Is it possible to plan a small wedding in two months?

Question

Due to my pregnancy, my fiancee and I decided to get married one year earlier than planned. Unfortunately, this gives us only two months to plan a small wedding. My family is not American, so we are not familiar with all the details.

On the other hand, my fiancee's family, who are American, suggested a traditional wedding. I've got a feeling that my mom and I have to work out all the details.

I do not even know where to start. Do you think I have enough time to plan a small wedding? I cannot afford a planner, as I have limited budget and my fiancee cannot contribute any money at all.

I have a budget of $4000.
If any set of parents offer some help, which I do not count on right now, I might have a little bit more.

Answer 1

I planned my wedding in 3 months, and you will be fine too. This site is perfect for any questions-most people are very helpful.

Remember KISS-Keep it simple stupid. This is an American saying.

Here are the steps to arranging a wedding on your budget...
1. Arrange the wedding ceremony location and time
2. E-mail or call and arrange a meeting with a caterer at a hotel location-why at a hotel...I´ll tell you in another step. Set the date ASAP.
3. Go to Target and get wedding invitations, go to www.uprint.com and make and send out your invites ASAP-if you don´t live in the States, E-mail me, and I´ll tell you how to make invites on your own.
3. Get your dress-go ahead and wear white or ivory. Don´t listen to others when they say this is not appropriate-you are a BRIDE! Don´t bother looking at E-Bay for an affordable dress, go to a store and try on dresses. I wasted so much time looking for an affordable dress online, and ended up buying a gorgeous dress for $250.00 at a bridal store. Take your dress to a person for alterations, and try the dress on 2 weeks before the wedding-tell the person doing the changes that you are pregnant, and expect to get larger as your sweet baby grows.
4. DO NOT give favors! People waste so much time, energy and money on favors. I have been to 50 plus weddings, and do not remember one favor that someone gave me.
5. If your fiance´s family is not going to give you a rehearsal dinner the night before the wedding, book a hotel room and have a party in it for guests that starts at 8 pm. For every 2 guests, buy a bottle of wine-this is the average amount a person that drinks wine will consume. Get some cheese, crackers, chips, etc. for people to snack on-maybe some strawberries as well. Get some plastic cups, and serve some champaigne with the strawberries-a lot of people want to toast your marriage, and this way, they do it the night before. My friend got married last year, and spent $2,000 for alcohol at her reception. We didn´t have alcohol at our wedding reception because we provided it on our own the night before, and we only spent $250 at the "before the wedding party."

OK, here is why I would recommend a hotel location. Most hotels have a bar, and either a DJ, or a band. Most older people want to dance, but don´t dance the night away. Have your wedding, and afterwards, go to the bar-close to where your reception dinner is being held, and ask the DJ or band-slip them $20-to play a "bride and groom first dance song." This happened to us, and I didn´t even plan to have this dance. Halfway through the song, my Dad cut in, and I got not only a bride-groom dance, but a father-daughter dance-AWESOME. We didn´t have to pay for a band or DJ!!!

We ate dinner-no one even missed the fact that alcohol was not served, and all the younger people went back to the bar to celebrate some more.

We got married last month, and ended up with $2,500 in the bank-not because we wanted to be cheap, but because we want to start a family, and children cost money, so I want to help you as much as possible.

Need more tips? E-mail me with any questions. I have lived all over the States, and now live in Germany.

Answer 2

Yeah, it's possible. My husband and I had to move our wedding up when he got sent to Iraq (went right when the war started). We had one day (already had a marriage license just in case). I got a dress (just a white dress, not a wedding dress), a minister, a church, a cake and flowers, and a reception hall (nice restaurant). Nothing too fancy, but it worked. My husband's brother got married within a month's notice because he's a marine and was stationed elsewhere and that's the only time he could get leave. They got a wedding dress, church, reception hall, DJ, everything, the 5 or 6 bridesmaids had their dresses, too. My husband's sister got married in 3 weeks time, so my husband could be home from the military. Really, the only disadvantage is it's hard to find a dress that fits you without having to get it altered because alterations can take a while and ordering a dress can take 6 months (if you want a traditional wedding dress, anyway). The dress ordering and altering is the most time-consuming part of planning a wedding. You'll have to hurry, but it's possible, and be willing to compromise a little bit.

Answer 3

You can do a simple small wedding with no problems! My mom and I planned a huge wedding for over 200 guests in 3 weeks. We didn't have any help either. It will take some hard work but you can definitely do it.
Does your family have to come to the US for the wedding or are they already here, but just not familiar with US wedding customs?
Just do it in a park! You can use the surrounding plants and trees as your decoration. Is there a botanical garden somewhere close to you? See if you can do it there. Have family members or friends bring a big dish of food and have sort of a picnic afterwards. You don't have to spend a lot of money to have a really nice wedding.

Answer 4

A friend at work planned her daughters wedding in 10 days. It was spur of the moment because her daughters boyfriend was being shipped to Iraq and it was aboslutely beautiful. You would've thought they were planning for a year. Plus, it was all done under $5000.

So, yes it is possible, just keep an eye on the budget and the time. Also, get on the phone now because some places you might want to have your wedding might have been booked months ago. Congrats on the baby and the weddding!

Answer 5

Sure. And cheaper than $4000 too. Seeing as how you are having a baby, I would plan to hang on to as much of the $4000 as I could and have a simple wedding. Simply put, baby trumps wedding.

Perhaps you could blend some cultural elements into the ceremony or the reception. Just think of the reception as a small party with a special cake and some extra decorations.

Keeping it simple is the key to getting it all together fast. Ask friends and family what they have that you can borrow to use for a wedding. People have all sorts of lovely things, like linens, silver candlesticks, serving pieces etc etc just collecting dust in a drawer and they would be thrilled to use it for a special occasion.

DIY is a cost saver, although maybe not a time saver. If you have friends who will help, then use them! You can have fun getting together for making crafty things. My friend and I planned and executed her wedding in just 5 weeks. We made her bouquet and flower girl basket using silk florals. We beaded some plain glass candle holders, bought those cheap colored glass rocks and used simple short pillar candles. We borrowed a Christmas arch, decorated it with free magnolia leaves from a neighbor's yard and draped with tulle. (BTW, tulle is cheap and easy to work with. You can get it in colors or white, even with sparkles.) She made her own cake. I did the photography. Friend was the officiant.

You probably have friends and family with some sort of talent. Ask what they might be willing to do. Offer to pay, of course, but many times they will present their services in lieu of a gift, or they will just ask for cost. Great Aunt Minnie might bake lovely cakes. Uncle Bob is a good amateur photographer. Cousin Ed is a computer whiz who could design and print invitations or programs. People are glad to help out if you just ask.

Getting started: The first thing is to decide how many guests you will have. That dictates what sort of venue you will need. Keep in mind, the more people you have, the costlier and more involved the planning will have to be. Obviously, you will have to have a space big enough for the guests, so a place that will only hold 25 people would not be suitable for 100.
You can have it at someone's home or backyard, but you need a backup plan in case of inclement weather. Tents are expensive, as are renting chairs and tables.

Then decide if you want any attendants. What do you want them to wear and what color? You probably will want coordinating colors in the dresses, flowers and decor. They can wear their own clothes as well, they do not have to match or wear an expensive outfit that they will only wear one time.

The food is a major expense. Depending on what time of day, you don't have to serve a full meal. Early afternoon you could just serve cake and punch. You could get married in the morning and serve brunch. You could have a ceremony in the courthouse and meet family for a meal in a restaurant afterwards.. You could have a potluck reception, where everyone brings a dish. You could have a cook out with burgers and the trimmings. You could have a meal at your favorite ethnic restaurant.

If you're on good terms with your fiance's family, and you would like a more traditional wedding, ask for help understanding the details. The groom's mother would probably be glad to be involved, usually it's the bride's family who get to do all that.

Good luck and congratulations on your wedding and the new arrival!

Answer 6

Yes, 2 months is plenty of time if you don't go overboard! This is the reason many people need a year to plan, but really it shouldn't take that long. (I know someone who planned a beautiful, very small wedding in about 6 weeks.) You need to have a place to have the ceremony/reception (how small is your guest list? A restaurant might be a nice alternative to a hall), get a dress/tux, food (included if you just go to a restaurant), someone to marry you (JP, etc) and flowers.

Answer 7

Check out this site http://www.a-weddingday.com/planning/nilybudget.html. Great resource.

As far as music goes, for my wedding I just bought an iPod and filled it with all my music and a some other essential wedding songs. Make a few playlists (ceremoney, first dances, dance, etc). I simply hooked my ipod into some borrowed speakers and a friend of mine who was really into music volunteered to act as "dj". Great part was that anyone could just go up and browse the iPod to find a song they wanted to play next (just remind the guests not to change the song before the other ends, or else that could get really annoying).

Hope this helps. Have wonderful wedding and good luck on motherhood!!

Answer 8

I had to plan my wedding pretty much by myself because my hubby was in the military. So due to some conflicts we had to change are wedding location and ceremony 1 week before we were getting married. So I would have loved to have had two months. Since it is summer though I would start with things like your cake, flowers, or anything else that you may want that you will have to order. Best of luck!

Answer 9

You can do so much in 2 months. I have less than 2 weeks!!
Anyhoo, get a checklist to get you started. Start looking on the internet, in local bridal shops and talking w/others who have had weddings.
Most importantly, don't get overwhelmed. The most important thing is that the 2 of you get married, not that the wedding is "perfect."
Good luck and congratulations!

Answer 10

My mother planned her wedding in 28 days! It can be done! Keep it small and simple and you will be fine. $4000 is plenty providing you keep the guest list to a minimum.

Get yourself onto weddingchannel.com or theknot.com and look at their checklists and budget calculators. Very helpful tools. Those sites also are full of ideas and money saving tips.

Congrats! I'm sure it will be beautiful.