Wedding

How to Plan a Wedding in 6 Months (DIY Guide)

OMG your engaged!! Now it’s time to start planning the big day. Planning a wedding it can easily become very stressful. To help ease the stress (from becoming Bridezilla & Groomzilla), keep an open mind for changes and also give yourself ample time to plan so you don’t get stuck 14 days away and still planning.

In this article, we’ll teach you how to plan a wedding in 6 months by following our DIY guide below. Before we begin, you should know that Bitton Events has been planning weddings since 2005 as a full service event and entertainment company.

Here is a basic checklist that we’ve found useful for planning a wedding in under 6 months. The first step is to watch this wedding planning budget checklist video.

Months 1-2:

    • Create a binder: This will be your personal vision board. It’s portable, accessible and requires no Internet connection. It should consist of tabs included but not limited to:
    • Budget
      • Excel spreadsheet breaking down how much you want to spend per vendor
      • Price sheets for each vendor
    • Venue and vendors
      • Contact information and contracts
    • Theme or color
      • Find ideas on Pintrest, The Knot, WeddingWire, and Google Images
      • Choose a color scheme for your lighting, linens, and flowers
    • Guest list
      • Be realistic and try not to invite everyone you ever met in your life. The cost will start adding up tremendously.
      • This is one of the hardest parts about planning a wedding.
      • If you only have 50 guests but your fiancé has 150, you need to find a fair way to split the costs accordingly. We recommend that each family pays for their own guests.

Months 2-4:

    • The next couple of months (4 – 6) start to get more involved and active. Set up meetings with vendors to see what they can offer. Go as a group, this makes everything more fun. Oh…and don’t forget the binder.
    • Begin narrowing down your vendors options:
      • Venue (Try to get an all-inclusive venue that includes tables, linens, chairs, food, and alcohol. This makes life easier and your pockets happier.
      • Rental Company (Remember to stay within the budget)
      • DJ (Choose quality over price, trust us)
      • Entertainers (dancers, stilt walkers, musicians, etc…)
      • Caterers (Get menu options to choose from)
      • Florist (Get several arrangements to choose from)
      • Cake (Get several styles to choose from)
      • Wedding Registry
      • Wedding apparel
      • Hotels (If they are any out of town guests)
      • Transportation
      • Invitations
      • Hair and makeup
      • Officiant
      • Thank you gifts (Etsy.com is a great start)

Months 4-5:

  • It’s time to start cracking down and signing contracts. You don’t want to wait and let the available date slip away.
  • Book all vendors
  • Send invitations
  • Mail the rehearsal-dinner invitations. (If you are having one)
  • Plan a honeymoon
  • Get your rings

Months 5-6:

  • Would you look at that it’s almost that time! The next couple of months (10 – 12) it’s crunch time. Do you have a coordinator? I mean cousin Lisa is great and all, but it’s she also a bridesmaid? Trust us you’re going to need the help.
  • Rehearsal.
  • Check on RSVP’s and finalize guest list.
  • Send guest list to appropriate vendors.
  • Buy the rest of your accessories for the day of the wedding.
  • Pick your music.
    • First dance
    • Parent dance
    • Entrance song etc.
  • Get or make favors.
  • Finalize speeches
  • Finalize readings for ceremony.
  • Print menu cards and or programs.
  • Send event schedule to vendors.
  • Get your marriage license.
  • Send out as many final payments as you can.
  • Assign seating
  • Re-confirm all vendors.
  • Have a mock hair and makeup trial.

 

The week of the wedding.

  • Promise yourself not to become overwhelmed.
  • Reconfirm arrival times with vendors. (Preferably have a day-of-coordinator that can do all this for you)
  • Send a timeline to the bridal party.
  • Pick up your dress and tux.
  • Set aside checks for the vendors. (If any outstanding balances remain)

Remember this is your special moment and everything leading up to it should be fun, easy and memorable. Not a stressed moment that makes you rethink life and celebrating love on a whole. We encourage you that if you ever feel like you’re in above your head or you just want someone to take care of it for you feel free to contact us.

 

 

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