It was a gloomy day at the beginning of February. I don’t remember if it was my fiance or me, but one of us suggested getting married in May, and the other liked the idea.
We were engaged for over four years and postponed the wedding three times because of 2020 events we shall not name here…
We were fed up with family requirements (we are an international couple living in the UK) and traditions (plenty of those in both homelands). Honestly, the idea of getting married didn’t bring me any joy anymore. And that was sad.
Ditching all plans for an overly expensive wedding in my partner’s country, we decided to go for a small English wedding with 50 guests (or less).
So… when I said that to my sister, she looked at me and asked, “How quickly can you plan a wedding?“
How do you plan a wedding in 4 months or less?
And with four months until the wedding…
Where do you even start? What do you compromise with? And can you do it with a minimal budget?
In this post, I will share our process of planning a wedding in 4 months or less, and let me tell you, it was nerve-racking, fun, and overwhelming, and I would never do it again… but we had the best wedding day ever, and I know that you could have it too.
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4 Months Before The Wedding – What should you do first?
The Venue!
Most people would advise you to choose the theme for your wedding as a first task. Yes, if you had another 12 months ahead, you could spend a week or two browsing through Pinterest.
But you don’t! You have four months or less, so the theme must wait.
The biggest challenge when you are short on time would be finding the right venue. To get to that part, I suggest you spend two hours sending emails and making phone calls to every venue you’d consider having your wedding.
Most venues would be already busy, especially the popular ones.
Pro tip: Choose your wedding date to be on a Sunday. This way, you automatically double the number of free venues for your chosen date.
Ours was on the 22nd of May, Sunday. We were lucky to find a beautiful hotel nearby with gorgeous Victorian Gothic architecture dating back to the 15th century. Just by finding that piece of gem, we managed to tick off half of the work as they offered accommodation and were registered for wedding ceremonies.
Why would you care?
If I didn’t mention above, four months is a very short time; the more tasks you tick off at once, the better.
Finding a venue that offers accommodation and food and is registered for wedding receptions will reduce the amount of work left for you. Also, such a venue would usually offer discounts for the accommodation.
The Dress!
I haven’t forgotten about that one either!
You really don’t have time to waste when it comes to the dress. The best would be to go for an option that will require as few alliterations as possible. However, that isn’t always the case.
Do your best to find the dress you will love as quickly as possible. That could mean spearing a few days visiting shops and doing that all day long until you find the one that feels like “yours”. Taking a day off work is allowed (in my opinion, I didn’t ask your boss).
As mentioned, we postponed our wedding three times over the previous four years, but I managed to find my perfect dress two years ago. My problem was that I gained weight, and the dress didn’t allow such alliterations. Fortunately, I didn’t gain too much, so all I had to do was be mindful of my diet the last two months before the wedding.
The Decoration
Picking the chair covers and table centerpieces takes just a little bit less than an hour (who knew!). Do that as early as possible so that you can tick it off.
For a budget-friendly wedding in 4 months, I suggest doing as little decoration as possible. The big Mr&Mrs or Love signs go unnoticed, and the three photos you would take in front of something flashy and cheesy aren’t worth the price.
We went for artificial flowers arrangement for the centerpieces, and the only real flowers were in my wedding bouquet. We had no other flower decorations and that cut the cost of the wedding almost in half. And guess what! Nobody said anything about it.
Save The Date/Wedding Invitations
If possible, I would skip this step. Sending invitations to people is much better because of two reasons:
Firstly, you already have less than four months until the big day. Sending Save The Date at this point and invitations a month later is just unnecessary extra work for you.
Secondly, it’s cheaper to go ahead with the invitations only, and you are looking for budget-friendly options, right?
Trust me, every penny matters, and by the end of the planning process, you will have countless other small expenses you never thought of. Keep your money for those things.
Pro tip: Create your wedding invitations by yourself in Canva. It’s free to sign up and use and has hundreds of beautiful templates to use. I did ours there.
Keep in mind that I printed them through Canva and wasn’t happy with the quality of the paper. The better option would be to get paper sheets from the nearby craft shop and print them on your printer at home.
Click here to sign up with Canva for free.
Wedding Photographer/Videographer and Music
Luckily, we live in a technology-rich world where everything and everyone is approachable at any time of the day… through our devices.
You always have the option to ask the wedding venue for recommendations on both photographers and DJs (or bands) they work with.
However, I’ve noticed that they might be a bit pricey, and you can (almost) never find trustable feedback on the quality of the service.
Instead, asking friends who have already gotten married in the last few years for recommendations would save you time and stress. Also, friends will share how much they got charged and if they were happy with the service. All that is such valuable information.
We skipped on the videographer because I was sure we wouldn’t watch the video more than twice in our lifetime, so it didn’t worth the price. However, our photographer offered to create a short video summary of the day, which suited us best.
We had to hire a foreign DJ (from my husband’s country) because both our countries have similar music, but no English DJ agreed to play it all night.
Arrange Notice of Marriage
That’s what we call it in the UK. Here, we have to go to the Registrar’s office and give notice of marriage. Then, they would display the statement of our intention to get married on their notice board for 28 days. If no one objects to it in these 28 days, we would then be allowed to get married.
I cannot tell what the procedure where you live is; however, this is one of the things you want to get sorted out as soon as possible.
3 Months Before The Wedding! What should you do?
Ideally, you would do these things below asap. However, if you were busy with the previous points above, you probably didn’t have time for these. This is the month to focus on them.
Wedding Cake
Choosing and tasting the wedding cake actually takes one day. The problem is finding that free day.
To cut costs, you could make small compromises on the cake decoration. Going for a simple design that does the job is enough, trust me. On the day, you would take a few photos with the cake and cut it with your partner.
Regardless of what others tell you, the moment with the cake isn’t as important as other things.
The Groom’s Suit
No, I didn’t intentionally forget about it until now.
The sad reality (for us brides) is that the groom will find the best suit in less than a day if he knows what he’s looking for. And men usually do.
My husband rented his suit for the day, so all he had to do before that was to spear one day to choose it and another day two weeks before the wedding for the final fitting.
Pro Tip: Renting a suit for the wedding day not only saves you money but also gives you a wider range of suits to choose from since the price to rent a high-quality suit will be cheaper than buying it.
Buy Wedding Rings
That one could take a while, so be sure you don’t delay it too long. Most likely, the rings will need some resizing. But if you got too late with this, just have them as they are on the wedding day and resize them afterward.
We did that. Actually, my wedding ring is slightly bigger, but I didn’t resize it. Instead, I have my engagement ring in front of it, and it suits me for now. My husband’s ring was way too small for him, so after the wedding ceremony, he had it on his thumb for a week until we took it for resizing. Yep, these things happen too.
Hair and Makeup
Ideally, this is the month you want to take care of the hair and makeup situation. Book your trials and arrange your payments with the ladies.
The fastest way to find this type of service is to join a wedding FB page in your area and ask for recommendations there. I got over 20 recommendations in under half an hour.
I had huge trouble finding people to do my hair and makeup as we live in a small town, and I first focused on finding someone local. I realized my mistake too late, but I managed to find the perfect combination of services just three weeks before the wedding through FB. I had my hair and makeup trials a week and a half before the wedding (talk to me about stress).
Budget-friendly tip: Find a place that offers both as packages instead of searching for them separately. Also, going to the salon on the morning of the wedding will be cheaper than having both hair and makeup done in your hotel room. However, this is a more inconvenient option as it means you will be even busier in the morning. I didn’t go for it, and I am happy.
2 Months Before the Wedding – What should you do?
Wedding Menu Tasting
Ideally, the restaurant will guide you on this one. If they don’t (it happened to us), remember that you want to do that around 6-8 weeks before the wedding day.
This way, the chances for the restaurant to have a different chef or product supplier are smaller (yes, a salad tastes different depending on who cuts those veggies and mixes the sauces).
We had our menu tasting a week and a half before the wedding, which was nerve-racking. Don’t delay it too much.
Request RSVP and Ask Questions
By this time, you would have most of the RSVPs. Reach out to those guests who didn’t confirm attending the wedding.
Also, it is important to ask every guest if they have any dietary restrictions. You want that list as early as possible so you can arrange food options for them.
Make sure to finalize accommodation options for those who travel from afar.
Half of our guests were traveling from abroad, so this part was crucial for us. With a few family wars and some compromises, we managed it all in the month before the wedding.
Get Your Wedding Shoes, Jewelry, and Veil
It is time you got your wedding shoes and veil if you haven’t already.
I suggest you don’t go cheap on shoes even if the idea tempts you. I did.
I ordered super cute and cheap shoes online (that’s where everything wedding-related is budget-friendly), but they didn’t fit. The procedure to return them caused me a massive headache, so I had to go out and shop for shoes. I got these ones from Dune and they did the job brilliantly.
Choosing quality over price will pay off here. You will be with those shoes all day long, walking, dancing, and looking gracious and all… they better be good.
The situation is different with the veil. You can absolutely order it online and save tons of money here. To compare, I saved over £70 on the veil because I ordered it from Etsy (this one). And it was beautiful.
And then there’s the jewelry. Online purchases are budget-friendly, but they are allowed if you are already familiar with the quality of the product.
Choose Your First Dance Song
I know you already did that… maybe right after you got engaged.
But if you haven’t, now would be the moment for it. Also, deciding if you will have a special dance choreography is important. We only had it for the first half of the song, and it felt magical. We learned from Youtube (this was our first dance).
You don’t need to spend any money on this one. Just practice 10 minutes every day for a few weeks before the wedding, and it will all go smoothly, trust me on this one.
Guest Book, Wedding Favors, and Other Bits
Do you remember that I said some minor details would pile up and cause you a headache? These are the ones. Deal with them as soon as possible.
Instead of a guest book, I got a picture frame with wooden hearts that guests could sign and pop into the frame… and then I completely forgot to bring it out on the day. I do regret it now, but it’s too late for that. The set goes for my sister’s wedding in August.
I purchased our wedding favors from Amazon. I got these, and they were stunning. They looked high quality, cute, and actually usable. I filled them with candies, and the key was a beer bottle opener.
The only downside is that you need to spear a couple of hours doing these. Also, if you put candies inside, you should do it a day or two before the wedding or they could melt and stick to each other.
Some other little bits you might consider having
These deserve their place on the post.
- Petals for the flower girls to throw on the isle – Get not more than a hundred per girl (even that is too much, trust me). I still have a box full of 800 petals I have no clue what to do with.
- Wedding baskets for those useless petals.
- Wedding rings pillow – I had this one and the rings looked so elegant and gentle.
- Any fun signs for the flower boys. I got one of those “I am still single, ladies!” wooden signs, but my three-year-old nephew got shy and didn’t want to walk the aisle, so that’s a risk to be aware of.
- Bride dressing gown – I think it’s fantastic to have one of those, although I didn’t. It would make you feel extra special.
- Wedding table confetti – no need to order those from the decoration company. They will cost you almost nothing if you pop at the nearby craft shop. You don’t need too many (depending on the number of tables).
Double-Check it All with Suppliers
You want to, just in case, double-check everything with all suppliers. Sending an email would take five minutes but saves you from feeling stressed and overwhelmed on the last days before the wedding.
For example, I didn’t double-check with the wedding decoration company and forgot that I had ordered table centerpieces for five tables instead of six. We found that out on the wedding day. Luckily, their shop was nearby, and they managed to put together one more centerpiece at the last moment. Learn from my mistake.
1 Month Before the Wedding – What should you do?
Plan the Bridal and Groom Showers
Now is the time to hurry up and plan those if you’d like them to be something special. If you are looking for a budget-friendly option (this is a good spot to save on money), just do both at home and make sure the other partner is having a sleepover somewhere else.
Create a Timeline for the Day
You want to have a day’s timeline for your own sake and less stress. If you don’t offer such a thing to your guests, be ready to explain the same stuff repeatedly to every aunt that didn’t hear you five minutes ago.
Again, Canva has some beautiful templates you could use for free, and all you have to do is find a printing service that suits you.
Create a table plan
I must warn you that this is more stressful than you’d expect it… at least it was for me. My parents are divorced and I had to be very strategic. Cousins, friends with nothing in common, and uncles who’d never move from the table… prepare yourself for these thoughts.
Small Place Cards for Guests
Once you have the final list of guests, you want to have place cards. You could purchase them from the Wedding Decoration venue or DIY them. I did the latter.
I got some cute place cards from Hobbycraft and, in under 20 minutes, handwrote the guests’ names on them. Keep in mind most people won’t give them more than second attention, don’t waste money on something flashy.
Create Seating Chart
Don’t forget your seating chart. This would be the first thing your guests will see once they enter the restaurant. The seating chart must be visible and give clear navigation.
Our seating chart was a DIY project with a mirror from my sister’s house (with a gorgeous frame) and a table plan I did on Canva (you can say I love using them).
Find Someone You Trust
I never see this one listed anywhere, but here’s the thing!
You will be insanely busy getting ready and staying sane on your wedding day. However, things will go wrong. Regardless of how hard you try, I can guarantee that something will go wrong.
Have a friend, your sister, your mom, or a cousin… find someone you trust and ask them to be by your side during the day taking phone calls and running to double-check stuff, if necessary.
I didn’t know I needed that type of person until the wedding day came, and I noticed that my best friend from childhood was doing tons of stuff for me. Whenever something happened, she was on it, making sure it was taken care of. I will be forever grateful to her for being there for me, as she literally saved the day more than a few times.
Find someone you can trust!
Last thoughts
Planning a wedding in four months or less won’t be easy, I can’t lie to you. You will often question your decision and spend a few evenings crying over small things you can’t fix (wine helps).
Also, you will end up regretting doing or not doing something. It’s part of the deal.
It comes with compromises, but it also comes with a lot of excitement, dreams, and positive emotions.
You will be “in the bridal mode” the whole time, and that’s something that can never happen if you have a year to plan it. You want to be very organized, creative, and flexible.
Regardless of all that… planning a wedding in such a short time is possible.
In the end, you will have the day you wish to have. You will say “I do!” to the love of your life, and you will appreciate everyone who came to spend that day with you.
Blogger, dreamer, procrastinator, and lover of everything soul-touching. My mission is to make you laugh, provoke your thoughts, light up your day and inspire you to fall in love with life and yourself.
