Short Engagement

jacquiroxx

My best friend got engaged on Saturday and I am beyond excited for her.  She wants a short engagement and is hoping to married in April or May.

Myself and another close friend (her other BFF) are helping her plan- we're starting on Thursday- and I was wondering if any of you know of any books or websites with helpful information for short engagements in particular?  I want to make sure we're doing the important stuff first (venue, dress, officiant, photographer, maybe caterer? I have no idea!  I've never done this before!).  Don't want to forget anything major.

I've seen a few websites with a simple Google search, but some of them seem kinda... lacking details... which is why I asked for book ideas too.  We don't have too much time to pull this off- AND she's student teaching next semester- so it'll be hectic.





Now that I've asked for advice: EEEEE!  My best friend's getting married!!!!! I've been waiting since Saturday to tell you ladies, but didn't want to tell the Internet before she did hahaha

jacquiroxx

Oh and if this is a post-and-run, I'm sorry.  I need to leave for work in about a half an hour, but I'll be back around 6 or 7 probably

jacquiroxx

I'm answering my own post- again- but I found a decent one in case anyone else ever stumbles across this thread with the same question

http://www.basicinvite.com/wedding-etiquette/article-library/planning-with-a-short-engagement/

jemmini6

I used weddingwire.com for lists of vendors.  I'm not sure of any helpful for a short engagement in particular, but that site has tons of vendors, so if one is already booked on the day they want, then there are plenty more to choose from.

I would start #1 by planning a budget/guest list so you know what size venue to look for.  Then book the venue, photographer, DJ ASAP.  Then she needs to start dress shopping because some dresses take months to come in, plus you need time for alterations.

BTW, why the short engagement?  Seems like more stress than it's worth, but I might be biased, mine is 14 months....

jacquiroxx

Thanks for all the tips!  Those were the things at the top of my list, too, so I'm glad we're going in the right direction.  Thanks for the weddingwire.com suggestion- I'll definitely check that out while I'm bored at work tonight!

She's just always wanted a really short engagement.  I'm with you though, I want a long engagement to save some money and get my shiit together.  Though, I'm a crafty person and I'll probably think of a million things to DIY when it's my turn

calindi

I would check out the checklist on The Knot, too.  Just look at everything before 4 months out and systematically start checking those off.

It's totally do-able, it'll just require a bit more time per week to get it all done in a shorter window of time.

I imagine you'd want to get budget and guest list set up ASAP, because the first things she'll need is a venue (ceremony & reception), then caterer/photographer/music next.  After that, she's on basically the same timeline as everyone else.  A dress would come next if she wants to have one made-to-order, since that can take awhile.  But she can skip that hassle by buying from a sample sale or something like that.

Good luck!

leia1979

I don't think you need anything specifically geared towards a short engagement. It's all the same steps, just done closer together. Make a list of all the long-lead items and start checking them off.

Obviously, budget, guest list, and venue are first.

whereyat

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_short-engagement?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:136Discussion:6d678c3c-fe6c-4252-ae24-7f87d6064c77Post:70cbf6a6-36ac-4465-848c-ef9cf27f1c18">Re: Short Engagement</a>:
[QUOTE]I would check out the checklist on The Knot, too.  Just look at everything before 4 months out and systematically start checking those off. It's totally do-able, it'll just require a bit more time per week to get it all done in a shorter window of time. I imagine you'd want to get budget and guest list set up ASAP, because the first things she'll need is a venue (ceremony & reception), then caterer/photographer/music next.  After that, she's on basically the same timeline as everyone else.  A dress would come next if she wants to have one made-to-order, since that can take awhile.  But she can skip that hassle by buying from a sample sale or something like that. Good luck!
Posted by calindi[/QUOTE]

Here is another checklist: <a href="http://offbeatbride.com/2008/01/the-official-offbeat-wedding-checklist" rel="nofollow">http://offbeatbride.com/2008/01/the-official-offbeat-wedding-checklist</a>
(Erm hoping it's not against TK rules to post another wedding site on here? I don't remember...) Anyway, just another checklist to look at.

Go ahead and check off stuff you don't need though!  A lot of stuff on both lists is "start thinking about ABC...." - dude, just tell me what Actually needs to be done so I don't forget anything signficant, sheesh.

Good luck helping her plan!

**Mutley**

Technically, our engagement was 6 months but we didn't really start planning until 5 months out.  I never thought to treat it any differently or that it was 'short.'  Sapphire had a shorter engagement than I did, and I don't think she planned any differently either.  It is the wedding industry machine that makes people think they need all this time.  You don't. 

I think the timelines that TheKnot and other places give you are way too drawn out.  I believe that Acro has a great checklist in her bio. 

Think Basics
1 - Budget and Guest list
2 - Venue, Caterer, Photographer
3 - Dresses, Tuxes, Invites, Flowers, Music, etc.

I didn't give myself a timeline.  I created a checklist of what was most important to us and then just checked items off as I got them done.  I even did a fair amount of DIY. 

The biggest thing with a 'shorter' engagement is to be flexible with your choices.  Is it more important to get your #1 venue or to get married in a certain timeframe?

JMM4208

If you run into booking problems with professional musicians, don't forget the music school/departments at a university close to your venue. They are normally willing to make an extra bit of cash after the easter rush so you can get music performance majors to play the ceremony or even make a jazz combo group for the cocktail hour.