You or someone you know may have recently gotten engaged over Valentine’s Day weekend. [Congratulations by the way!!]. People around you may automatically assume that you are getting married in 2017, while you may be wondering if there is still time to get married in 2016. The answer of course is yes, it is definitely possible. Though the average engagement in the US lasts about 8-12 months, many people do successfully plan weddings in less time. And this blog post will help you to see what it takes to make that happen!

1. Savings – It’s no secret that weddings are not cheap, and the final cost will depend on how elaborate you would like your wedding to be. Click here for one of our blog posts which details the average cost of a wedding in different states. But getting married sooner means that you have to pay off bills sooner, and have fewer paychecks in between to save from. You likely will need to combine lots of savings with future income in order to pay off your wedding on time.
2. Flexibility & Decisiveness – Flexibility is key if you would like to be married this year. If you have one specific venue and one specific date in mind for your wedding, there is a slim chance that it will be available since there are lots of brides who have been planning for over a year and may have taken it. That said, there may be availability one to two weeks before or after your ideal date. Fridays and Sundays are also great alternatives which may still be open if you have your heart set on a specific weekend. The same goes for other vendors – you will need to shop through multiple vendors to see who is available to accommodate your wedding as opposed to being stuck on one specific vendor. That said, it is also very important to be decisive once options are presented. You don’t want to leave everything until the last moment and overwhelm yourself!
3. Help (From Someone You Trust) – The final important thing that you will need is assistance along the way! There are a lot of decisions to make along the way, and you want to ensure that you are planning and budgeting accordingly to get everything that you need. A good example of this is that I recently got a call from a couple looking for a day of coordinator and decorator for a wedding for 300 guests. But they had already spent about 90% of their budget on the hall, food and photography alone and did not have room in the budget for the decor that they envisioned, MD, DJ, videographer and so many other things which they overlooked and didn’t budget correctly for. Its really important to hire a planner that you trust to guide you in the right direction! This person can recommend vendors and approaches which are trusted to help you to stay on budget and to be decisive throughout the process.

If you are planning a wedding in 2016 or 2017, contact us today for a custom proposal showing you what can be done under budget. We’ll essentially let you preview your wedding, including venue, decor and vendor options included before you book us. And its risk free! Click here to request your proposal.

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