Anyone else moving abroad after their wedding?

My FH proposed to me 3 weeks ago today We're planning a wedding in the US, and then I'll join him in France, where he lives now. After 18 months of a trans-Atlantic relationship (and another 10 months until we get married) I'm SO ready to close the gap, but at the same time, I'm overwhelmed. I've lived abroad for 7 years now, but I've always had a job or study visa, and this time the most likely option is a visa for a spouse which can't be processed until after we're married. We won't have the vacation days to hang out in the US until all the paperwork is processed, and I don't want to get married and keep being long distance til it's ready. I'm hoping we can just process the visa in France, but from what I've seen so far, that doesn't look possible. I'm wondering if we'll actually have to get married weeks or months before on another visit to get a jump start on processing the visa, but I don't like that idea either. Anyone have any experience with this? What did you do?