Wedding Planning Tips for Out-of-State wedding

I am an out of state bride as well, I live in Virginia Beach and I am getting married in my hometown which is close to Rochester, NY. It hasn't been that difficult to plan out of state. Will you be going home again, maybe around the holiday's? I found my dress when I was home for Christmas and when I came home for my bridal shower I got it altered. Everything is all set with the dress and it is at my parents house, no transportation issues before the wedding I shipped all of my decorations or anything I ordered to my parents house. If you have any other questions or need advice I'd be happy to answer! Good luck with everything

@Heather S. yes, I will be going home for Christmas but because of the cost and how much time it takes to get there I won't go again until the wedding. There wouldn't be any time for fittings so I think buying my dress here would be a better option.

I'm doing that. Lived in NJ, moved to FL. Booked venue before I moved. Every time we made a visit, I made appointments to meet with vendors and discuss things. Recent visit was 3 weeks ago - finalized menu, the reception decor, the ceremony, and discussed flowers. We are planning on driving up a few days before the wedding and meet with vendors before then to discuss final details and whatnot.

We now live in SC, but are having our wedding in MA where we're originally from.. it's been super difficult!! But I do have family up there that have been helping. I bought my dress here as well as some decor items. Me, my FSIL, and FMIL are flying up about a week before. My FH and his brother will be driving up with our car about 4 days before the wedding so them using the car is helping us a lot transporting things for the wedding and then everything else my family has up there and is taking care of.

Although I wish I had thought about it earlier.. me and FH have to make an extra trip in a few weeks to get our marriage license for MA. Which sounds silly so close to the wedding lol but due to work we couldn't make it any sooner.

Anyways good luck! It's a good thing to have some family in that area that can help out a bit!

We are doing the same thing. My wedding is 4 hours away. My entire wedding is diy so we have been doing a lot of crafting here and doing a huge load and bring it up. What we also did was on Black Friday do a huge shopping up there for lights, mason jars, stuff from jo Ann's and gifts for bridal party. It saves so much head ache. My biggest suggestion is make sure you have list of everything you make, need, and buy. You end up forgetting as you have bride brain lol. Good luck!

I'm in the same boat. Work on things early. 5 hour drive for me. I brought my BP gifts over Christmas. My parents will take the centerpieces this weekend when they visit. Try to make every visit an opportunity to check something off your list. We planned one weekend in April where we had back-to-back appointments with the pastor, venue and baker. Also, don't be afraid to delegate.

ETA: words

Also, I bought my dress and am having it altered here. It would have been too hard to try to coordinate that from out of state. I will be bringing it up with me when we drive up for the wedding, as well as my steamer.

My wedding is a 24 hour drive away, if we don't stop at all and no traffic or construction, so it really ends up being 2 days. So driving back and forth really isn't an option. I'll only go up there once before the wedding so I really have to do most everything there. My mom is booking the venue and caterer and things like that for me. My biggest concern is getting my dress there. I really don't want to fly with it but that drive is so long.

FH and I live in Chicago, we are getting married in my hometown about 6 hours away.

My parents and one of my mom's friends have been awesome at helping me out and watching for sales and stuff in the area. I already knew 80% of what I wanted from having attended so many weddings there, so I was able to get info about vendors from friends/family and hear about their experiences.

I would try to plan at least one more trip there between the holidays and your wedding. I'm also going down the weekend before my wedding and working from home a few days that week so I can stay there the whole week before for any last minute stuff. Is something like that possible with your job?

Anything you order online have it shipped directly there so that you don't have to transport it later. Join local Facebook wedding groups in that area so you can see if you can buy anything cheap from locals and have a family member or friend pick it up for you. Have as much as you can there so you don't have to transport much later.

Good luck!

Same boat. Everyone has to travel to our wedding destination. About a 2 or more hour drive for everyone. Including us. My mom is helping a lot as she has time because she's a teacher, but it's hard for us to get down there.

@stephanie no I am a teacher so going during the school year is not an option. I am not allowed to take 2 consecutive days off and again, taking a trip takes 7 hours by flight+drive and 24 hours to just drive isn't really an option.

I will go a couple weeks before the wedding and for Christmas but that is it. Again this isn't just a 2-4 hour drive it is across the country. Brides that have a destination wedding, how do you get your dresses there? If you get married in the Bahamas you cant really buy your dress there.

View Quoted Comment I'm kinda in the same boat as you. Live in Chicago, getting married in Baltimore and we don't have a "home base" in the wedding city at all. Our venue doesn't allow you to send anything over ahead of time since it's a museum. Do you have a local coordinator to help you? We just booked the venue and are about to embark on this crazy journey, and I'm getting nervous that there details are going to get out of control.