Planning A Wedding
In Two Different States

by Samantha

My boyfriend and I met online over 2 years ago and have been trying to plan our wedding in a couple of years. An obstacle we keep running into is that my family and I live in Iowa while his family and he live in Indiana.

We are not sure where to get married, where to have bachelor/bachelorette parties, or how to make arrangements for the wedding. Are there certain guidelines to follow to help us make decisions of how to plan the wedding?


Our Thoughts

The most important thing here is that you have to pick a state - either Iowa or Indiana or compromise on a middle location between the two to host your wedding.

Start the process by making a list of all the guests on each side you wish to invite to the wedding, and count those who you know will really attend. You can see who's side has more in attendance and go with that state since a majority of people will be in that state.

Keep in mind elderly grandparents, if still alive, can trump everyone on the list if you are really close with them and they may not be able to travel.

Do the same thing for the bachelor/bachelorette parties. Where do most of the attendees for both parties live?

Another option for the bachelor/bachelorette parties would be to choose the opposite state of where the wedding is taking place. So if the wedding is in Iowa, have the parties in Indiana, for example. This ensures that you both can be in your home town for some part of the wedding experience.

If all of this is too hard and there are equal numbers of guests for both sides then choose a pleasant middle ground by choosing to have a mini destination wedding event in between both states so that everyone will have to travel to the event in some capacity.

My husband and I met online while he was living in NC. We would drive three hours to meet in Virginia (a middle location) and the place holds a special place in our hearts.

Maybe you two have a meeting place like this as well, or a favorite location you would like to spend some time exploring for a wedding event. Make it an adventure, do your research on the different area options concerning cost factors so that in the end everyone included will enjoy the big day.

Regards,
Danielle