A little vent and asking for advice

sofarawaykisses

I have been engaged sincee Dec 11th and am loving it!!! besides the fact that lil to nich of it has been planned. The date is set for April 23rd 2011, but it seems like a lot of other ladies like this date as well. This was suppose to be the first step to starting the planning progress but with going to school full time, and working 2 jobs I have not been able to begin until about 2 weeks ago. I am in the process of looking for a venue, but its such a pain in the butt because my fiances uncle is paying for it and told us to plan the wedding of our dreams, to a wedding that will surpass are needs. Along with this comes with trying to figure out how many people and sending invitations out to those flying in. My fiance wants around 200, and I am fine that but  once again planning two weddings for 200 and planning a wedding for less is difficult, because that also means two venues.Every place I have called is booked, so I am finding this is becoming more difficult.He is not sure how much he can pitch in so he asking for us to design two weddings and then based on his budget we'll pick one I am thrilled that he will pay for our wedding, just concerned about the date and other things! I am so thankful for his donation to such a special day. The problem is I dont have enough time to plan one wedding let alone two. I guess I don't know whats next! My fiance is a very laid back.. and it will work itself out type of guy. Which is good, besides now.  
A few questions! 1. Where are you getting married? I live in the tampa area and am willing to drive.2. Should the date be moved? Are we trying to pull the impossible. Thank yo

Theresa626

I really think you need to just ask him what his budget is and then plan for that.  It seems incredibly difficult and stressful to plan two weddings because you really can't move forward with anything till you have the venue but the venue is the most expensive part.  Also, April is really really soon. If you want to plan a wedding in six months, you need to be a dedicated planner and really hustle to get things done on time.  It sounds like you're really busy.  You should either hire a wedding planner (a full coordinator, not a day of) or you should move the date to at least August or July and start planning as much as possible now.  Also, come on here for any advice on budget planning etc,. we can really help you with that.  I don't have Tampa area suggestions though as most of us live in Orlando.  

irisheyezfsu

Why is it that there are two weddings?  Why can't you invite everyone you want to the one wedding. This will save time and money.  For Florida planning an April wedding might be cutting close if you are starting now.  Florida is very busy with local and destination brides. 

This board is great for vendor advice and budget issues plus venting I agree with Theresa that you should hire a full event coordinator if it is in your budget.  Most range from 4k to 5K for their full package.  They help you find all your vendors, negotiate contracts, get all the details set.  I am from orlando but currently live in DC area. My family is hiring one for our wedding because it cuts down a lot of our leg work and saves time and money for when I fly down to florida. 

ashbosity

I would say one of the only ways to make this work in time is if you find a venue and can book a package where all the major vendors are included. Some caterers also offer this, but you have to find a venue first. Your choices at this point for many vendors will be very limited. April is one of the most popular wedding months in Central Florida. Do you also realize that is the day before Easter, which will make things much more difficult? You probably can't even get a dress that has to be ordered on this short of notice, you'd probably have to get something that was a sample or used. I would definitely change your date and like the other ladies said, use a wedding planner if you have a large budget and not much time. Many popular venues in Orlando book up a year in advance, so 6 months probably isn't going to get you what you want.