planning your wedding surrounds choosing your actual wedding date.  When you sit with your fiance to have the “date” conversation, make sure it is during a time that you are both ready to have a (maybe) long conversation — don’t go into that conversation hungry, hurried or hassled.  When you think about how to plan a wedding in 6 months, make sure you look at the following 2 key points.

First item to consider – what date flexibility do you have to work with in choosing your wedding date?

Second item to consider – what is the budget

Choose Your  Date

If you are like many of us – you are trying to make everyone happy and take into account everyone’s schedule.   ***Spoiler Alert – you will not make everyone happy.  There – I said it.  Now back to your wedding plan.

Of course, you need to consider your VIP’s — those guests who MUST be present.  Only you and your fiance know who those people are that must have their schedule included in your planning session.  So back to the question – how much date flexibility do you have or do you need a very specific date?

Seasonality of your Date

Selecting your date can affect so many aspects of your wedding.  The size of your guest count. The vendor rates – think off-season vs prime season.  The season you select will determine what type of flowers are available, the attire that is more appropriate for that season as well as the menu constraints.

Budget Planning

Secondly – a very important part of planning your wedding is  planning your budget.   Yes, I know you have NO idea how much your wedding plan costs…….but you DO know how much you want to spend overall. Just like when you begin shopping for a car or any other bigger ticket item, you know where you need to end with your bottom line.

So drill down to THAT specific number.  Yes, you have to get out the calculator – but smart phones really are smart like that — not to mention all the amazing apps such as Mint.com available to help you with keeping up with All The Things.  No common core math needed – just plain ole addition, subtraction and multiplication is needed ( for the caterers).

Budget details can be a whole different post ( that we will come back to ) in itself.  How much you both personally want to spend vs who is going to help subsidize?  or are you supporting the whole day yourselves?

Wedding Priorities

Once you know the total investment that you have to work with – consider your priorities — what parts need more from the budget because it is a priority for you.    What if you revisited the memories of weddings and events that you have attended. Name top 3 things you really loved about that experience — was it the special musical piece of the ceremony, the delicious appetizers at cocktail hour or did you enjoy the type of music during the reception?

Other Considerations

Your wedding color scheme will lend more atmosphere than you might initially think. By adding pops of color you can pull a theme together or completely tear it apart. We suggest considering the season—oranges and reds might have an awkward presence on a ninety degree day in Nashville, but will fit in perfectly in sixty degree weather in October!