Michael and I got engaged and were married in only a matter of 7 months… and I didn’t even start planning until close to 1 month after getting engaged!! Being in the wedding industry, without a doubt, helped me SO MUCH in being able to make decisions quickly and plan everything so quickly. Typically, most couples are engaged anywhere from 1 year to 2 years… But what if you want to get married more quickly than that?! So today, I’m sharing my best tips for planning a wedding in a short amount of time, because if I did it in 6 months… I totally believe you can too!! :)

1. Book all of your vendors first. Before you get too far into worrying about wedding colors and reception centerpieces, the first thing you should get going on is booking all of your main vendors first.

I would start first with your venue and your photographer, since they are usually booked a lot farther in advance. Some venues book their prime Saturdays 2 years out (so crazy!!), so it’s really important to start finding a venue as soon as you can! This also goes for your photographer, since they are usually the next to be booked. If you have a photographer you are dying to work with or a venue you really love, being flexible on your date is going to really work in your favor to have your dream wedding. For Michael and I, we just knew we needed to get married in the month of July, since schedule-wise, that was the most ideal. I reached out to my dream photographer first, found out the dates she was available, then matched a date with the venue we really wanted. It worked out perfectly!

The next vendors you should look into booking is a DJ, caterer, florist, day-of coordinator (or planner), and hair & makeup artist. From there, then you can start finding your bridal dress, colors, bridesmaids dresses, suits/tuxes, and even start thinking about your reception centerpieces! :)

2. Get married on a Friday or a Sunday. Believe it or not, Friday & Sunday weddings are actually really common now! Nearly half of the weddings I’ve photographed were on a Friday or Sunday, which is a LOT! It’s definitely a fantastic option, especially for availability of different vendors on a quicker schedule! :) Michael and I got married on a Sunday and after figuring out a date with our photographer & venue, every single other vendor we looked into was available for our date, and I have no doubt it was because it was a Sunday!! When you’re trying to book so many things on a quicker schedule, this will save you so much headache on trying to find vendors you love who are available! If you’re worried about not as many guests showing up, I would encourage you not to- your guest list might be a little smaller than a Saturday, but the people who are really really important WILL be there!! :)

3. Have a vision and stick to it. When you want to plan your wedding much more quickly, it’s really important to envision what you want and not go back and forth too much! I know this can be really hard for me, but once you make certain decisions, it’s pretty much impossible to change- so having a vision of what you want from the beginning and sticking to it for every detail will help SO MUCH! :) Once your dress is ordered, it’s really hard to change it. Once the bridesmaids dresses are ordered, you can’t return them. Once you’ve already spent a lot on the decor, the last thing you want to do is try to return it all because you changed your mind on the “look” (and by now, the new decor won’t match the theme of your wedding anyway). The downside to planning your wedding so fast is that you can’t change your mind on most decisions… but the upside is you also don’t have to go back and forth on how to do things for as long! :)

BONUS TIP: I did not do this myself, but when you start planning, I highly suggest hiring a planner or coordinator to help you with your day- even if it’s just for finding all the perfect vendors (y’know, those one s I said to find and book quickly)! Natasha with Perfectly Planned Weddings is the bomb and can help take SO MUCH STRESS off of planning & your day!