Im helping my sister plan her wedding for this august...where do we start?

Question

My sister is getting married either August 4th or August 11th, its not that long away, and we havnt started yet. We have no clue where to start. She is on a very low budget of $3500. Any input would be GREATLY appreciated! Thanks!

Answer 1

I would start by going to theknot.com.

It has timelines, a budgeting tool, a guest list organizer. It is amazing!

Answer 2

People plan weddings on short notice all the time, you will be able to do it. First, you need to go to a website or get a wedding planner book that will help you figure out what sorts of things you need to do for a wedding. They usually lean toward giving you much more than you need, to accomodate the budget wedding up to the extravagant. Then, decide which things you want to have in the wedding, and what supplies you will use. Next, you have some options.You can either buy things from a store, search for things on the internet (there are some good bargains for wedding items that have been used only once), look for sales at your local stores, or make things yourself. Decide what you can do, delegate some help, and buy the rest. Try to go under your budget since everyone tends to go over, this will give you a little "wiggle room" when it comes to that "must have" item.
One of the first things you will have to decide is if it will be a church wedding (to book the church) and where the reception will be (if there will be one, if it will be somewhere you need to book, or if it will be at a home)
Good luck!

Answer 3

Considering her budget (pretty small) and the short amount of time, start with finding a place to host the reception that won't cost much. A person's backyard or a park would be cheapest by far. Then figure out where she wants the ceremony. In the same park? In a church? Find the church and/or officiant, and book them. Once the date is set, find a caterer. Or, if she wants a mingling-reception with just cake and champaign (super cheap), skip the caterer.

Next, find those dresses! Keep everything informal, and these will cost a lot less. Hire a photographer and a baker. At the florist, pick very small, simple bouquets. Get the DIY invitations, and she'll be all set for a simple, inexpensive wedding by August.

Answer 4

you have little time and not a lot of money I would start by picking where the wedding will take place and see if you can have the reception there as well that will cut a lot of cost and she may think of buying a used dress and get silk flowers and get the wedding cake a walmart bakery and as for the food do cold cut trays to help with cost look at craft store for a lot of the thing you'll need and if she wants a DJ you need to start looking now because you might run into everyone being booked up aus is a big wedding mo i know I'm a wedding planer and my Hubby is a DJ if you in Ohio check out our sit there are a lot of help things on it jonsalloccasiondjing.com and good luck

Answer 5

Pick the date and time frame (morning, afternoon, evening wedding).

Where would she like to have the wedding? (Church, Destinational? Outside?).

Does she want a reception afterwards, later (as if week/months time)?

Decide on guest list. If she is choosing a church for example, usually a minister fee and use of church fee is greatly acceptable. A usual donation of $100 for group of 50 or more is what I hear is the normal. I never got married in a church, so you have to check in to that by contacting the church or location she prefers.

So, she will take a look at who she wants to invite. The cost will determine by how she would want the dinner/food and/or activities. Some people, like my mom (as her 2nd wedding), had a family get together/BBQ at my step dad's mother's house. Nothing wrong with that or going out to eat at a nice restraunt, but limiting the menu (which restraunts usually will have on request).

Does she want any bridesmaids? I would strongly recommend a few more than a lot. Especially on her tight budget and at the fact it is less stressful.

Honestly, the best thing to do is to get a wedding coordinator (I have 1 for Hawaii and she is wonderful! I tell her what I want and she does the brain function and does it for me).

Tell her to relax and enjoy being almost a newlywed.

Answer 6

First find a church or someone to perform the wedding, find a place to have the reception. So you can make sure both are available. I don't know where you live, I live in Ohio and I rented a local firehall dining room area for the reception. If you guys do all the cooking and go buffet style you can save a lot of money. My budget for my wedding was very low also. I only had $3000 to work with and it turned out beautiful. You guys can also make all the flower bouqets and save hundreds of dollars. You can find some nice wedding decorations at any dollar store. You can buy blank wedding invitations and print them up yourselves also saving hundreds of dollars. Just do a lot of shopping around and find the best deals. Don't hire other people to do work you can do yourselves. Also have the bridesmaids and groomsmen provide their own clothes (they are more opt to pay for their own clothes if you go more casual).

Answer 7

You cant really plan anything until you know where the wedding will take place. Start by figuring out what type of location she wants and seeing what the cost would be - 3500 is VERY low so she should consult web sites like the knot for tips. If she is getting married at home then I would start looking at food & clothing as they are big expenses.

Answer 8

you haven't started yet? How do you even know you will be able to secure anything for that date on such short notice. You might want to think about planning a wedding for a later date. First you need to contact wedding location, reception and caterer first. If they all have the same date open...that is where you start to get your date. She needs to order a dress now...they take a while to come in...also bridesmaids dresses can take up to 3 mos and there could be alterations also. A bridal shop will have local options for venues in your area. Good luck and GEt moving!!

Answer 9

A wedding can be planned in a short period of time with the right focus, planning and resources.
1st, get a list together of bridal party and helpers and get them in on helping from the beginning.
www.weddingchannel.com
www.marthastewart.com
www.blissweddings.com
2nd, print a wedding planner from one of the sites above, they are quite helpful and will guide you through all the things you may or may not need.
My wedding budget was about the same, I used stores like Wal-Mart, Target, and Party City to get the decorations, favors and even the invites! Doing the most you can yourself is the best because you put heart into it and spend less on "labor or handling" from companies who almost always over charge.
Keep the bride aware that weddings are about the family and friends you invite to share this special moment with, not the material items that often get blown out of proportion.
Also use your resources; know anyone in bakery, catering, or just know someone who is crafty? Get them to join the planning, it helps keep your budget in check.
My Best Wishes to your sister and Good Luck Planning! :)

Answer 10

What I did was go and get Weddings for Dummies, and went to theknot.com. These tools helped me to plan mine and I did it in 3 months. You need to know really what colors you want, help her pick out a dress, time of wedding (early afternoon would be best if you don't plan to serve a meal) where the reception will take place, need to send out save the date cards, and work on how many people you want to invite and a list of names. Wedding for Dummies really helped me plan mine, and having a budget set in place also helps the best.

Good luck!!!!

Answer 11

My one word of advice, from my own experience is to start a notebook with notes on what you've done, who you've talked to, such as florists, bakers etc, and what they told you as far as prices, options and deadlines etc.

One of the first things to get out of the way are purchasing any items that need to be engraved. I had goblets, and the guest-book pen holder to be engraved, gave the engraver 3 weeks notice telling him the date I wanted them back, I figured 3-4 days prior to the ceremony would be good. Turns out I was calling him at home the day before trying to retrieve my items. Done on the fly, one of the goblet inscriptions was crooked!
Of course, not everyone has problems, but my advice is to anticipate delays. Tell everyone you need your items back, finished at least a week and a half before the wedding. The last few days should be nothing but zen and happiness for the bride, not having her pull her hair out! There's a lot for you to do, 7 months really isn't very long. Have fun and best of luck to your sis!