Out of state planning

I would either hire a DOC/planner here in CA to help you organize your vendors (at the very least a DOC to run the show day of) or just keep yourself very organized. I personally have a binder that has all print outs of contracts/receipts/etc so I can quickly find anything I’m looking for. Do you already have your venue or are you still looking?

View Quoted Comment

We already have a Venue. The venue will have planners and day of coordinator. We will have our first meeting on the 8th of March. The big issue we might run into is I will be gone overseas for work for about 9 months. So the hubby will be doing most of the planning.

We planned from Maryland and got married in Massachusetts, without ever visiting Massachusetts until we arrived for the wedding. And we didn't use a DOC/planner. It's not that hard. You can search reviews, get photos and information on the Internet, e-mail or Skype with vendors, etc.

View Quoted Comment Do you have all your other vendors secured or at least have an idea on the type of vendor (I’m thinking photography style as the big one) that your fiancé knows? I would just try to get as much locked in before you leave the country. Then, like 2dbride said, utilize Skype and emails to stay in the loop. I’ll be honest and say that I really haven’t needed to communicate much with my vendors at all up to now (about 5.5 months out) and any communication that has been necessary has been fine through email.

We live in Cali and are getting married in Vegas. I actually like planning from afar because I make a decision and stick to it. I can’t obsess and (for example) visit the venue every weekend trying to continuously come up with new ideas, etc. Destination planning also forces you to make efficient decisions about what your decor will be, because you’ll either have to bring items with you or have them shipped.


We quickly booked all of our vendors after signing the contract. But in doing so, I had to rely on reviews, phone conversations, websites and my gut because 99% of our vendors were never met in person (we only met the contact for our venue). There just wasn’t going to be enough time to meet and vet multiple vendors in each category during our trips. So you have to be flexible, a great planner, a good decision maker and not the stress-y type.
FH and I have been to Vegas bunches of times. But not from a wedding planning perspective. So we initially went in May for venue tours and decided on a venue. Then we went again in December to see the venue again to take more pics/videos and ask questions. We’ll go back again in April and meet our vendors in person. Then travel there again in August before going the final time a few days before the wedding in October.
What city are you getting married in?

I agree with the above poster. Distance planning is the best. We will not have any tastings, visits or even hair/makeup trials before our big day. Our venue gave us a list of preferred vendors and they have all been great communicators, and have amazing work. The extent of my planning was sending them pinterest photos and them telling me yes, they can accommodate my wants. My only advice is to get your vendors now and contract them asap. Your actual planning can come a little later. So when you do have time, look at pinterest or wedding sites and get your ideas flowing. Make a word document with detailed wants/needs and send them to the vendors. This makes communication pretty easy. Being overseas should be no problem. If you get to a place with wifi, you can take some time to formulate ideas. Honestly the lack of time/wifi will probably be better. It requires you to find a plan and stick to it without changing your mind a million times.

View Quoted Comment

I am just curious why you picked a state that you had never been to before? Sorry if this question sounds too intrusive

View Quoted Comment

At the time, it was one of the few states where a same-sex couple could get married.

View Quoted Comment

I LOVE that you were able to get married and LOVE even more that this has opened up for all same sex marriages! I live in Canada and this is the norm

Well i live in wisconsin and getting married on july 11 2020 in NJ (my home state). What I would say is you would have to go to california at least once because you have to sample food for catering purposes unless you personally know someone who can cater for you. I am actually preparing to go to NJ in march for that exact thing. Also you have to apply for your license IN the state you are getting married. I will be doing both of these things in March good luck. The rest should be a breeze i covered almost everything from Wisconsin. Good luck and Congrats.

We live in Washington and are getting married in Vegas. I email and call my planner with any issues or questions I have. I will plan something or put something together then call and let them know I did it, and ask for their input or advice on the next step. Rinse repeat until it is all done. I still have 7 months but I have a lot of what I need done. I won't be able to do a cake tasting or food tasting unless I go there again which I could easily do over a weekend. Getting my Texan family and his Washingtonian family there are gonna be the biggest anxieties!