How to make long-distance planning less of a mind bender

Get the dress, order the cake, reserve the rehearsal site, find and book a ceremony locale, order flowers and plan the reception. Oh, and do it all at least six months prior to your wedding date from thousands of miles away. Phew! There's only one way to describe long-distance wedding planning: exhausting.

I'm getting married in October on the other side of the country, and, needless to say, I've battled the wedding details in the last few months. Trying to remember all that needs to be reserved is hard enough. Doing it from thousands of miles away from your wedding site is even more difficult. In my situation, I'm getting married on the east coast but living on the west. Sound like a brain teaser? Is many ways, it is. I have enlisted the help of my parents, who live where I'll get married, and have exploited the Internet, which allows me to research long distance. It's still hard to get everything coordinated, but at least my mom and my computer make it a bit easier.

Destination weddings are soaring in popularity nowadays, and I can't help but wonder how so many brides deal with it. Based on my experience, planning a destination wedding--or even a wedding in your hometown if you don't live there anymore--is infinitely more complicated than planning a wedding where you live. But, as I've found out, there are a few good tactics to put in play for a successful wedding. I have gleaned some knowledge in my time as a bride to be, and I'm more than happy to share it.

1.) Get help.

I don't mean this in the psychiatric sense, although you may need therapy after months of wedding planning. What I mean is find someone who lives where you're getting married and ask that person to oversee preparations. If you're lucky enough to have a relative in the area, the job could go to that lucky individual. Otherwise, hire a wedding planner. There will be extra cost involved, but it's infinitely better to pay up than to show up at your wedding day with nothing ready for you. Thankfully, my mother has been doing this job for me. I'll come across a few local vendors online, and she'll visit them to find out if they're legit. Then, either she or I will book the vendor we like best.

2.) Reserve early.

It's crazy how far in advance you have to visit vendors nowadays to have a shot at reserving their services. I booked my photographer just last week, and although my big day was more than six months away, his calendar was already loaded for October weddings. Luckily, my date was the only one he had even partially free, and I jumped at the opportunity to lock him in.

If you're planning a destination wedding in a touristy place, you'll have to get the ball moving on booking wedding vendors. A year out is best, especially if your wedding will be during the high season from May to October. Even if you're getting married in your hometown, booking all the details early is crucial. As I found out, six months beforehand is cutting it close.

3.) Get a package deal.

If you're getting married in a popular destination, there are bound to be multiple all-inclusive wedding sites available for purchase. These packages would include the wedding location, flowers, photography, cake, music and other details that you may not even think about. I used to think that going this route was a bit of a cop out, but now I'm beginning to realize how convenient an all-inclusive package would be. There's no planning involved; all you have to do is decide on a date and time and pay up. So if you don't know anyone in the area where you're getting married and you don't want to hire a planner, consider getting married at a resort with pre-planned wedding packages. It will make your engagement time free of stress.

These are a few things I've learned in the planning process, but they're not foolproof ways to plan a wedding long distance. You might find that traveling to the wedding site for a long weekend is all you need to do to get everything prepared. If that's the case, bravo, I applaud you. It's certainly not how I've approached the process, and I envy anyone who makes planning a wedding from far away look easy.