planning a wedding

[lola]

just curious... how much time does it take to plan a wedding? i'm not talking anything too fancy or anything. just something nice. i feel like you need to arrange the location at least a year in advance if you want to get married in the summer, and that really stresses me out!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[NYeyeGirl]

if you do it really intensively and aren't too picky, you could do it within a couple months. Good luck!

 

[StealthFille]

Hey, there's always Vegas!

 

[tlew12778]

Ironic bc I was just sitting here trying to figure out a good date while planning around the match . FH still has to take the USMLE so I have to figure that into the plan, then he has to do all the match apps and interviews, so I figure I can rule out from September-December all together. Then I figure I can rule out April and May of the year he begins residency since there won't be time for him to deal with last minute wedding plans

{{{{{{{{{sigh}}}}}}}}}

To answer your question, I think it depends on what kind of wedding you want and where you live. I know in NY for instance, it's not unheard of to book your venue 18 months in advance.

 

[StealthFille]

Why rule out April and May? I thought most residencies don't begin until the end of June?

 

[pathdr2b]

Originally posted by tlew12778
I know in NY for instance, it's not unheard of to book your venue 18 months in advance.

The venue (in Southern Georgia) I'd like isn't available in a cool month until 2005. I have asthma so a June wedding inthe South is COMPLETELY out of the question.

Yeah, I think Vegas is looking better and better every day.......................

 

[tlew12778]

April and May are out bc we would be making the transatlantic move back to the US. I refuse to deal with wedding stuff and movers and not knowing where any of my stuff is all at once.

 

[dapimp]

i planned, made all the preparations, all the phone calls, got the cake, dress, rings, everything all by myself in 1 week. my wife was pretty much worthless. so dont stress too much

 

[jenni4476]

It all depends on where you live and who you know....we wanted a Saturday June wedding so we had to plan about 2 years in advance b/c they were booked out that far and we didn't have any connections to help the process. Our friend, on the other hand, worked for a caterer in the area so she was able to call in favors from vendors and such for a June wedding six months in advance. They called her right away with cancellations and such...

If you want to plan on a shorter scale, you could try a Friday night wedding...often many places will give discounts also for this. I had another friend that did this on three months notice and it wound up to be a beautiful elegant evening affair, and it only cost her about $10000 for a 250-person wedding with sit-down dinner, etc...whereas the same thing on a Saturday night would be about $25000 in our area. The only drawback to this is if you've got a lot of guests coming in from out of town, they may have to take Friday off of work to travel...

Just a suggestion...you can pm me if you have any other questions about a wedding, I got married last year myself and have helped plan 9 other weddings in the last three years so I sometimes feel like I should be a wedding consultant at this point

 

[hsouth]

I started planning 11 months before my wedding, but I also wanted a Saturday in June. I'm currently taking a year off and will be going to med school in the fall as a married woman. Seems to have worked out perfectly. 11 months has been plenty of time - the very beginning is stressful in finding a place and vendors (photographer, caterer, dj etc), but after that it's pretty smooth sailing. Good luck!

~H

 

[Runtita]

I think we planned our wedding in about 4 months and most of that time was spent on making my dress. I think we spent maybe $900 on the entire wedding.

We were married for free in a small military chapel and had our reception at my husband's grandparents' house. They had a beautiful rose garden! My parent and in-laws shared expenses and we did almost everything ourselves- hors d'oerves, my mom made my dress, Mom and I did the flowers, etc. We actually ordered the cakes and paid a photographer, and the guys wore rented morning suits.

We didn't have a fancy dance/dinner with an open bar, but we did receive many compliments on the wedding and reception...and my dress!

All in all, I cherish my memories of our do-it-yourself wedding. It's only one day, you know. The rest of your life is more important.

 

[mudbug]

Originally posted by hsouth
I started planning 11 months before my wedding, but I also wanted a Saturday in June. I'm currently taking a year off and will be going to med school in the fall as a married woman. Seems to have worked out perfectly. 11 months has been plenty of time - the very beginning is stressful in finding a place and vendors (photographer, caterer, dj etc), but after that it's pretty smooth sailing. Good luck!

~H

In most places you'll have to plan at least 16-18 months in advance if you want an event like that on a June Saturday. 11 months is really good!

 

[ubiquitous]

I planned my wedding in about seven months. I'd have to say that the majority of the stress was tying up loose ends very close to the big day. If you're planning to get married next summer, could you take time over Christmas break to finalize your location? I think once you do that, much of your current stress will be eliminated. Depending on where you live and how flexible you are (time constraints, etc.), finding a summer wedding date shouldn't be as much of a problem as you think! For instance, more venues are available in May than in June or July. Also, the time of the wedding is a big factor. We had our wedding at 10 am, followed by a very nice brunch reception. One of my friends had an early evening wedding, followed by a decadent dessert reception. Having the wedding and reception in two different locations may make it easier as well because you'll be reserving the venues for shorter blocks of time. For example, we were married in my undergraduate chapel, and they rent the chapel in exactly two hour time blocks to allow for maximum utilization.

Do have someone that you trust to help you with the planning? For my friends that have married while in medical school, they definitely have relied on outside help (mom, maid/matron of honor, wedding planner) to take care of many of the details. Then on periodic breaks (Christmas, spring break, long weekends) they spent time in the wedding locale making arrangements.

Overall, I think it can definitely be done with minimized stress to you. But I think you have to be willing to let others help you and make some decisions for you given your med school schedule.

Good Luck!

 

[lola]

just to update you guys, i finalized a date and location for the wedding a few weeks ago. i will be having it on a saturday in august and actually have quite a bit of the planning done already (picked a florist, photographer, band, dress, and cake person). it is not my first choice location, but i think it will end up being a lot of fun anyway. my mom has helped out quite a bit (err... too much), so i was able to get these things done pretty fast. oh yeah, and we're going to go to hawaii for the honeymoon . it will be so nice to relax!

 

[kak]

Take a look at the Sandals resorts - it was beautiful - we were married on the beach in the Bahamas. It's a bit non-traditional, but it's stress-free. They take care of the minister, flowers, cake, and license And what's best is that it's included in your stay depending on the room class that you book (which takes care of the honeymoon in essence). The wedding party was small, just our parents and us. Everyone enjoyed it and honestly after doing it that way, I wonder why people make themselves miserable with all those details.

 

[HouseHead]

Originally posted by lola
we're going to go to hawaii for the honeymoon . it will be so nice to relax!

Hey, if you're spending time on Oahu, feel free to ask me questions- Honolulu's my hometown

 

[lola]

hey, thanks. i think we are actually going to go to kauai with a day in molokai to see the leper colony! we are still trying to decide, though. my fiance is foreign, so we have to stay in the united states for the honeymoon due to immigration rules.

 

[HouseHead]

Would you still have to stay even though you'd be married then??? Weirdness.

The leper colony... huh... Never been. Molokai's a small place. Kauai is the only island I haven't been to. Supposedly nice though. I've thought about going there for *my* honeymoon, so I could see something new but still feel at home...

Have fun <- Not too digging the new smilies

 

[lola]

I went to Kauai when I was about 13 and loved it, so I am anxious to go back again. It is beautiful and very peaceful, just what we will need after all the wedding chaos. The last two times I've been to Hawaii I went to the big island. There are some really nice hotels there and it is an interesting place, but I think the other islands are more beautiful. The volcano was pretty cool! We'll only be on Molokai for a day I think. I've heard wonderful things about the leper colony, as strange as that may sound, so I thought it will be a nice excursion.
What is up with these new smiles??

 

[christie]

Househead,

I could use use your help since your from Hawaii. I just got engaged and am planning a honeymoon at one of my timeshares in Maui, but I'm not sure which part of Maui would be nicer; Lahaina or Kihei? Do you have any info on these areas? I was also considering Kaui, but may end up staying in Maui, because I heard so many great things about it.
Thanks for your help.

 

[lola]

Originally posted by HouseHead
Would you still have to stay even though you'd be married then??? Weirdness.

yes.. there are all these silly rules. it is possible to apply for special permission to leave the country, but it seems like too much of a hassle b/c we have tons and tons of other paperwork to do. it is only temporary (a few months maybe) that he can't leave the country after the wedding.

 

[HouseHead]

Originally posted by christie
Househead,

I could use use your help since your from Hawaii. I just got engaged and am planning a honeymoon at one of my timeshares in Maui, but I'm not sure which part of Maui would be nicer; Lahaina or Kihei? Do you have any info on these areas? I was also considering Kaui, but may end up staying in Maui, because I heard so many great things about it.
Thanks for your help.

I don't know much about Maui, other than that hiking in Haleakala is pretty cool, and that there are a lot more sharks in the waters than there used to be... I've spent a lot more time on the Big Island, and grew up on O'ahu, so those are more what I know. Sorry