Planning from out of state

Yes. We live in Texas but were born and raised in Florida. Planning your trips there ahead of time will be your best friend, and plan on at least one unexpected trip. I had a mishap at my second hair trial last weekend, so I'll be flying out unexpectedly again this weekend. Expect the unexpected!

Mine was similar. We had the wedding near my hometown, where my family still lives mostly due to older relatives located there. DH unfortunately doesn't have any family and his friends are scattered all over anyway. It is about 6 hours from where we currently live. Fortunately my sister is there and could help with a few things and make suggestions. I made two visits to meet with vendors during planning, which I did all in about five months! Most things were handled via email. The biggest thing to ease stress is an inclusive venue, where we also had the ceremony. Once we had the venue, we just got an officiant, DJ, photographer, hair and Mua and florist. It turned out pretty well! Being somewhat flexible helps too.

We live in FL and are planning our wedding in NV. We have not traveled once for planning and have booked everything via phone and email. If you can swing it, get a coordinator. Ours has been amazing! Select vendors who are timely and professional with their responses. I used WW and Yelp to read up on vendor reviews, selecting the ones that worked for other destination brides.

Thanks! We have booked the venue so far, we looked at them soon after we got engaged since we weren't sure the next time we'd both be there would be! And they include catering and set up/tear down. We have a church and have a good relationship with the priests and deacon there, so don't anticipate that being a problem. I have a hair dresser I've seen since I was about 15, who did my prom hair and mine and my sister's hair at my sister's wedding. So I think the major things are DJ, photographer, MUA, and florist... But I just figured out I'll be back (in planned trips) maybe five more times before the wedding, which started to stress me out a little. Did you ever have any anxiety booking things over phone or email before meeting in person? I hadn't thought about that but FH is VERY uncomfortable booking things before meeting in person.

I understand completely I'm going to be planning the wedding from Virginia and we're from Indiana and having it there.

We are in Florida and are having a destination wedding in TN. I've found that choosing an all inclusive venue has helped incredibly. Just one contact person for so many vendors and they basically include DOC.

@Steph (I'm also a Steph!) the vendors I was looking at had a ton of positive reviews from other DW brides who booked everything remotely, so I was comfortable proceeding. Ask your potential vendors if they have any experience with out of town brides, and how much of the planning can be done via email vs in person. -- Our florist, for example, sent over a standard Q&A sheet (colors, flower preferences, how many centerpieces, etc). I sent her a few inspiration photos, and she drafted up a quote. The final contract was sent to the DOC to manage the day-of scheduling. Done!

From a vendor perspective my local brides and those out of state have very similar planning processes. They both take full advantage of technology. This includes mobile apps, online reviews, skype, facetime, social media, text messaging, email, virtual tours etc. Communication is king so take full advantage of all these tools.

Another key ally is a professional local Day of Coordinator to act as your boots on the ground. Ideally you should hire a DOC who has experience with your venue. Best wishes!

We're in FL and planning a wedding where I grew up in CT. Part of our plan when moving down here was setting aside money each month to be able to go home if i wanted (extended family is very close). We've just been using those funds to fly back and forth as necessary. I was big on meeting people too, so I'd FaceTime or phone call and if I couldn't meet them in person but needed to sign a contract soon (florist and DJ) my parents went to meet them and either FaceTime me, call me or give me the full report afterwards. Now my trips back are for the silly DIY things we want to attempt. We just book flights based on price. If you're flying, maybe look into getting an airline CC. We've been using that for everyday purchases and have so many points in the bank from it. It's probably paid for 4 of our trips this year (JetBlue). Also, I'd recommend getting the alterations of your dress near you. It's a lot of travel potentially right near the wedding, and you'll probably have better luck getting scheduled in for a fitting during the week after work etc. I couldn't foresee myself flying up to CT 3 times one month before the wedding.

We're living in Massachusetts and getting married in NJ. We've been getting things done in clusters every time we visit. For instance we're going down next weekend and doing the tasting, my hair trial, and the bridal shower! Agree with PP to get alterations done near you--I bought my dress/am doing alternations in mass

We're in NY and getting married in Vegas. We've handled most of the planning via emails and phone calls. It also helped that FSIL was able to go out while on a work trip and look at the venues we'd chosen and sent us pictures and such to help us with our planning process. It's definitely doable but you want to stay organized and settle on vendors with good communication practices and skills.

I'm planning from another state as well.

I marry people from all over the world. One thing I tell them to research early on is getting their license. In NJ, some towns will let you fill the application out and sign it way ahead, other towns won't. We have a waiting period of three days, so if you're not coming in until the day before? You're out of luck. You want to be prepared for whatever regulations are in place in the state you're going to.

Thank you for all the comments! I'd never really thought of it as a destination wedding because I still think of it as home, even though I haven't been living there. Also, Ohio (as much as I love it) isn't really a typical 'destination.'

@Jackie-- that's a great idea to get an airline credit card! I usually try to drive because I hate flying, but that isn't feasible if I just go for a weekend. And the alterations, that's so far out I hadn't even started thinking about that, but a great thing to keep in mind!

@Celia-- Thanks! That would not be something we'd want to make a mistake on!

I just moved to Texas and am planning the wedding for September in my hometown. Thankfully, I already knew where I would have it and what caterer because there are barely any wedding vendors listed on WeddingWire or the knot for my area. Most of the places at least have some sort of Internet presence so I can call and discuss options and prices.

I had to pick a florist based off past interactions from planning prom and getting holiday centerpieces. The scariest was picking the photographer because no reviews online but got suggestions from friends who are married and used various ones.

I second advice to hire a DOC if not a planner who will help with both.

FH is from California, I'm from Louisiana, but we're living in Oregon right now. We decided to have the wedding in Louisiana because I have a much larger family there (his family is spread out around the world), and I have a big connection to my hometown church.

Best advice I can think of is start early! We booked our venue almost a year and a half in advance. Another thing that helped us is asking for venue recommendations. Our venue gave us lists of photographers, bakers, djs, etc. that are frequently booked at the venue. That way, I at least knew they have worked the venue and know it pretty well. Research your vendors, email them, check reviews, etc. Make a Wedding Email folder to save all contact with vendors. DOC is a must.

We live in Maryland, wedding will be in Jersey, so only about a 3hour drive. We try to go back about once a month anyway. However, a lot of the vendors we are in contact with, are perfectly fine with video chats and phone conversations. Depending on who it is. We obviously went in person to look at venues and met one photographer/videographer in person as well.