How to plan in wedding in a month or less....

So you've decided to get hitched, - sort of NOW?

Don't worry, you can still have it all even though most couples plan their wedding about a year in advance.

From all the weddings I've seen, some of the best weddings are often those that took place at the 'spur of the moment'. The shortest notice ever was 1 day - and I'm pleased to say, we pulled it off in style!

Most wedding lists have a countdown of a year, great if you can wait that long, but a year is a long time and you probably change your mind 10 times about the set up, decorations, flowers, etc. because there are always new ideas popping up that are just too tempting or seem better than your original plan.

So if you decide to get married in 6 months, 3 months or even less, its not a big deal. The biggest thing you need is your wedding dress and who will be in your wedding party or on your guest list.

If its a small wedding or just the two of you, not a problem, if its a bigger wedding set the date and then pick up the phone and give everyone an 'advance warning' to save the date. You can follow it up with all the details by email and if you have time a proper posted invitation. Be prepared that some of the people you want at your wedding may not be able to make it but even that's not a reason for despair. Have a great party afterwards when everyone CAN make it!

Now we come to the 'critical part'.... but even that's not a problem. The easiest way is to share your 'load' and hire a wedding coordinator. Tell them what you want and let them come up with ideas. It doesn't mean that you're letting go of the reigns but you may be pleasantly surprised of what they can come up with and it may be even better than what you had originally envisaged. Most of the wedding planners I know thrive on challenges and love 'last-minute' weddings! They might 'moan' a bit at first but they will tell you if they're up to the challenge or not and competition is high!

If you want to elope or have a destination wedding, its even easier. Decide where you want to go, book your vacation and then ask the hotel wedding coordinator or book an independent wedding coordinator. What's the difference? Well, it's quite simple, the hotel coordinator has limited options as they are tied to the hotel and its policies which can often be restrictive, whereby a private wedding planner usually has several locations that are unique and they also have a great choice of vendors and more flexibility in all other respects.

If you are stuck for information on private wedding planners, and you want to get married in Mexico, contact cancunweddingcenter@gmail.com, for other locations, just google wedding planners or wedding coordinators plus the location or go to +TripAdvisor and you will most likely find all you need. If its only the two of you and you have no guests, google photographers or ministers in the area and ask them. Most of them will be able to coordinate between them and give you some useful tips.

Contact a few and select the one that most appeals to you, 'brief' them clear to the point, give them some leeway but also be precise in what is negotiable and what is non-negotiable but please be realistic!

A good wedding planner will be able to make most if not all of your wishes happen. Just make sure you are not set on a 'popular' date like the 14 February and if possible, plan your wedding on a weekday to give the wedding planner more options. Most couples always book their wedding on a weekend, probably because they are working and forget that once they are on vacation it doesn't matter whether its Saturday or Monday so this is one way to 'beat the rush'!

You may have to be a bit more flexible in times of ceremony time or live music, etc. as some vendors may only have limited availability at short notice but if you can be cool enough to keep an open mind, miracles can and do happen, even at short notice!

Tell us about your 'impromptu' wedding and send us some photos!

Pep up your wedding!

To have a memorable wedding that's the talk of the town, isn't that what most couple would like?

Nobody wants to have a 'boring' wedding, - we all want our big day to be something ultra special and remembered for a long time. We want to think about our big day with a huge smile on our face, but the ultimate compliment of having hosted a great wedding is if our guests remember the fun time they had and keep talking about it for months!

Its not rocket science to know that money is always a big issue for planning a great wedding. We always put great importance on the venue, the dress, the decorations, food, flowers and everything that goes with it. There are color schemes to think off, decorations, bridesmaids, groomsmen, etc. etc. The list goes on and on. Each wedding site has endless lists on how to plan the perfect wedding.

But... at the end of the day what is it really that makes your wedding totally special?

Its the same as with everything else in life .... Its the people who are there!

They are the ones that can make the huge difference between your wedding being a complete hit or yet 'another nice wedding'! Just think of the fun things people did to make their wedding extra special! Remember the video of the bridal party dancing down the aisle that went viral? Who hasn't googled funny things that happen at weddings and to get some ideas?

To entertain and give everyone a fun time is not exactly easy when you have a wide range of different people, different age groups, different interests, likes and dislikes. But what they all have in common is that they like to laugh and have a great time. So why not help things along a bit? We're not all born entertainers and planners and nobody minds if you 'cheat' a little bit to get some new ideas!

One of the things I stumbled across is how to be a fun Wedding MC. To be honest, I've never thought about it, but like with everything else, you need someone to pep up the party and to get things going. There will always be guests that are difficult to motivate or some too shy to 'let loose'. Why not give it a shot? Even professional entertainers admit they're always scouting for extra help and new ideas!

You may be lucky and things may happen naturally but all to often they unfortunately don't! So why leave things up to chance if you can help it along by having a witty and funny, organized wedding MC and make your wedding truly unforgettable?

Get more ideas on how to create a fun and memorable wedding reception at THE WEDDING MC!

Tell us your favorite speeches, ideas or fun games!

A few wedding mishaps ....

Working as a Minister certainly does have its advantages! 

The fact that 99.9 % of the couples I marry are extremely happy, is a great contributing fact for achieving near-perfect job satisfaction. No bad-tempered clients, no complaints and sunshine, blue sky, turquoise ocean, and a beautiful white sandy beach certainly help too! It's easy to smile and be nice when the couples you work with are all happy, excited, and friendly. I always tell each couple to 'go with the flow', chill out, and not to worry! It's ok if things go wrong, as long as nobody comes to harm! A perfect wedding will be remembered as just that - 'Perfect'; but it is certainly not going to be memorable! 

It's those little things that happen unscheduled and that may not always be funny on the actual day, which will make a wedding memorable and keep people laughing years later. 

With over 1000 wedding ceremonies under my belt, every single wedding is still exciting for me. Show me a photo of a couple I married years ago and for sure I will remember them! Some weddings don't require a photo to be forever embedded in my mind though. Whenever you come to a point in your wedding where you think it's getting tough, here are just a few 'memorable' weddings that will put some mishaps into perspective.

Some brides are very calm and quiet whilst others are nervous or excited, giggly or teary, and of course, there is the odd 'bridezilla'!

Contrary to wide belief and fortunate for most working in the wedding industry, 'bridezilla's' are still relatively rare, considering the amount of pressure each bride is under! It's always easy to judge others but one should always remember that we all have different tolerance levels, different expectations, and who knows, there may be a perfectly understandable reason as to why a bride 'flips'; - we just may not be aware of it! 

For me, the easiest way to deal with any stressed bride is to calm her down and reassure her - not always an easy task, I agree. It's often easier for an outsider to take over this task than for a close relative or friend where the temptation to 'try and reason against all odds' is much higher. Touch wood, in my entire career working as a Minister, I only ever came across one completely uncontrollable bride who, I may add, should have come with a serious health warning! 

Sadly, the bride was bi-polar, which, as far as I am aware, can in most cases effectively treated by medication. Too bad for me and all who came in contact with her that her medication flew out the window and was swiftly replaced by Mexican Tequila the minute they touched down in Cancun! 

It was truly THE wedding from hell, one minute the bride squeezed and hugged everyone in joy, the next minute anyone close to her was ducking for cover and I seriously thought I would have to exchange my Ceremony Book for boxing gloves to defend myself! It was not only THE wedding from hell, - it was also a truly scary experience to anyone that was within range, onlookers, wedding guests, or staff! I decided to grit my teeth and put on a brave face and somehow managed to get through the ceremony - after deciding to make a rapid exit during one of her 'hugging phases'! 

This was by far the 'worst' wedding I ever officiated and I am sure the bride didn't enjoy her big day as much as she could have done, if she would have taken her medication either! Always remember not to 'skip' medication because it's your wedding day, it could ruin your wedding!    

Then there was the wedding in the dark, with guests slowly being roasted by the tiki torches, bugs the size of bats, and a completely drunk father of the bride. This particular bride went through immense trouble choosing a set up overflowing with roses - a rose wedding arch, roses on the aisle, on the chairs, and wherever they could possibly be placed. The smell was intoxicating, - and after the bride eventually made her entrance 1 1/2 hours late, the guests were intoxicated too - in particular the bride's father! 

The bride eventually arrived after sunset and everyone hurriedly staggered to their seats. By this time it was pitch black outside, there was no moon and the only lighting came from the tiki torches that lined the aisle. As the guests rose and strained to see the bride making her entrance, swaying gently from side to side from the effect of the pre-ceremony drinks, they were slowly being smoldered and smoked by the tiki torches. 

The bride literally carried her father down the aisle with obvious difficulty whilst the groom and I patiently waited at the altar. As they slowly swayed towards us, the bride's father suddenly decided he had enough of walking and just nonchalantly pushed his daughter towards me and just fell into a chair without giving me the chance to ask 'Who gives this woman away....' 

I will always admire her for keeping her cool as very dryly whispered to me with a straight face: 'Just skip that part!' 

It was so dark, that in order to be able to read the ceremony script, I had to get as close as possible to the tiki torches. Between coughing fits from the smoke and avoiding to be set alight by the flame, the ceremony continued relatively smoothly, except for a few interruptions by the odd scream or wild carfuffle by some of the guests trying to fight off near bat-size bugs that were obviously extremely attracted by the fire and intoxicating smell of the roses. All in all everyone had a great time but for those brides planning on making a late entrance, I would just like to add that I am usually not in a position to wait that long for a bride to arrive, and please also spare a thought for your poor guests! :)  

There are also other hazards that don't immediately spring to mind when planning a beach wedding! A box of tissues may not always just serve the purpose of wiping tears of joy away! During one of my ceremonies a flock of pelicans decided to make a formation flight right overhead the ceremony site and one of the birds left a rather generous present mid-flight. It was not gladly received by the poor bridesmaid who was unaware of the danger from above, and who led out a high pitched scream as the generous 'offering' landed on her beautiful dress with an audible splash! One of the groomsmen came to her rescue by immediately taking off his shirt for her and the ceremony continued with a rather odd-looking bridal party - a groomsman wearing nothing but his trousers and a bow tie and a maid of honor wearing a dress shirt above her bridesmaid dress! The bride had meticulously written schedules for her entire wedding day, covering all eventualities with 'Plan B + C', however ....overhead pelicans were not calculated for.... 

These are just a select few wedding mishaps & 'dangers' I encountered as a Minister and it has hopefully given me the panache of staying cool even in the most outrageous situations! 

Author: Petra Rattue