Witney Carson Told Us Exactly How She Planned a Wedding in Less Than 3 Months

Wedding planning is always stressful—and if you’re engaged in October and married on New Year’s, like Dancing With the Stars‘ Witney Carson and longtime love Carson McAllister, that stress could be enough to make your eyes pop out of your head. But it doesn’t have to be a miserable three months. Here, Witney tells us how she pulled off her dream wedding in less than three months. (Also below: never-before-seen wedding and honeymoon photos that Witney and Carson shared exclusively with us.)__

Up-Close Photos of Witney Carson’s Wedding Ring

1. Hire a wedding planner if it’s in your budget. And don’t forget to lean on your mom (“The most important!” says Witney) if she’s offering to help out.

2. Plan, plan, plan, and stay involved. Even if you hire a planner, it’s up to you to show up to every meeting—cake maker, catering, and florist appointments—”ready with ideas,” says Witney.

3. Don’t wait until you’re engaged to start thinking about your wedding. “I knew exactly what I wanted,” says Witney, “so that made things easier—and faster.”

4. “Get creative!” Expensive doesn’t always mean better. Witney and Carson picked bell-shaped cookies as their wedding favors. The cookies were decorated with their initials and included a note that read “Thanks for ringing in the New Year with us.” Easy—and inexpensive.

5. Do your research. “There are a ton of ways to make your wedding beautiful on a budget,” says Witney, who relied on Pinterest and wedding magazines for inspiration.

6. Hire vendors who are used to pulling off weddings quickly. “Planning a wedding isn’t the easiest,” says Witney, “but with the right people it can be easier.”

7. Pick vendors based on personality, too. “Have great people surround you,” says Witney. If you’re getting rude vibes from a hair stylist or caterer, remember: No matter how good they are at their jobs, you don’t want to be around someone else’s bad energy on your wedding day. Same goes for stressed-out family members. (That doesn’t mean you can un-vite a high-strung future-mother-in-law. But you can ask a bridesmaid to help keep any negative-vibe-y people out of your immediate space.)

8. “Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty.” If you want things done your way, be open to doing them yourself, says Witney. (She did!)

9. Remember you don’t necessarily need a DJ. Witney and Carson saved money by making a wedding playlist instead. If you go the iPod route keep two things in mind: (1) Make sure your venue is set up with the proper sound equipment. (Most important: the cord to connect your iPod!) (2) Designate someone ahead of time to gather guests around for the father-daughter dance, the first dance, and the cake-cutting.

10. Take time to enjoy the process. “Even though my wedding planning went by quickly, I still enjoyed every minute,” says Witney.

__For more Witney, go behind the scenes at the 10th anniversary Dancing With the Stars party: