Wedding Planning- OUT OF STATE!

Hey Ladies-

I need some advice. I am currently planning my Long Island wedding from out of state. This past August I moved up to Connecticut (almost MA- 2 1/2 hr drive) with FH for a job and I have been finding it very hard to make any of the showcases for bands, meet with photographers or pretty much do anything wedding related since I am really only available to do so on weekends.

Is anyone else planning a wedding from out of state? How do you do it? Any thoughts/ideas/opinions are MORE THAN welcome!

Thanks in advance!

Wedding Planning- OUT OF STATE!

I am planning my wedding from Georgia and it is not easy...truth be told I booked my photographer sight unseen (from a really great conversation on the phone and beautiful pics online) and for my DJ, I trusted my parents to go to showcases/meetings and tell me who they clicked with and felt would do the best job.

I think the hardest vendors to book will be the next three on my list - florist, hair and make-up. Obviously, I'm going to need to schedule trials for my hair and make-up but I'm trying to put that off until a time that I was planning to fly to NY anyway. For my flowers, I'm back to trusting my parents and sister to meet with florists, bring pictures of flowers that I've picked out, and see who they get the best feeling (and price) from.

I don't know if that helps at all - I've been really lucky that my family is so involved and willing to take the time out of their schedules to help me with all of this (and that I trust their feelings about vendors). And, man, do I wish I were only 2.5 hours away!! We have a 15+ hour drive each way and it is not pretty!!!

Wedding Planning- OUT OF STATE!

I think some of it I can definitely request some help from my folks. Just crazy, you want to plan your own wedding when it finally happens, and it's hard! haha

I know it's only 2 1/2 hours, but it's very hard to do that after work one night... would have to take time off of work for it to be worth it. Thanks for your help!

Wedding Planning- OUT OF STATE!

I'm not out of state, just in a different borough. But I also can only do planning on the weekends, which gets very stressful. I feel like you can only go to so many appt's in one day before the stress headache starts to kick in. I try and do as much over the phone as possible. When I get a really good feeling about a vendor, that's when I make an appt to meet with them.

Re: Wedding Planning- OUT OF STATE!

Love seeing other Bridgeview brides on here! FH and I moved to Virginia 2.5 years ago for his job so we are planning from out of state as well so I feel your pain! The key that I have found is that you have to be super organized. I did rely a lot on my mom and sister for help and any time I come home I have itineraries of what needs to get done for that trip. For booking our band my parents and sister went to a million showcases for us and would facetime us in (so not the same) and in the end I trusted their opinion and booked with their first choice. For photographer and videographer we did a ton of research online, read reviews and recommendations on here and spoke with a number of companies on the phone. We booked both of these vendors without ever meeting them in person. The first time we will meet them will be on our wedding day. Kind of scary but it is the way it has to be. Same went for our lighting vendor, limos, cigar roller, hotel block, and Day of Coordinator (although I did Skype with her before booking). Do your homework, read lots of reviews and see what kind of feedback you get from other girls on here.

For me aside from obviously reception halls there were a few vendors I absolutely refused to book without meeting in person and seeing their work. These were florist, hair and makeup. I made a point to schedule meetings with these vendors in advance (sometimes months) when I had a trip planned to come to NY. I found everyone to be super accommodating knowing that I was traveling from out of state and vendors were willing to meet with me at weird times or outside of their office hours if it was the only time I could fit it into my crazy itinerary. It was a lot of work because I don’t make it home very often but it definitely can be done with some planning. Let me know if you have any more specific questions or anything I can help with. Good luck!!

Wedding Planning- OUT OF STATE!

I am planning from Poughkeepsie NY. It is not easy! I plan way ahead of time for trips to the island to meet with vendors. I usually email them asking when a good time would be to meet so I don't make my arrangements and find out I cant do anything. Longer weekends are better, like Presidents day weekend, that way we can breathe a little too!

Wedding Planning- OUT OF STATE!

I planned my entire wedding out of stated. DH and I live in Maryland and our wedding was on LI. Truth be told, it was hard, so hard, but our wedding was beautiful!! We booked all our appointments ahead of time and would stack our weekends with appointments to see vendors. We were able to meet with most vendors on weekends, since we were only both available on the weekends to meet. Just contact vendors ahead of time to see if they can meet with you. There was only one vendor who refused to make an adjustment for us, so I refused to book with them. If the vendors want your business they will try to make it work. Lots of luck. My only advice is get as much done as possible ahead of time. I was still planning and finalizing wedding details the weeks before the wedding since we lived OOT and I wished I had taken care of them sooner. I can't say I relaxed much the days before because I was so busy, but it was worth it :)

Wedding Planning- OUT OF STATE!

I planned our wedding from up by Binghamton, with only being able to make weekend appointments also. I only had one vendor unavailable for a weekend appt., I didn't meet with them. The other thing I did to ease some of the stress was hire the wonderful ladies from Cheeky Glam (think it's Cheeky Details now). They took most of the stress away the last 2 weeks.

Good luck and have fun planning it will all work out.

Wedding Planning- OUT OF STATE!

Thanks so much for all of these responses! It feels better to know I'm not the only one and to know that although it IS stressful, it CAN be done! There are certain things I know I will have no problem booking through the phone or recommendations, but other stuff I want to be there! It's crazy seeing these showcases on Monday nights and WISHING i could be there to experience it all! Thanks again for all the advice and kind words! We're so excited for the big day and hope everything turns out great :)

Re: Wedding Planning- OUT OF STATE!

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Posted by dawnbon26

I planned our wedding from up by Binghamton, with only being able to make weekend appointments also. I only had one vendor unavailable for a weekend appt., I didn't meet with them. The other thing I did to ease some of the stress was hire the wonderful ladies from Cheeky Glam (think it's Cheeky Details now). They took most of the stress away the last 2 weeks.

Good luck and have fun planning it will all work out.

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I'm also using Cheeky, and so far they've been a HUGE help with planning since I can't be there all the time.

Wedding Planning- OUT OF STATE!

Can't imagine how difficult this is for you! I had to leave work early just to meet a photographer that was 40 mins away. I don't have any advice, but if you are interested in any of the vendors I've booked, FM me and I'd be more than happy to share any info you need to make it easier! Best of luck!

Wedding Planning- OUT OF STATE!

I am planning from out of state too. We just started planning and our date isn't until 2015 so I have some time. Thankfully I work in a school, so I will have summers and breaks to plan, but it is difficult because a lot of venues we like are having showcases when we are unable to attend.

Wedding Planning- OUT OF STATE!

I'm in state, but in Rochester, which is 7 hours away. I booked up my long weekends with vendor appointments and hired Cheeky Details! Trust their recommendations!

If you're looking for a vendor you can trust and don't even have to meet with, I recommend Tommy's Tunes for DJ, Lancelot for limos, and of course, Cheeky Details for coordination/planning. Tommy can send you a DVD of his MCs and you can choose that way. He has an excellent reputation and is a very nice guy. He'll know your venue and tell you what you need and don't need. Rob from Lancelot is just a sweetheart. Great pricing too. :)

edit for spelling

Wedding Planning- OUT OF STATE!

As someone who is planning solo from Los Angeles, I can relate! I've spent hours researching online and combing reviews before I narrow down vendors. The only ones I met/saw in person are my venue and florist. The categories that proving to be the most difficult are the bakery that my venue works with since one of them doesn't even have a working website and finding quality hair and makeup at an affordable price. I am not able to come back for trials before the wedding. I used to work for a magazine and book our HMU people so I know what I like. It's just that most of them are charging more for a single bridal service than we'd pay for an entire 8-hour day with multiple girls and different looks. Still on the hunt!

Wedding Planning- OUT OF STATE!

I didnt plan from OOT but what about hiring a wedding planner, or DOC svcs? Most vendors you can skype with nowadays and/or try to book all the appts on a weekend you will be in LI. Good luck!! :)

Wedding Planning- OUT OF STATE!

I've found that band showcases are during the week (since they are busy doing weddings on the weekends) So, although I can meet with sometime and talk business wise, I can't see their work. Some bands don't have videos online and I've heard great things about them but feel like I can't give them a chance if I dont see them. Also had some photographers who only have weeknight hours to sit down and meet. I'd like to get to know some personalities for photographer because I think it can affect our pictures if we don't click. Some of them are able to do a phone call, I am just hoping that's enough to tell!

Thanks for all of your ideas! I wish a DOC was in the budget!

Re: Wedding Planning- OUT OF STATE!

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Posted by cconaty94

I am planning from Poughkeepsie NY. It is not easy! I plan way ahead of time for trips to the island to meet with vendors. I usually email them asking when a good time would be to meet so I don't make my arrangements and find out I cant do anything. Longer weekends are better, like Presidents day weekend, that way we can breathe a little too!

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This is exactly what I did too. Did a lot of research too about vendors before I met with them. I also live in Poughkeepsie Our wedding turned out perfect!

Re: Wedding Planning- OUT OF STATE!

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Posted by Lucky22

As someone who is planning solo from Los Angeles, I can relate! I've spent hours researching online and combing reviews before I narrow down vendors. The only ones I met/saw in person are my venue and florist. The categories that proving to be the most difficult are the bakery that my venue works with since one of them doesn't even have a working website and finding quality hair and makeup at an affordable price. I am not able to come back for trials before the wedding. I used to work for a magazine and book our HMU people so I know what I like. It's just that most of them are charging more for a single bridal service than we'd pay for an entire 8-hour day with multiple girls and different looks. Still on the hunt!

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Let me know if you find any vendors that you like and are accommodating of the distance! So far I've sent out a bunch of contact forms/e-mails and most vendors are conveniently ignoring the fact that I'm in Georgia and there's no guarantee of when I'll be up next (let alone in the next few weeks) to be able to schedule trials...and even then, I won't be there long enough to have more than 1-2 of hair and make-up done!

Has anyone else done such long-distance planning and had luck with hair/make-up? These seem to be the most difficult vendors to find long distance...

Wedding Planning- OUT OF STATE!

Here's my recommendation for makeup - Tania was wonderful.

http://radiantmakeupartistry.moonfruit.com/

Wedding Planning- OUT OF STATE!

Hey Like Poicelle, we are also planning a LI wedding from Georgia. We rushed to try to get must things taken care of before we moved. However we couldn't get everything done. For those vendors we asked around our friends these message boards and other review sites. We're also making a trip up at the end of the month and have it booked with meetings with vendors.