Distance Planning

kirstien31

I just graduated from school, and moved out to Wisconsin, but I'm still planning my Maine summer wedding.  I was lucky to have some time to visit some venues, but does anyone have any other recommendations for long-distance planning?  My parents are still in the area, as is my MOH, so I do have a lot of connections in the state still. 

sarahfowler38

We've planned the entire thing from afar. When we first got engaged, we lived in Ohio and now we live in Florida. The best thing I can tell you is to do as much internet research as possible so you can narrow down your choices on the big things (venue, DJ, photographer, cake, etc.) and then plan to meet with each in one trip home. We were able to narrow it down to one DJ to interview, two photographers, and two cake places and went home for a weekend and did them all, and then made our decision. Once you get the big things out of the way, it's a lot easier to plan the little details from out of state.

Hope this helps!

hcorr34

I don't have any advice from my own experience, but my cousin/MOH planned her NH wedding from California 11 years ago.  When we were talking about planning and making contact with vendors, she said that she always let the vendors know up front that she was planning from a distance, which made them a bit more accommodating when she was home for short amounts of time since they knew she wasn't around when it was usually convenient for them.  They were also aware that her parents and her FILs would be doing a lot for her. 

She also said that she asked each vendor for their preferred method of contact (she had one that was, at the time, very anti-email when it came to doing business) and the best time to contact them so that she could make quick contact with them if necessary.  Since she was working with a 3 hour time difference, she wanted to make sure she knew who to call, when to call, and spent little time playing phone tag.

chrispygal

I've planned my entire wedding from a 4 hour distance.  Most of my work has been done via phone or email but I have made a couple of trips tot he area to select/view my venue, caterer, florist, etc.  I'm also using a wedding planner which has helped a lot.  It's tough to research a lot of these vendors.  It sounds like you have folks at home who can help, which is great.  I think the biggest advice I can offer is to schedule and plan for a visit home pre-wedding so you can meet with vendors and do a bunch of wedding-related things.  I needed this in-person intereaction to feel comfortable although you may not.  It can totally be done though!  Are you getting married this summer, or next?

jjinme

I've been planning my wedding (June 25th) from where I live in Ohio. Having my parents in Maine has been helpful, but I think the best thing I did was plan a long weekend trip in April to get caught up with planning. It was a busy weekend, but my Mom and I had a lot of fun running around and getting things ready. I am also planning on arriving a week before the wedding so I can have one last meeting with the caterer and do a hair/makeup trial.

Good luck with your planning!

H&S091711

I've been planning long distance too, and I barely know Maine (FI grew up there so he does a little)...I second PP's...do a lot of internet research and check as many recommendations and references as you can in advance. Then have a planning weekend (or two as we did) where you meet with a selection of vendors.

For me I made some selections just through internet research, such as the ceremony and reception locations. Others, like the florists I needed to meet to make a decision.

I think when you are planning from afar you need to know what you want moreso than if you can spend every weekend after you get engaged doing local wedding planning and visits. I would also advise you that once you have found a local contact you trust (a wedding coordinator, or a big vendor such as florist, photographer etc) go with their suggestions because they know the local industry better than you.

You just have to trust yourself that you know what you want and go get it! GL and HTH!