bride who lives out of town planning wedding in kc

mliggett03

I am originally from Overland Park, but I currently live in Columbus, Ohio. I am recently engaged and haven't started planning yet. Does any one have any tips for planning while living out of town? Thanks!

lostmykeys

We live in Houston and are planning a KC wedding for June of 2012. 

1)  We are taking advantage of this board to get vendor and venue recommendations and reviews.

2)  Venues book early, so we felt we needed  to book both the church and reception facility without actually visiting them first.  But thanks to the internet and this board, we saw lots of pics and got good reviews on them both.

3)  The bride and I (MOB) are going to KC in Sept to see the church and reception hall first hand and visit with possible caterers, photographers, florists, etc.

kelleyku05

Try and hit up a bridal fair in KC.  That way you can see a lot of vendors and get a bunch of info all in one day.  And of course use this board, there are some very helpful girls on here!

laurennwilson1

Hi mliggett03! I am also planning a wedding from out of town, Im in San Jose, CA. I agree with everything lostmykeys said, but I have 3 additional recommendations:

1. Give yourself plenty of time. Plane tickets from CA to MO are not cheap, so we have/are giving ourselves a year and 1/2 to plan so we can fly back and forth a few times without out spending crazy amounts of money and missing too much work.

2. Probably the most surprising resource that I found helpful was photography websites. Because I couldnt travel around looking at reception venues and churches, I had to rely on the internet. Venue websites post the photos that look most favorable, but to really see how it could look on your wedding day it is helpful to see photos of past weddings that happened there.

3. Buy your dress in KC unless you are going to drive to KC for your wedding. I wouldnt risk taking it on a plane or shipping it, I have heard nightmare stories about it.

Hope this helps!

tammythetiger

This sounds like my story!  I moved to Columbus, OH last summer and am planning my wedding in Kansas City for January 2012.  Most of what I've done is scheduled out how many times I would be in KC for the year and had goals of what to do on each trip (i.e. secure venue, caterer and photo on first one; florist, DOC, cake, etc on second one).  I also brainstormed on what could be done in Ohio such as trying on and buying mt wedding dress and invitations.  

Since we are so close in proximity, I would be happy to connect with you.  Send a message my way!

mliggett03

Thank you, ladies!!

mbeaman913

We hired a wedding coordinator to assist us early on and it's made all the difference. Different planners/coordinators offer different packages so you can go ala cart.

PS - We planned 15 months in advance for our wedding this October from Brooklyn.

And Congrats!

Laurenbiz

Hi all, I'm glad I found this thread. I from KCMO - born and raised - but my fiance and I both live and work in Madison, WI now. (Not sure why my little icon thing shows Milwaukee!?)

Theknot.com has been very helpful for me. We, too, plan to look at reception sites and do more planning in-person during some trips we will take to KC.

:-)

rockchalksarah

Just chiming in to add that I live in Bryan/College Station, Texas, and we're getting married in Lawrence. And right now, my fiance lives in south-central Kansas, so it's really a treat to coordinate.