Seriously Y'all....

mcclaindavis11

I know I want my wedding to be in late April/early May. Problem is, that's coming up! 103 days away to be exact.... (according to my first picked wedding date)

I AM SO BEHIND. Haven't planned a thing.

Of course, we've talked about where when and who. Just haven't done anything official. I made an appt with a photographer to take "save-the-date" photos. That's about it. No dress shopping. Nothing.
I need to get my rear in gear. April will be here before I know it.

We are doing very extremely small ceremony, HUGE reception/party/celebration.
I don't mind veering off the traditional path. I'm not doing big floral arrangements, tuxes, fancy three-course meal. Saving money as much as possible. Budget is $5,000 at the most.
Tips? Suggestions on planning?

misshart00

With that budget, I would do it at a non meal time and have a cake and punch reception.

AmJam04

I don't think you'll need save the dates, as those are traditionally sent out 6-9 months before the wedding date.

You definitely need to determine when the exact date will be, since everything else will basically depend on that.

allychase

Don't do save the dates, you're 3 months away and past the point of sending those out. If you're renting a hall, do that ASAP as most dates are probably booked at this point and you may not get exactly what you want. 

Ditto PP for having a non meal time, unless you want to do a BBQ style buffet for dinner or something like that. If you have it around 2 or 3 you can serve maybe vegetable trays, cheese and crackers, cake, punch, etc. Light finger foods. 

Have an iPod on a speaker for your music. Don't do favors. As for a dress, search around craigslist or the classified boards, or recyledbride.com. You may be able to get a dress off the rack at Davids bridal or something, I'm not too familiar with them. Figure out who is officiating, soon. You don't need a wedding party, this will save you time, energy, money on gifts, etc. Get flowers from a wholesale club.

All you need to get married is an officiant, a witness, and your fiance. All the rest are just extras and you can most certainly have a fabulous reception for under 5,000. Brides on these boards have done it for less.

As for what you're saying about having a small ceremony, it's considered rude to not invite all the same people to both parts of the wedding, unless it's a VERY private ceremony, aka you, your FI, officiant, and immediate family. Any bigger than that and you run into tiered wedding territory, which is very rude and guests will feel snubbed. 

Head over to the DIY board for inspiration on small cheap projects if you have extra in the budget for centerpieces or something. Good luck planning!

ETA: If you do end up being an April bride, head on over to the April 2013 for some ideas and venting if ever need be. It's a good group of girls over there!

courtski2004

I agree that you have missed the boat on save the dates since those are usually sent about 6 months out, and isn't really necessary to begin with. Add that to the fact that you don't have a concrete date until the venues have been secured. I would make that the first priority, then move forward with booking any vendors that you will be using. Once your date is set, you may want to send an email to your VIP's just to let them know when to plan for.
Vistaprint is a good source for budget friendly invitations. A reception that doesn't take place during a mealtime will save $--you can just do cake and punch. Using an iPod playlist can be substituted for a DJ. Favors aren't necessary. The ladies on the budget weddings board have great ideas for ways to stretch every dollar!

AddieCake

I'm pretty stunned that the only thing you have done is one of the non-essential, least important aspects of the wedding. You need to pick a date and find a venue immediately.

SlothGoals

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_chit-chat_seriously-yall?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:14Discussion:fdb8af45-6745-4620-a570-8b40a8929c61Post:f3e841b1-a5ee-4231-b97c-230c912602e8">Seriously Y'all....</a>:
[QUOTE]I know I want my wedding to be in late April/early May. Problem is, that's coming up! 103 days away to be exact.... (according to my first picked wedding date) I AM SO BEHIND. Haven't planned a thing. Of course, we've talked about where when and who. Just haven't done anything official. I made an appt with a photographer to take "save-the-date" photos. That's about it. No dress shopping. Nothing. I need to get my rear in gear. April will be here before I know it. We are doing very extremely small ceremony, HUGE reception/party/celebration. I don't mind veering off the traditional path. I'm not doing big floral arrangements, tuxes, fancy three-course meal. Saving money as much as possible. Budget is $5,000 at the most. Tips? Suggestions on planning?
Posted by mcclaindavis11[/QUOTE]

<div>First things first: settle on a day and book a venue and officiant.</div><div>
</div><div>STD ship has sailed. Go back and ask that photographer about their availability for late April/early May.</div><div>
</div><div>Small ceremony/large reception is only ok if you do an immediate family only at the reception to make it truly private. Less than 20 people you and FI included. Are you sure this is the kind of ceremony your FI wants too?</div><div>
</div><div>After you've settled the first three things then you can start<span style="font-size:11px;line-height:14px;"> looking into all the other details.</span></div>

QueerFemme

I agree with Linger.  Postpone.

If you are set on this april/may, go with everyone's advice, ASAP. You need a venue and you need to order invitations, like now.  Your invitations should go out in February for an April wedding, and March for a May wedding.   You are way behind the power curve.

Dreamergirl8812

I'm a little worried that your priorities are off. You don't have a wedding photographer but you've planned STD photos? If you're trying to save money you shouldn't do STDs even if the wedding is in 10 months. As PP said, the only requirements for a ceremony are a bride, groom, officiant and witness. For a ceremony the most important things are the venue and the food. Those should be your priority both timewise and financially.

libby2483

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_chit-chat_seriously-yall?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:14Discussion:fdb8af45-6745-4620-a570-8b40a8929c61Post:b533d1b7-e092-4e3c-bb7f-778f5405d752">Re: Seriously Y'all....</a>:
[QUOTE]I'm pretty stunned that the only thing you have done is one of the non-essential, least important aspects of the wedding. You need to pick a date and find a venue immediately.
Posted by AddieL73[/QUOTE]

<div>This. You also need to find an officiant immediately.  And at this point you will probably need to buy a wedding dress off-the-rack, as they can take several months to come in.  Also be prepared that many vendors will already be booked, and you will have to settle for your second, or third or fourth, choices.  We booked our venue over a year in advance and still didn't get our first choice of a date.  We booked our photographer and DJ about 10 months out, and they were already filling up as well.  Planning a wedding in three months is definitely do-able, but you need to get your butt in gear, and be prepared for the fact that many vendors will already be booked.</div>

bridalmarch

Ditto everyone. Call places immediately. Our first choice for date was booked over a year in advance, and that was for a March wedding (which is wedding off season)