Overwhelmed

Do you have an officiant, DJ, Baker, photographer? I think I'd be working on getting the remainder of your vendors at this time.

View Quoted Comment We have our officiant and baker. I’m currently looking for photographers and we’re not sure about DJs

Write out everything you still need to do. Then, arrange it by putting the most important things at the top. Take into account things that need to be done in a certain time frame. If you need to still hire a photographer or DJ or any other day of vendor, I would put those at the top since you want to find someone who is available on your date that you are happy with. Once you've made the list, try to estimate the latest deadline for completing each task. The checklists on sites like The Knot and Wedding Wire can be helpful for this. Then, once your list is pretty much set, focus on one thing at a time. Also, you can cut out some of the fat if you have too many things. Favors aren't necessary or really expected anymore, so those can go. Signs are also something that aren't really necessary. People know whose wedding they're at. Decor can be kept minimal. Depending on the venue, try to highlight any particular features that you love. Centerpieces can be as simple as some candles in the middle of the table. Also, enlist your fiance. You guys can technically tackle 2 things on the list at once if you both take an item.

View Quoted Comment Thanks! I was hoping to have more planned but our venue was iffy up until yesterday so we halted all planning just to play it safe in the instance we would have to find a new venue..

I would definitely find a photographer ASAP. As for a DJ, it depends on what type of atmosphere that you want. If you want a wedding with a lot of dancing and party feel then I would highly recommend a DJ, but you don't want dancing then a DJ isn't necessary. Is your venue providing the catering for your wedding? If not, that would be the very first vendor I would book? Also, what about tuxes/suits, bridesmaids dresses, videographer, photobooth (if you want one), hair stylist and makeup artist? Are you planning on having bouquets if so what about a florist?

View Quoted Comment We’re planning on having FH’s family cook the food, as for men’s attire that’s going to happen sometime within the next month and no bridesmaids, videographer or photo booth. My hair and makeup are being done by my sister.

It also helps to cut out things that really aren't as important and just keep it simple. e.g. for decor you can limit how much you have

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With COVID, I would highly advise against making your own food. Making your own food comes with a lot of sanitary concerns without the pandemic so the risks increase with the pandemic. I have been to many events where guests have bought food they made and there is no way to keep the food hot or cold so the food sat for hours at room temperature and went bad. Also, how do you plan on serving the food? Having everyone grab their own food wouldn't be a good idea because that would be a very easy way for germs to spend?

View Quoted Comment We’re doing an entire hog over a fire (like in Hawaii)

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Okay, but once it is cooked how do you plan on keeping it warm? Also, how are you serving it? Are you planning on serving anything with it? If so, how are you keeping whatever you are having warm or cold and how are you serving it? People getting their own food isn't a good idea right how so I would at least recommend hiring professional servers to make sure the food is kept warm and served without spreading germs. Also, if the wedding is oudoors how do you plan on keeping bugs away? Sorry for some many questions, but there are a lot of things you need to consider about serving your own food. For my mother-in-law's 60th birthday, we had a pig roast. The event was held outside. Guests brought sides, but there is no way of keeping hot food warm or cold food cold. They had ice, but all of the ice ended up melting and cold shrimp sat out for hours in at room temperature which was very unsafe for anyone to eat. There was also no way for guests to know if the people that cooked the food took proper precautions to make sure the food was sanitary or to know what ingredients were used to make the food which means allergies were a concern. I just think cooking food for a large group of people comes with a lot of added stress and possibly legal ramifications in the event someone were to get sick especially right now with COVID.

Start with your caterer and photographer. They will be your hardest vendors to find this late in the game. DJ and florist next!

View Quoted Comment There are plenty of things on the market to keep food warm. And we’re not just gonna leave food sitting out. There are covers for dishes. We are not serving a large amount of people. I won’t get started on Coronavirus..

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Okay I just know as a guest, I wouldn't be too willing to eat food a bunch of other people are touching when there is a virus going around, but you want to ignore that concern that's on you. A lot of places have had to stop offering buffets for this exact reason.

View Quoted Comment We’re all family and we’re very tight knit. We’ve all continued to be around each other even during quarantine. So if we were gonna contract a virus it would have already happened. With that being said, no one is gonna be just rubbing their hands all over food. There will spoons/ forks/ etc.

I understand that you aren't concerned about coronavirus, but you should check with the venue because some are putting restrictions in place about food preparation and service. You may not be concerned, but they may be legally obligated in different states to handle things different ways and your opinion won't be their concern.

View Quoted Comment Our venue is a home shared by our families

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Well that won't be an issue then! Like everyone else said, I'd definitely book all vendors you need as soon as you can because they're all most likely pretty full for your date right now. After vendors, I'd sit down and really try to visualize what you want and then make your list from that. Sometimes just visualizing it can help you prioritize what you want to make sure you get it all done. Good luck!