Tips for Planning a Wedding Out of State

You'll need to get the marriage license in the state you're getting married, so look at requirements!

Look into the rules for getting your license. Some states have waiting periods (like mine, NJ) which make it tough to just come in that week and get legally married.

Find a good planner who serves the area where you're getting married. They are worth their weight in gold.

Yes find a good planner in the area and check the rules for the marriage license.

We found a basically all inclusive venue, where we could upgrade or downgrade to fit what we want. Our venue comes with a coordinator who has been wonderful and we don't have to do anything the day of.

Trust recommendations on vendors. We made a trip to our wedding destination and chose our venue and met with our photographer, but there are other vendors that we just won't be able to meet with until the week of the wedding. We're okay with it because everyone we have chosen from DJ to officiant to bakery for the cake and florist has come highly recommended by our venue and/or our photographer. I also double checked with wedding wire reviews!

Get a planner! Or at least a month of coordinator. A planner/coordinator will be able to throw good vendor recommendations your way, and help you sort out the good vendors from the junk (and to let you know that while caterer A may be cheaper than caterer B, its because they are sucky to work with, etc.) If you go for an all-inclusive venue that includes a coordinator make sure you meet with that person and get a good vibe from them before dropping money on that venue, because you will have to rely on him/her a LOT. And finally, definitely check state rules for marriage license.

Join the IDGAF club.

I planned my wedding from the other side of the country. I knew from the beginning I wouldn't be able to get everything perfect as I envisioned it and that the colours would not match perfectly.

Know that your wedding will be wonderful, but not perfect so best to join the IDGAF club now and get it over it. It will save you SOOO much stress.

I'm planning out of state, I only have a DOC so it's possible to do it without a planner. I have been able to make visits every 6 months, we had over a two year engagement. On those visits we did a TON of stuff (had days of 4 meetings with vendors back to back). So if you can, definitely visit, otherwise set up conversations over skype or phone to meet vendors. We chose our photographer that way. Also, don't do any DIY stuff you wouldn't be willing to pack in a suitcase with you or ship to the location. Also think about what to do with all your decorations after the wedding. Once you get your vendors all figured out planning from out of state isn't too difficult. Also I'd go for a venue that is more inclusive, we didn't want to try and find our own caterer because we didn't have time to set up a bunch of tastings or anything. But if you can, try to budget at least one trip to get some things done (tastings, hair/makeup trials, visiting venue, etc). Also if you have someone in the area see if they can help at all by sending pictures of venues, asking people for recommendations, storing some wedding decorations for you before/after the wedding. It's not too tough to do!