I planned my own wedding in 9 weeks so you could say I am an expert at whirl wind wedding planning!

Planning a wedding is fun – but drag out the process for years and it can take a little excitement out of the big day. You can find yourself overanalysing every element of the wedding and see fashions and trends changing – just as you’ve finally decided on the theme of your day. A whirlwind wedding, on the other hand, promises a real adventure. The wedding planning experience is full on from start to end. But you’ve got so much to be getting on with that there’s not really any time to stress. Believe me – I planned my own wedding in 2016 in just nine weeks!

The perks included:

A budget-friendly day

The only money we had available was that in our bank accounts, so we had to stick to budget. This meant we didn’t go overboard and were sensible with our spending. It was also nice not to spend years of savings on one day.

An up-to-date wedding theme

Although suppliers were limited – due to the fact that lots were booked out already – we were still able to plan a stylish wedding. Of course, we had to have an open mind about theme and style but we still ended up with the wedding we wanted.

No waiting around

I didn’t want a long engagement and thought it was pointless. I was too excited about being a wife and a bride! I also didn’t want wedding planning to take over my life for months or years – so a whirlwind wedding was perfect

All about love

When planning a wedding you can get so caught up in the little things – but they really don’t matter. By minimising time spent planning our wedding, we realised what was important about the day and were able to prioritise better.

Eight tips for planning a whirlwind wedding

Of course, I’m not telling you that every single part of the process was easy. As with all weddings, there were good and bad parts about the planning – but it only lasted nine weeks. With this in mind, I wanted to share my top tips to help you plan your wedding in just a matter of weeks too. If I can do it while juggling a busy business, so can you!

1. Keep things simple

Don’t be too over-ambitious with your wedding ideas. Instead, keep things simple, as you won’t have much time to make things for your wedding or to plan extravagant décor. A simple wedding will always look stylish and sophisticated.

2. Be organised

This one’s crucial. Good organisation is key when you’ve got a tight deadline. We had spreadsheets for everything but they really helped us keep track of everything we needed and dates they needed to be done by.

3. Decide on your priorities

A good wedding planner friend gave me some great advice. She asked, “What are the three most important things you want on your wedding day?” Mine were guests and their enjoyment, lots of flowers, and a beautiful location, near a beach or in lovely gardens. This helped us focus our day and all the planning.

4. Improve your decision-making skills

It’s so easy to go back and forth with ideas when planning a wedding but why stress yourself out about the perfect day? When planning a whirlwind wedding you have to make decisions quickly. For example, I purchased my wedding dress from the first shop I visited.

5. Ask for discounts

If a supplier isn’t booked nine weeks before your wedding date, it’s unlikely they’ll receive many offers. This gives you bargaining power and many will offer you a discount in order to fill their last minute availability.

6. Ask for help

If you’ve got lots to do in a short time, help from family and friends is a must. So many helped us leading up to the wedding and on the day, which was amazing. Everyone loved being part of putting it all together and it just made the experience even more special.

7. Go digital

Speed up the invite process by going digital. We sent invites to our wedding website via Facebook and email and only a handful of invites were printed off for older family members. The wedding website was great and the replies were instant.

8. Pick your bridesmaids wisely

Last, but not least, pick you bridesmaids carefully – after all, they’ll be providing reassurance throughout your journey. They will need to be calm, supportive and helpful and definitely not cause unnecessary stress!

Good luck! Remember, if you’re looking for a photographer for your big day, don’t hesitate to get in touch to enquire about last-minute availability. Contact me and we can have a catch up about your wedding plans over coffee!