Anyone have a wedding where you don't live? Advice?

I'm in a similar boat so I'm following along. I'm from NJ where 90% of the guests are. He's from AL. We met in DC. We now live in NC, but it hasn't worked out her, so we could be moving to TX, NY or back to DC, fingers crossed. FH refuses to get married in NJ bc he has no ties there (fair enough). We love Hershey PA, so we're thinking there, regardless of where we move. I'm wondering if it's worth it. Most contract negotiations take place via email, so I'm sure it'll be fine, but maybe not? 🤔

My family is from Henderson Nevada! We however now live in Ohio, but most of our family is in Pennsylvania, We are having our wedding in Pennsylvania, only because both his and my family are there. The older family. Its easier for us to go to them, then them to come to us. I will tell you its A LOT of work, and were only beginning the process. Our wedding is in May 2020 so we have awhile to go. It is most definitely a lot of back and fourth Our states are side by side luckily for us, so the three hour drive is not bad. You guys are a lot further. There is just more over the phones and emailing going on then face to face. If you can handle that then not so bad. Things just dont get done on your time. Your wedding you can make anything work that you want to! you just need an amazing Venue that knows what they are doing and amazing bridesmaids to help ya out!! congrats on your engagement

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LOVE Hershey PA but im partial because were from PA!!

Yes!! Currently planning our east coast wedding now (in New Hampshire) while in the west coast in California and my Fiancé is home in Massachusetts, a little tough don’t be discouraged but I definitely recommend using the vendor app to look up venue locations first and start reaching out and emailing the vendors! Finding the venue was the toughest part for us that fit our budget and amenities, so definitely reach out to as many as you can with estimated guest count - you can finalize later - Then from there you can eliminate down to what is most ideal after that so schedule a tour if you can during a visit or have the venue send you a video or photos! Luckily after we eliminated our choices, we only visited this one venue when I went home to visit and we loved it so that was it! From there you can work with the coordinator to keep updated and look for vendors later on, usually the venues have preferred vendor list too for you to start off with but wedding wire app has tons for you to discover . Hope that helps!

We live in SoCali and are getting married in Vegas. So it’s still close enough for us to get there a few times during the planning process. However in your case, I’d hire a wedding planner in the area of Kentucky where you’re getting married.

We live is western PA (Pittsburgh) and got married just outside of Baltimore, MD. We chose a mostly inclusive venue which made planning a breeze. We just had to find a florist and photographer. We relied heavily on reviews and first impressions as we could only take two trips out.

The best advice I can give for planning from afar is try to find an all-inclusive venue. This way you won't have to worry about lining up too many vendors! Also, you may find a gorgeous venue with a flaky rep, and an almost as pretty venue with a rep that just "gets it". Go with the second. Communication will be everything!

I don't have any experience planning from OOT, however, I'm from Northern Kentucky and would love to give any recommendations you might need!

My FH and I moved to 2 different states (California and Florida) since we got engaged August 2017 and are getting married in NC. In that time, I trusted my mom with receiving my online purchases related to the wedding, I made 2 trips to NC for tastings, hair and makeup trial, site visits, and fittings. Be sure to hire a wedding planner/coordinator! If something doesn’t feel right in your gut, listen! That’s your instinct. Happy planning!!!

I live in Tennessee but am getting married in Alabama (about an hour and a half away from where we live). It's only 10 minutes from FH's parents' house, but we haven't met with any of the vendors down there except for our venue and florist. I've used Wedding Wire, The Knot, and Google to find vendors in the area with good reviews and decide what I want to use!

We live in CO and we’re getting married in NC. I made diy stuff there and left it with my parents, will have to ship my gown and some other things. Our registry is on Zola so when people buy stuff it ships straight to us and we don’t have to bring it on the plane. I’ve done all my research and communication online, but I did take an extra trip to do my hair trial and cake tasting.

My brother moved to Arizona from California a year or two ago and he never had a wedding but they'd like one. And he said it would be in California if they do ever do it. I suggested him going with an inclusive package venue because it would just make planning easier.

I think it's probably easier now than ever before to plan a long distance wedding, thanks to the internet. I wouldn't get hung up on needing to visit to do cake tastings, hair trials, etc. Everything can be arranged via phone/email. Just make sure you clearly communicate what you want, read your contracts, check references, etc.

Yes I just got married in Florida and live in Maryland. It helped that I found a venue with a great wedding coordinator. I found all of my vendors on wedding wire and she took care of everything at the venue. Lucky for me I don’t work because it was a lot of time and work but it all worked out.