If you are planning a holiday in Spain this year, then why not include some type of wedding ceremony to celebrate your marriage. Planning a last minute wedding is easy with our top tips!
Top tips for planning your last minute wedding
If you do not have much time, the easiest way to plan a wedding is with the help of an expert. A wedding planner is a professional event organiser who specialises in turning your wedding dreams into reality.
A wedding planner can save you time, money and stress!
- They have contacts for all of the best suppliers whom they already trust and have worked with before
- They can negotiate the best prices from local providers and venues
- They will suggest alternatives if your first choices are already booked
- They can help you with every detail of creating your special day or they can take over the organisation just for the day of the wedding – so that you can relax and be the bride or groom!
Save the date first
The very first question every supplier will ask you is the date of your wedding, elopement or vow renewal ceremony.
If you don’t have much time to plan your ceremony, be as flexible as possible for your special day. Week days are more likely to be available than weekends.
Be open to different timings – a morning wedding means you have a wider choice of caterers for an early lunch service, rather than insisting that you want an evening meal for example.
Open your mind to different wedding venues
The most popular wedding venues are already busy with rescheduled weddings and might not have availability for new enquiries so consider new venues. The new venues will be very enthusiastic to impress you and create a good name for themselves. Take a look at Play in Mijas for example, they are being as flexible as possible to appeal to the widest possible audience.
Prioritise your suppliers
Now you have your date and your venue, prioritise the suppliers who are most important to you.
- Who will officiate your special day?
- Contact your church minister or independent wedding celebrant to make sure they have the day free in their diary!
- Do you have a favourite photographer and videographer to capture your wedding memories for all time?
More than one guest list
You can save yourself a lot of stress by having more than one guest list.
- An ESSENTIAL guest list for the special people without whom you would not want to have your wedding
- A BIG guest list for an outside venue – your Plan A
- A SMALL guest list for an indoor venue if the weather is bad – your Plan B
- A RESERVE guest list to ask people on standby should one of your main guests not be able to attend
Notify your guests which list they are on – that way if restrictions suddenly apply you do not have to make uncomfortable explanations.
Create your last minute wedding “look”
Ask a trusted local supplier or wedding planner to suggest the best places to go for your hair and beauty . Rather than asking the hair and makeup artists to come to you, you can save time and money by going to them.
If you do not have the budget to buy the wedding clothes of your dreams, consider renting them!
Many high street stores have really beautiful alternative wedding “looks” at a fraction of the price of the bridal shops… or ask to look at their discount rail.
You can create an authentic vintage look by shopping wisely at second hand stores and charity shops for your clothes and investing slightly more money on your accessories.
Last minute flowers, decorations and invitations
Chillout furniture and wedding lighting can all be rented.
Ask your caterer if they can also supply you with other decoration solutions for the table and around your ceremony area – some already include this in the price.
Most florists already have bouquets made with dried flowers on display in their shop or they can create a beautiful floral arrangement for you from the flowers already in stock rather than ordering expensive specialist blooms.
Personal invitations can be created at a fraction of the cost online in easy to use design websites like Canva.com then emailed to your guests.
Organising your last minute wedding can be fun, budget-friendly and far less stressful than one planned years ahead!
Author bio: Debbie Skyrme is "Celebrant Spain". Award winning bilingual destination wedding celebrant officiating elopements, vow renewals and wedding ceremonies in the Spanish sunshine.
Featured photo: @amylavin_photography
