long-distance wedding planning?

frostedkels

i was just wondering if there were any other students here who are planning a wedding away from school? my fiance's family is from tampa, which is where we want to have the wedding. however, i go to school at UF- which is a 2 hour drive from tampa.

are there any others who commute to plan your wedding? do you find yourself hopping from one vendor to the next every weekend or do you plan at school for the most part?

JessicaJones0930

I am going to school in Washington D.C. and am planning a wedding back in Tennessee.  My fiance and I are both from Tennessee, but both in grad school (law for me and medicine for him).

I basically just made a checklist of all the big items that need to be decided on and then designated a school break or weekend to handle those items.  

That way, despite school work and everything, I have a set time and time-line for all the big decisions.  Whenever I have free time, I can think about and plan the other little things.

Since my family and my fiance's family is in Tennessee, they're helpful whenever there's something that needs attention, but I can't get to.

I'm not sure how close you are with your fiance's family, but if they're in Tampa, you might try coordinating with them on things that you just don't have time to be there in person for.

SteveandKris

i'm writing on little sleep, so forgive me if this comes out bitchy... but how is this question different then the one you asked two posts down? 

check out your local board, vendors might be closer to you (for interview purposes) and still not have a travel fee to tampa...

if you really don't think you'll have time, plan the wedding for 2012...

GJones27

Yup, that's us.  The wedding will be in my hometown of San Francisco.  I work but am applying for law school in Washington, DC.  My fiance will be a first year grad student in business school in Boston.  It's tough coordinating everything!

diamondx423

Yup. FI and I live in Delaware for grad school and our wedding is in North Jersey about 2.5 hours away. We look at most things online and rely on our local board for help. Its not that hard to do.

jferlenda

Yup.  I go to school almost 2 hours from my hometown where our wedding will be.  I'm trying to do as much as I can over the summer.  At least things that need visits in person.  You should try spending a good chunk of time in Tampa with his family so that you can do a bunch of visits together.  My FI was just here for the weekend and thats what we did.  Just make sure when you're packing them all together like that that you take pictures and lots of notes so that you don't get things confused!  

vrichardson

I just graduated from College in upstate NY, but my senior I was planning a wedding in CT and a second reception in the UK. It takes a lot of trust and faith and willingness to believe in other people, and other people's eyes which depending on your personality may or may not be a good thing.

AraDesi

That's us too. We live in New Jersey and are getting married in Ohio, where I'm from. We just go back a little more often than before, and pack a lot of wedding planning in when we do. It's not too bad so far, and having a lot of time helps too.

alliesono

Yes, yes!

My fiance lives in WI, I live in SC (where I go to grad school), and the wedding will be in my hometown in IA. I've been trying to do my wedding planning in chunks every time I go home. For instance, last time I was home (in May) I bought a dress, reserved the photographer, reserved tuxes, picked out bridesmaid dresses, and finalized the menu... all in 5 days!

I'll only be going home once more before my wedding in May, 2011. I couldn't do it without my mom, though. She's been great about doing all the research before I get there.

Anyone else having a 3-state wedding? haha

TriSaratops10

Not tri-state - but FI and I live in DC and planning a wedding in MN - we went back for the very last time before the wedding about 4 weeks ago --eek!! We did a wedding palooza and booked our cake place, final caterer tasting, booked florist, did e-pics, made up some OOT bags, did walk through of reception & ceremony sites with the DOC and hair/makeup trial...whew!!

Now, I'm nervous that I will need to be in MN to finish planning, but we can't go back

Goodluck all OOT brides!!!! It will all work out!

ToriNicole24

we are in the same boat.  We live in FL for my school but we are getting married in NJ/NY (haven't decided yet).  This weekend we are flying home to see 8 venues. We aren't getting married until 2012 so we have enough time to plan everything. Best of luck!

stephdonjon

I currently live in St. Louis and my FI lives in Lansing, Michigan. But... I'm moving to Boston in a couple of months for graduate school, and he'll be finishing up a year in Michigan before joining in Boston hopefully in June. Our wedding is next August, so we decided it was easiest to have the wedding in Lansing. Yeah, my family will have to commute which sucks, but it's better than having both sides fly out to Boston, in which case most wouldn't come. (I'm presisng my luck with a 9 hour drive to Michigan as it is, but what are you gonna do?) Plus, with him being in Lansing for a year, at least one of us is able to meet with our vendors and such over the course of the next year, since it won't be easy for me to make trips from Boston all the time. Hence, why we're shooting to get as much done as we can now. So far things have been going very smoothly, too, if that's any consolation .

selenachad

Oh yes! We have actually moved our wedding venue because of this. FI is from Florida and we planned to have a beach wedding there. However, the logistics of that were too daunting for me (considering we live in Memphis, TN). So now instead of a beach wedding 14 hours away we are planning a country wedding where I grew up in South Georgia, which is only 8 hours away. The upside is I know everyone in town and I know who to rent stuff from and what my venue will be...even down to who will make my cake. I'm finding it is going to be a lot less stressful, thank goodness!

maurismith08

I am planning a wedding in St. Louis from school 3 hours away. My family lives there so I do a lot of research online to find venues and vendors in my price range. Emailing and phone calls on your own time also helps to narrow down the list. Most people reply promptly and are very helpful and sympathetic to your distance issue.

The last time my FI and I came home we planned to visit 3 sites in person. Its a slower decision making process but I like the pace since I won't make any rushed decisions. My wedding will be next April in the middle of my student teaching. So I am trying to get everything done before then. Good luck to you! It isn't as hard as it seems

mch07c

I planned the majority of my wedding from Texas while we are getting married in California. To top it off, my fiance was deployed to the Middle East during most of our engagement, so neither of us were in California. We had to do a lot while we were home for breaks and a lot more over the phone and online. It is very possible, but perhaps sometimes a little frustrating. My wedding is in 19 days and most of it was planned long distance. It can be done! Good luck to you!

keirimonkey128

I'm currently going to school in Idaho and my wedding is in New Hampshire, but what has helped me a lot is friends and family helping out, I'm not too picky about how things turn out, and I trust the judgement of these people, so I don't have to stress too much about all the little details. I do make sure to communicate and tell people what I want, but overall things are in their hands. 

lynniearudner

Ummmm, yes. 

I dont think this is uncommon. 

i live in utah. alone. without my FI or my family. 

my wedding is in upstate NY

its 2000 miles away. 

ive spent two weekends in the town where we are marrying with my FI and my family to work with our vendors. 

just keep it simple. its totally doable.