Plan a Wedding in 6 Months or Less: Tips from a Wedding Invitation and Stationery Designer
Planning a wedding can be overwhelming and stressful, especially if you have a tight timeline. However, I know for a fact that by staying focused and prioritizing what’s important to you, you can plan a beautiful wedding in 6 months or less. I know because when my now-husband proposed, that’s exactly what I did!
Now years later, as a wedding invitation and stationery designer, I have seen many couples successfully pull off a dream wedding in a short period of time. In this blog post, I will share some practical tips on how to plan a wedding in 6 months or less, and throw in some secret tips from my experience to make sure that everything goes smoothly!
Create a Wedding Vision Board
The first step to planning a great wedding is to create a vision board to help you visualize your wedding theme, color scheme, and overall aesthetic. You don’t want to start booking your venue or vendors and buying decor or designing your stationery, without a clear picture in your mind of the end result.
Pinterest is a fantastic resource for creating a vision board. Look for themes, color combinations, and styles that you love and add them to your board. Once you have this narrowed down, you can move onto the next step of planning.
Create Your Guest List
Your guest list should be one of the first things you consider when planning a wedding. Start by making a list of everyone you want to invite, and then narrow the list down by considering your budget, venue capacity, and other logistical factors. With a tight timeline, l recommend keeping your guest list flexible so that you can make adjustments in the beginning. It helps to have a “must invite” list and a “would like to include” list!
Want something to help you keep your guest list organized? I’ve created a FREE guest list tracker to help you compile your guest list with ease here.
Book Your Wedding Venue
Once you have an idea of how many guests you are inviting, it’s time to start looking for a venue. You may need to be flexible on the location or date to get the venue that you want – especially if you are trying to plan a wedding in 6 months or less. Consider the size of the venue, the location, and the atmosphere of the space to ensure that it matches the vision you have for your wedding. I have a few of my favorites in Cincinnati Ohio here. If you’re finding availability to be an issue, consider a family property too!
Create a Wedding Planning Timeline
Sticking to a checklist is going to make planning your wedding in 6 months or less a lot more manageable. It doesn’t need to be super detailed – and in fact, on a tight timeline you might find checklists with hundreds of tasks more overwhelming than they are helpful. With a shorter timeline, you’re going to want to lean on your vendors a little more and trust their expertise. Which brings me to the next step…
Hire Your Wedding Vendors
When it comes to planning a wedding in a shorter time frame, it’s important to have a strong team of vendors that you can rely on to bring your vision to life. You may need to be more flexible with your vendors and be open to their recommendations. As an added tip – ask your vendors for referrals for other vendors you might be looking for because you have less time to ‘shop around.’ Trust the people you’ve hired and let them help you! Most of us are happy to share our favorite people to work with!
Select Invitations and Stationery
It’s natural to feel overwhelmed when you plan a wedding in 6 months or less, but you don’t have to sacrifice all of the fun details if you are short on time. Many stationery designers offer rush orders, making it possible to get the look and feel that you want for your big day on a tight timeline.
There are also ways to save time without “sacrificing” the luxury touches your desire; for example, still splurge on a gorgeous invitation suite but choose digital RSVP cards instead of mail-in ones. And don’t forget, there are many elements that bring personality into your wedding decor that don’t take long at all—like creating custom labels for favors or including a thoughtful note on each place setting!
Want to work together? Book a call with me here to get started!
Enjoy the Process
Finally, the most important tip I can give you is to enjoy the wedding planning process! It’s easy to get bogged down in the stress and logistics, trust me I remember what it’s like, but it’s important to remember why you’re planning this event – to join together in a lifetime of love with your partner! As much as possible, try to savor each moment leading up to your big day. Enjoy being engaged!
Planning a Wedding in 6 Months or Less?
As a wedding invitation and stationery designer, I’d love to help bring your wedding vision to life – whether you have six months or two years to plan. Please feel free to reach out to me to discuss how I can help you create beautiful invitations and stationery for your wedding! Plus, come find me on Instagram for even more wedding invitation and stationery inspiration!
