Introduction

It’s happened. You’ve searched and waited your whole life and now you’ve found your soul mate—the person who makes your life worth living, the one you’ll share your love, hopes, dreams, and secrets with until the end of time. You’ve discovered your destiny. So why put that destiny on hold for a year or two while you plan your wedding? It’s not necessary.

Contrary to popular belief, it is possible to plan a terrific wedding—one with all the beauty, joy, and magic you’ve always dreamed of—in just a few short months. In fact, last minute weddings—those that are put together in six months or less—are becoming increasingly common in the hectic, speed-of-light society we live in today. Time has become a precious commodity and many couples are opting to spend considerably less of it organizing a wedding. Many face pres-sures from work, school, and family and wouldn’t dream of tying up a year arranging a wedding. For others, circum-stances, such as an upcoming job transfer, military service, or ill health of a family member, dictate a cutback in the amount of planning time available. Still others would rather cut to the chase and be married than spend a whole year planning to get married.

Believe it or not, planning a wedding at the last minute can be easier and less stressful than taking a year or more to pull one together. It forces you to focus on what’s really important to you—what you truly want for your spe-cial day—and push aside all of the extraneous details that some magazine says you absolutely must have if you’re go-ing to put on a respectable wedding. And because you have a limited amount of time, you make your decisions and move on. No hemming and hawing, no “maybe mauve would look better than dusty rose,” no changing your mind so often you forget what you’re deciding about. You go with your gut and that’s that.

Still, planning even a quick wedding can seem like an overwhelming task. That’s where this book comes in. You’ll find everything you need to know to streamline preparations and make your last minute wedding come off without a hitch. From deciding on the Big Four (the date, place, budget, and wedding party) to providing the frills, such as wedding programs and bridal birdseed, we’ve got you covered. Tasks are discussed in descending order from the ones you abso-lutely must tackle first to the ones you can afford to put off until the eleventh hour or skip altogether. You’ll also find advice about some of the things on the periphery of the wed-ding, things like picking out the rings, planning the honey-moon, and enjoying prewedding festivities and showers.