Military Brides

Planning a wedding far away. How to?!

We are stationed in HI and are agreed we don't want to be married here. So we are getting married in TX (my home state) in April. The problem is HOW do it plan out food, venue, etc from afar? I have enlisted my sisters as bridesmaids and have my family back there. But I don't even know where to start. I also don't want to spend tons of money. So if someone can pleaseeeee help this military bride I would be so happy with any advice yall have! Thank you

Re: Planning a wedding far away. How to?!

  • Hi there!

    Planning long distance is tricky, but doable. Online reviews are your best friend right now. Scope out weddingwire, google, yahoo, and yelp for each and every vendor. Make sure the reviews look good. Most vendors will easily work with you via phone or email, so just make sure you tell them about your situation right away and they should be able to email you proposals and contracts. I initiated all my vendor contacts by giving them a call to explain what I was looking for, and then followed up via email. 

     I asked my sister to go scope out venues for me. She took pictures and video. I also sent her and my mom on a couple cake and catering tasting missions. You just have to trust their opinions. 

    First steps of planning is to set a budget and get a rough guest list going (the number of guests you have will be a HUGE determinate in budget and venues). I used The Knot's planning checklist and just edited it up until it suited my needs. Feel free to message me with questions. 
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  • I agree with PDKH. I'm currently planning my Florida wedding from Alaska.  Set your budget and guest list and then go from there.  One of my biggest pet peeves with planning long distance is the fact that some vendors forget about the time difference (for me its 3 hours). If I had a chnace to redo - I'd probably ask my mom to serve as the main point of contact. I had a baker calling and texting me at 4:30 in the morning.  I found someone else to do my cake because of that.

    Ask for venue recommendations from friends and check online reviews. Planning long distance can be stressful, but is totally doable!

  • crltxcrltx member
    5 Love Its First Anniversary Name Dropper First Comment
    Ok thank you both!!
  • Thank you for creating this board!  I'm planning my Montana wedding from across the pond at my duty station in the UK.  My dad is there and is willing to check stuff out for me but I'm so so stressed about not being able to actually meet and interview vendors, see the places myself about how I feel about them, do all the normal stuff.  Plus my honey is deployed so I can't just call him up and run ideas by him or get his opinion on stuff.  Lots of people have said "oh if you need any help just let me know!" but I'm not going to be able to do stuff with my bridesmaid and I hate that.  Addressing all those envelopes?  All me.  Going to dress fittings?  Alone.  All my bridesmaids live in different areas so I can't just send them a package with all the postage paid and a list of addresses and ask them to address them either (not that I would, I want to be part of it).  Plus the internet is terribly unreliable and phone reception is the pits, not to mention calling the states is expensive.  Ok rant over, I just had to get all that out.  Good luck to us all!
  • JLynG09 said:
    Thank you for creating this board!  I'm planning my Montana wedding from across the pond at my duty station in the UK.  My dad is there and is willing to check stuff out for me but I'm so so stressed about not being able to actually meet and interview vendors, see the places myself about how I feel about them, do all the normal stuff.  Plus my honey is deployed so I can't just call him up and run ideas by him or get his opinion on stuff.  Lots of people have said "oh if you need any help just let me know!" but I'm not going to be able to do stuff with my bridesmaid and I hate that.  Addressing all those envelopes?  All me.  Going to dress fittings?  Alone.  All my bridesmaids live in different areas so I can't just send them a package with all the postage paid and a list of addresses and ask them to address them either (not that I would, I want to be part of it).  Plus the internet is terribly unreliable and phone reception is the pits, not to mention calling the states is expensive.  Ok rant over, I just had to get all that out.  Good luck to us all!
    It is frustrating not having anyone here for me. I have picked out my own wedding dress with nobody around, looked at every vendor from a far. Its all frustrating. The good thing is I have some help...some vendors are willing to wait until I get home to the wedding state to let me do the tastings (since I don't want my family picking MY wedding cake). They just needed a deposit first. Its all a hard thing to accomplish all alone. Lets face it most men don't help much...but keep your head up and know you are not alone. This is just one more lovely attribute that comes with the military ;)
  • Im planning for Virginia wedding from Missouri, It is super frustrating--so I chose a venue(resort/hotel venue) thats has the tables and linens and food all there, and that has helped ALOT. Skype interviews with my officiant, 20+ emails with the event coordinator at the resort, emailed the florist pics of what shapes of centerpieces i like, and the colors i like. I am hiring a Day Of coordinator who lives nearby to handle the vendor comings and goings, and im going a few days ahead of time to make sure i have my bearings. And im getting wedding insurance, because putting deposits from afar is pretty uncomfortable for me, so i have my bum covered in case of a no show. I do buy the VA version of the knot magazine, and i chose vendors from there to be safe.
  • I'm in New York getting married in Virginia - like someone else said, I chose a reception venue that covered a lot of the details (linens, silverware, labor, etc.) for peace of mind purposes! Along with a few trips home that are solely focused on wedding details. Difficult, but doable. Good luck!
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