How to plan a wedding in six months

Couples with six months plan better weddings than couples with two years. That sounds like provocation, but planners will tell you the same thing quietly. A short runway removes the two great enemies of wedding planning: second guessing and scope creep. You decide, you book, you move on.

Weeks one and two: the only fortnight that matters

Fix the budget, draft the guest list, and view venues in the same week you enquire. In a six month window you are shopping the dates venues still have, which shrinks the choice in the most useful way. Midweek dates and Sundays open up beautiful venues at gentler prices. Book the venue, then immediately book a photographer and someone to conduct the ceremony, because those two go first.

Month two: the dress question

Made to measure gowns usually want more time than you have, so head straight for designers with quicker turnarounds, sample sales, and the growing rail of exceptional ready to wear. Most alterations take six to eight weeks, so buying in month two lands perfectly. Grooms are fine: hire or tailoring both fit comfortably inside three months.

Months three and four: food, flowers, sound

Caterers, florists and bands hold more availability than venues do, and the good ones are used to short lead times. Do one tasting, not four. Choose seasonal flowers and let the florist decide the varieties on the week. Send invitations at the start of month three with replies due six weeks later, and skip save the dates entirely. Nobody needs two pieces of post about the same party.

The last month

Final numbers, a table plan, a running order on one page. Then stop. The secret of the six month wedding is that the last fortnight looks exactly like everyone else's last fortnight, except you have only been living with it for half a year.

If a supplier makes you feel like your timeline is a problem, that is useful information about the supplier, not about your timeline. The right people will simply say yes and get to work.