I have a full plate. I mean most women do right! But How How How can I do this without loosing my mind. I want to plan a wedding on a budget (I am a social worker). Since I am a full time worker and a full time student with a child I don’t see how I am not going to go mad. Since I have summers off from grad school that would be the best but I won’t finish my master’s degree for another 2 years. Where do I start? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Looking at the website is helpful but it just makes me crave a nap.
Re: Grad school, work, child....wedding?
Good luck with everything and know we are always here for help when needed.
1) We are paying for it ourselves.
2) Him and I wanted to plan everything on our own so it could really be personalized and perfect for us. Plus I personally could not just let go of things and just answer questions/give input to a planner since I am the planning type (maybe a little too much). 3) My schedule is a little crazy and planning a longer engagement (our engagement will be 20 months long total) ensured that we could do everything. In addition, the way my schedule is we are moving to where I'll go for my PhD a few weeks after we get married.
So far we are doing well. We found our vendors early on to get the best deals and vendors that we wanted. I loosely follow TK's planner and I say loosely because a lot of things we are doing ahead of schedule.
Are you thinking of getting a planner? Have you started planning anything yet? I would start with a relative timeline (1 year engagement, 1.5, etc) and pick a season. Beyond that, I would definitely recommend setting a budget and doing a preliminary guest list (for numbers).
What worked best for us planning a 200+ person wedding in less than a year: utilize winter/summer/holiday breaks for any outings and meetings with vendors. The best thing we did is find a reception venue that was all inclusive; our package included open bar, dinner (3 options plus kids menu), tables, chairs, dance floor, linens, and cake! I'm sure I'm missing something, needless to say it was wonderful to have all of that out of the way so early.
Ask friends for suggetions on vendors. Our photographer is a friend of a bridesmaid and our DJ is one of my customers at work. Ask and you shall receive!
Don't worry, it can be done, quickly or over time. Good luck, dear!