Timing/When To Do Questions

tkddddddddd

Hi all, need a bit of help with timing things out, we are getting married on th 25th of this August. 1. Alterations on my dress: my aunt will be doing the alterations (sleeves need shortened, take it in a 1/4 inch) but WHEN should Shea. I'm trying to lose weight (who isn't lol) and don't really know. 2. His suit - when should he schedule with Men's Warwhouse? 3. Invites - some knotties say 3 months before the wedding, others say 6 weeks. When did/will you mail yours out? We DO have OOT guests but his parent's/grandparents so there isn't a lot of flight booking to worry about. 4. DIY - we have a lot of DIY planned for the wedding but WHEN should we really start? I feel a bit lost about it. We live with my parent's right now so SPACE is a huge issue (we can't have stuff just sitting out for the next 3 months). Thanks ladies!

DeClue82

1. If your aunt is doing the alterations, I would at least get the sleeves shortened soon. Then maybe way til 2-3 weeks out to take it in. Make sure she is comfortable with getting things done in that time frame... 

2. Suits for the guys, I've heard you can wait until a month before, but no longer just to make sure they have his size in stock so that it's not a rush order. Esp. if your groomsmen are wearing the same suit... chances are that someone's size will need to be ordered. (My FI got his suits a month ago, and they all finally have the right size etc...

3. Invites... I sent mine at the 3 month mark... but EVERYONE has to travel for our wedding, if you have a lot of OOT guests that aren't immidiate family I would consider sending them soon. Your close family knows they have to book flights and get hotel rooms already, but I wouldn't send any later than the 2 month mark, just for response time... people are REALLLLY slow at getting back to you with their RSVP...

4. Depending on what these projects are, how time consuming etc... I would start the ones you can as early as possible... Can you store them with a friend (Bridemaid, or Groomsmen)? Or another family member? If you have a number of them you just don't want to get bogged down right before the wedding trying to get it all done, bc I expect it to be shear craziness the last few weeks before the big day!

I hope that helps.... but I'm def. not the end all be all of scheduling )

ohnoitskaroljo

I agree with DeClue on the alterations. 

Suits, I've heard the same - a month prior with Men's Wearhouse (that's who we're using too!) - my FI and his GMs have already gotten their fittings done and now just need to pick them up the day before. 

Invites: mailed mine out 3 months ahead of time, gave 2 months time frame to RSVP which leaves me with a month to notify the hall of our final head count - but since we're doing hor d'oeurves we're already pretty set on how many we're getting regardless of the final count and can notify for the bar within 10 days of the wedding. If you have a lot of out of town guests or people with kids (and you're not inviting kids) then I'd send them out asap to give them adequate planning time for sitters, transportation, etc. We have a lot of out of towners so we wanted to give as advanced notice as possible  

DIY: I started mine MONTHS ago - I'm doing pretty much EVERYTHING myself. I did my own bouquets (been done with most of those for 3 months or so already lol), invites, thank you cards, my mom did my garter, and I'm still working on center pieces and photobooth props... it's VERY time consuming depending on how many projects you have - and i figure the sooner the better! I started mine early so I could just meander through it all and work at a leisurely pace instead of waiting until last minute and then freaking out. Thanks to this my planning has been basically stress free because I've gradually purchased all of the things I need as we have the money to do so, and I've gradually gotten things done off of the check list. Normally I'm a master procrastinator but NOT with this wedding LOL

OH! And my FI and I live with my parents right now too - and I've had stuff scattered about the house for the wedding for a few months already. LOL My mom has been awesome about it (for the most part). But we have a basement storage area, so we just bought a bunch of clear bins to keep things in and then we just bring up what we need as we need it. Or we leave it stacked in the living room when we're in the middle of projects.  

dawnp917

Alterations are generally done 2-3 weeks before the wedding. For suits it varies depending on if you want everybody in the exact same thing. FI got his outfit last weekend. GM are to find a charcoal grey suit and blue shirt. Being generic they can probably buy something a week before the wedding as long as it doesn't need alterations. We mailed our invites out at the 3 month mark since the majority of our guests are OOT and the hotel block is being released at the end of June. DIY I would start as soon as possible so you aren't overwhelmed at the last minute.

Sunshine811

I agree with all the previous posts about alterations and suits.

We have very few (just 2 families) OOT and did STDs, so we are sending our invites out 5 weeks before our RSVP date, which is 2 weeks before the wedding, so really 7 1/2 weeks prior to the wedding.

I would start one DIY project at a time, and start it now. Then, work on one project at a time. I, personally, have my DIYs broken down by weeks till the wedding. I have one project each week (some take 2 weeks) from now until the wedding. I, too, am doing a lot of DIY but did not start until 2 weeks ago, and now already feel a little overwhelmed. Start soon, and make a list!