When planning a wedding on short notice, you cut out a lot of the headaches that come with months of decision making and working with endless vendors. When Ashley Mabbitther and her fiancé decided to get married with only 10 days to plan, she put together a celebration with just the essentials.

“We decided to end the year by getting married and moving to another state. We planned our wedding in 10 days. We both worked the day of our wedding and got ready in an hour. I did my nails, hair, and makeup. There were four people in attendance: my mom and brother, and my fiancé’s parents. Our wedding favors were face masks that said ‘Spread Love, Not Germs.’ We sent out a Zoom link to close family, friends, and colleagues to be ‘there’ on our special day. To celebrate, we ordered a wedding feast from a local restaurant and went home and ate in our pajamas. Friends and colleagues had alcohol and a gift basket sent to us that night. One of my colleagues even stopped by with champagne, four pints of ice cream, and a $5 grocery store cake because according to him, ‘You have to have cake on your wedding day,’ and we didn't have a wedding cake.”

-Ashley Mabbitt

Planning a wedding in just a few weeks is a lot for a couple to do themselves—which is why the bride, Samantha Cunha, turned to her dear friends and family members for help.

“We planned our wedding in about 3 weeks. We made a list of what we needed and things just started to fall into place. We booked a venue on a Thursday night for a discount and better availability. We had the venue supply simple decorations for the table cloths, runners, and centerpieces. I found my dress off of Craigslist. Another bride had bought two and sold me the one she didn't keep for $50. My aunt is a seamstress and made minor adjustments that took about an hour to complete. My husband found a tux shop that was going out of business and they were more than willing to work with him to fit and sell quickly. My cousin made our wedding cake as her gift to us. We had a friend who was just starting his photography business. We were the first wedding he covered and he gave us a serious friends discount. There were also small mishaps throughout the day where I think more time to plan and think through the day would have helped. But, my husband and I are both happy with how our wedding turned out.”

-Samantha Cunha

For couples who decide to say goodbye to their big wedding plans and do a small elopement instead, a mindset shift might help. Jennifer Feenan felt that dropping the idea of perfection (after the pandemic canceled her wedding) made a big difference in what happened next.

“After our wedding was canceled due to the pandemic, we decided to apply for a marriage license and get married in 2020 anyway. The first thing we did was ‘book’ the venue; we used the backyard of a family friend because it was big and we could social distance. We made a list of essentials for a ceremony and catered dinner: outfits, rings & bouquet, chairs, tables, place settings, food, drinks, cake, favors, and decorations. Then, we went to work. It ended up being similar to what we discussed for our rehearsal dinner, but never started the planning for. The best tip I can give is to drop perfectionism and delegate tasks to those willing to help you. My maid-of-honor was a lifesaver; I told her what I envisioned and she nailed it! One of her tasks was the bouquet and boutonniere. I paid for it without ever seeing it and it was absolutely stunning.”

-Jennifer Feenan

For couples who didn’t set out to plan a wedding in less than a month, the takeaways might be even more magical than expected. That’s what happened to Kaitlyn Lawson, who rushed to plan her wedding in less than a month after she found out her husband was going to be deployed to his Marine Corps unit.

“We flew to Nashville, got married on a beautiful farm, got the stunning wedding photos I always wanted surrounded by just our immediate family, then we partied in downtown Nashville for our ‘reception,' and had our first dance at the Redneck Riviera in front of everyone! It was so perfect and the best part was that it was so low stress! Our day wasn't focused on the frills and extras that come with a big wedding. As corny as it sounds, it was focused on our love! The kicker? The deployment never happened, but I wouldn't change a thing about our wedding day, even if I could go back knowing he never had to leave.”

-Kaitlyn Lawson

When the idea of planning a wedding during the pandemic just seemed impossible, Chery Hol decided to make things easier and faster. She said a big yes to eloping with her husband instead.

“My now husband and I got engaged at the end of 2019. When the pandemic hit and everything shut down, we decided to take a cautious approach to wedding planning. We didn’t want to be sweating on a beach, so we decided on the mountains around Asheville, North Carolina. I googled photographers and stalked their instagrams until I came across one whose photos I fell in love with. Our photographer specializes in elopements and also served as our wedding planner! They helped us create an itinerary of what we wanted our day to look like, and she fit everything into a 6-8 hour package. The best part of eloping was no drama, and we tailored the day to exactly what we wanted.”

-Cheryl Hol

An unexpected thrill that comes with planning a wedding with minimal time is finding the perfect wedding vendors with a bit of luck. For Kate Greenstreet, switching up and scaling back her wedding involved a quick timeline and brand new vendors.

“We knew from the start that COVID would mean our February 2021 wedding would need to change. We decided to scale back and have a wedding around our original date in Central Oregon. We decided to just do it and kept it a secret from everyone but our parents, who were invited. My mom and I went up a week and a half before, scoped out locations, found a bakery to order a picnic lunch from, and happened to stumble across the best bakery for a wedding cake. The bakery also referred us to our celebrant. Finding a photographer was easy because we were getting married on a Thursday. In June, when I realized I would need to change up my wedding, I ordered a dress from David's Bridal. It was on major sale, but two sizes too big. The first call I made was to the tailor to make sure it could be altered in just a few weeks. Having a wedding with a very short timeline really keeps the stress down. You don't have time to question decisions or stress about different options.”

-Kate Greenstreet

While some 2020 couples postponed their big celebration to later in 2021 or 2022, other couples decided to get legally married anyway and not wait any longer. That’s exactly what Lauren Nolan decided to do after postponing her big wedding.

“We had been together for nearly six years and just didn't want to wait on getting legally hitched. How did we plan a 25-guest ceremony and reception in under three weeks? A lot of research, a solid network of local friends and neighbors, and an incredible team of small business owners. We found a nearby wine and cheese bar that had a cozy vibe and gorgeous outdoor patio to be our wedding venue. We ordered flowers from our local florist. I actually baked and decorated our wedding cake myself: three layers of banana bread cake (my mom's recipe), each with nutella layered between, and covered in a cream cheese frosting. The music was nothing fancy, simply a Spotify playlist that my (then) fiance and I spent pulling together one night as we prepped for our celebration. The decor we did add to the space included candles (real ones, not electric, a big win in my book!) for the tables, tall votives to line the walkways, brice walls, flowers, and signage—all of which I designed myself using Adobe and put into frames purchased for our original wedding.”

-Lauren Nolan