How to Plan a Wedding in Six Months

Co-authored by Hovik Harutyunyan and Hannah Madden

Last Updated: May 14, 2021 References Approved

Getting married is a magical step in anyone’s life. If you’ve recently gotten engaged, you may be itching to get to your wedding day as soon as possible so you can start living the rest of your life with your partner. Planning your wedding within 6 months can seem like an impossible task, and you may have to compromise on a few aspects of your wedding, but with a little bit of preparation and help, you can make your special day seem like something straight out of a fairytale.

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Booking a Venue and Vendors

1
Decide on a date for your wedding. Talk to your partner about the exact date of your wedding to start making arrangements. Keep in mind that your desired date might not be available at the venue you want, so you might need to be flexible. Try choosing a day that isn’t super popular, like a Sunday or a weeknight.^{[1]
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- January, February, and March are usually less popular wedding times, so you may have more luck booking venues and vendors during these months.
2
Set your budget with your partner. Sit down with your partner to talk about how much money you two want to spend on your wedding. Try to factor in your future expenses, your current bills, and how much you and your partner have saved or will have saved by the time of your wedding.^{[2]
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- If you have any family members who are willing to contribute to your wedding costs, be sure to factor in their contributions as well.
Tip: Try to stick to your budget as much as possible as you plan your wedding to avoid going into debt.

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3
Ask your friends and family to help you with preparations. Since you are planning a wedding with a pretty short timeline, try reaching out to your close friends and family members to see if they are willing to help you out. Ask them to take care of booking vendors, making decorations, or simply giving you moral support throughout the wedding planning process.^{[3]
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- Try not to be offended if your friends or family members don’t have time to help you out. Everyone’s lives are busy, so they may be too swamped to contribute.
4
Hire a wedding planner to take the pressure off yourself. Wedding planners are in contact with vendors and venues and can help you plan your wedding within your short timeline. If your budget allows it, look into hiring a wedding planner for your wedding.^{[4]
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- Make sure you specify that your wedding is in 6 months so the wedding planner knows what to expect.
5
Book a venue as soon as you can. You can’t have a wedding without a place to hold it! Look around at churches, reception halls, and ballrooms near you to find places with availability in 6 months. Friday evenings and Sundays are usually more open than Saturdays since they are less popular wedding times.^{[5]
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- Try to find a venue where you can hold both your ceremony and your reception to make transportation easier.
- You may be asked to put down a deposit to book your venue.
6
Contact caterers and bakeries and set your menu. Wedding vendors typically book out months in advance, so it is important to book them as soon as you have a date solidified. Contact a caterer and set the menu for your wedding reception. Then, get in touch with a bakery to make your wedding cake.^{[6]
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- You may have to call multiple vendors to find the ones who are available within your timeline.
- Set up a menu and cake tasting as soon as possible to get your cake and food items set for the date of the wedding.
7
Hire a band or DJ to play at your reception. Decide if you’d like a DJ or band and then contact different vendors in your area. Make sure you let them know the date of your wedding and that they understand how soon it is.^{[7]
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- If you can’t find anyone, try asking your friends and family members if they know anyone who is available to play on the date of your wedding.
8
Contact a photographer to take photos at your wedding. Find some local wedding photographers in your area and see if they are available on your wedding date. Sign a contract stating how many photos you want and how much you will be paying for their services.^{[8]
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- You can also hire the same photographer to take engagement photos of you and your partner if you’d like to.
9
Plan a honeymoon if your budget allows it. Since planning a wedding on such short notice can be expensive, it’s okay to take some time in between your wedding and your honeymoon. If you do have money set aside, make sure to book your flights and hotel rooms for your honeymoon a few months in advance.^{[9]
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- If you will be traveling out of the country, apply for your passport at least 4 months ahead of time if you don’t have one.
- Consider taking your honeymoon somewhere closer to home to cut costs and planning time, like at a local beach or at a ski lodge near you.

Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Inviting Guests and Wedding Party Members

1
Create a gift registry online or at a store. Look around at different stores to see which ones offer gift registries for weddings. Register for gifts with your partner so that your guests can buy you cookware, home goods, and serving items.^{[10]
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- Gift registries make it easier on your guests when they are deciding what to buy for you.
- If you do receive a lot of gifts, prepare to send out thank-you notes after your wedding to each guest.
2
Make a guest list with your partner. Sit down with your partner and decide who you’d like to invite to your wedding. Take a look at your budget and your venue size to figure out how many guests you can invite. Make sure you have their addresses to send out save the dates and invitations later on.^{[11]
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- Consider keeping your wedding small to make planning easier.
Tip: The more guests you have, the more expensive your wedding will be.
3
Ask your friends and family to be in the wedding party. Think about who you’d like to have standing at the altar with you. Ask your close friends or family members to be in your wedding to make sure they are available on your big day.^{[12]
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- Typically, a wedding party involves a maid of honor, bridesmaids, a best man, groomsmen, a flower girl, and a ring bearer. However, consider having just bridesmaids and groomsmen included in your wedding party to cut down on costs and planning.
4
Send out save the dates 4 months before your wedding. Once you know the date, time, and place of your wedding, make a save the date with all of that information included. Make sure your guests know that a formal invitation will follow your save the date.^{[13]
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- You can purchase save the date templates online or make your own in a photo editing software.
- You can skip save the dates if you feel like your invitations will come soon enough.
5
Send out invitations 6 to 8 weeks before your wedding. Create wedding invitations with the date, time, venue, and any special instructions that your guests need. Add an RSVP to have your guests let you know if they’ll be able to make it to your wedding.^{[14]
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- You can pick out invitations from a bridal store or print shop near you.

Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Finding Dresses, Tuxedos, and Rings

1
Pick out a dress as soon as possible to start on alternations. Wedding dresses typically take a while to get altered, especially if your dress needs to be shipped to you. Visit a bridal store as soon as possible or go to a department store with dresses on the rack that you can take home and alter on your own.^{[15]
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- Dresses that lace up the back usually need less alterations since they can be pulled tighter or looser.
Tip: Consider finding a sample size dress at a bridal store that you can purchase off the rack.
2
Order your wedding rings 1 to 2 months in advance. Take your partner to a jewelry store and pick out the rings that you’d like to give each other on your wedding day. Get your ring size fitted and pick up the rings before the date of the wedding.^{[16]
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- It probably won’t take that long for your rings to come in, but it’s better to order them ahead of time just to be safe.
3
Pick out bridesmaid dresses with your bridesmaids. Just like you with your wedding dress, your wedding party may need fittings and alterations to their dresses as well. Go with your bridesmaids to a bridal store to pick out the style and color of their dresses and see if they need to be altered at all.^{[17]
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- You can also ask your bridesmaids to all wear any dress style in the same color to make it simple. However, this will look less uniform during your ceremony.
4
Set up a time for a tuxedo fitting for your groomsmen. Have your groomsmen and groom get fitted and order suits from the same tuxedo shop at the same time to make sure they are all matching. If any groomsmen live out of town, have them send their measurements to you to order their tuxedo for them.^{[18]
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- Make sure your groomsmen pick up their tuxedos a few days before the wedding in case there are any problems that need to be addressed.
- If you don’t want to deal with tuxedo fittings, consider having the groom and groomsmen dress in more laid-back outfits, like slacks and button-down shirts.

Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Finishing up Final Preparations

1
Have your bachelor and bachelorette parties 2 months before the wedding. Ask the people in your wedding party to throw you and your partner separate celebrations before your marriage. You can keep these parties low-key and host them at someone’s house, or you can take them out on the town to a club or a bar and dance the night away.^{[19]
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- Asking your wedding party members to throw your parties takes some of the planning off of your own shoulders.
2
Confirm your vendors as the wedding date gets closer. Since your wedding is being planned on such short notice, it’s important to stay on top of all the moving parts involved in it. Check-in regularly with your venue, caterer, florist, DJ, hair and makeup stylist, and any other vendors you have booked to make sure that everything is running smoothly.^{[20]
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Tip: It’s better to find out about a problem early so that you have time to address it before the big day.
3
Apply for your marriage license 1 month before the wedding. Some counties and states have waiting periods for marriage licenses, so it’s important to apply for one early. Both you and your partner need to bring a driver’s license or a passport to your local county clerk’s office to apply for a marriage license.^{[21]
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- Some counties require you to bring your birth certificate as well. Check with your local laws to see what documents you need to bring to apply for your license.
4
Enjoy your wedding day when it comes. Once you’ve planned all you can plan, the only thing left to do is sit back and enjoy your wedding. Getting married is one of the most special experiences you can have, so make sure you take some time to appreciate it on the big day!^{[22]
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- Even if everything didn’t turn out exactly how you wanted it to, try to look at the bigger picture and have fun spending time with your family and friends.

Community Q&A
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Question

Is 6 months long enough to plan a wedding?

Hovik Harutyunyan
Event & Wedding Planner
Hovik Harutyunyan is an Event and Wedding Planner and the Owner of Hovik Harutyunyan Events, a full-service event planning firm based in Los Angeles, California. Hovik has over ten years of hospitality and event planning experience. His firm specializes in weddings, private celebrations, and corporate events. Hovik's work has been featured in Vogue, Martha Stewart Weddings, and Modern Luxury Weddings. He has a BA in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley.

Hovik Harutyunyan

Event & Wedding Planner

Expert Answer

Support wikiHow by unlocking this expert answer.

If you're trying to plan a wedding in 6 months, it's a good idea to hire a wedding planner. They'll help keep you on track when it comes to finding a venue and the vendors that you need, and they can even help you manage your budget through the planning process.
Question

When does the bride dance with her father?

Community Answer

After she dances with her new husband. The same goes for the groom dancing with his mother.
Question

Can bridesmaids carry books instead of bouquets?

Community Answer

They can carry anything you'd like them to carry.