The Ultimate Wedding Planning Checklist and Timeline
There is so much to think about when it comes to planning your Wedding! Where do you even start, what do you do first? After the excitement of the engagement has calmed down a bit and the real planning begins, knowing where to start and what to prioritize can be difficult to work out.
There is a lot to do, but breaking the wedding planning checklist down into a timeline with monthly tasks makes the whole process much more manageable.
Don’t worry - I’m here to help! I have organized all of your to-dos into easy tasks that you can tick off each month, so your Wedding Planning is as stress free as possible.
This timeline is planned out in 12 months, but you can always start a bit before or a bit after, depending on when you want to get married. You can just use this as a guideline of what order to do things in!
12 MONTHS
Make a Guest List
Who do you want to invite!? You can’t do any other Wedding planning until you have determined how many people you want to come. While it would be so nice to invite everyone, that is not always possible, so consider your budget, your venue and the overall plan for your day.
Decide on a Budget
Planning your wedding budget and working out how much you can afford to spend on your wedding is super important - you can't start planning anything else until you have done this. Allocate certain amounts to each thing on the list and come up with a total.
Choose a Venue
Explore your options and view lots of potential venues to really get a feel of what your Wedding could be like there and whether it is the perfect place for you. This will likely be your biggest investment so make sure it’s exactly what you want. Wedding venues get booked up well in advance so you really don’t want to leave this one too late!
11 MONTHS
Choose a Theme
Get that Pinterest board ready, it’s time to define what theme and style you want for your Wedding day! You will need to consider things like your color palette and overall feel of the day, create a mood board to collate all of your ideas.
Book the Important Vendors (Caterer, Photographer and DJ/Band)
Some vendors you can book much closer to the time but you will want to book you important ones like the caterers, the photographer and the DJ or band further in advance to make sure you secure your date with them.
Pick your Wedding Party
This is such a fun part of the wedding planning checklist! Choosing your wedding party and asking them to be involved. Depending on who you choose to be in your wedding party, there are lots of roles to be delegated like the best man, maid of honour, ushers and bridesmaids.
9 MONTHS
Book Your Florist
Once you know your venue, have a date booked, and you’ve created a theme for your special day, it’s a really good idea to start looking at potential florists and book your flowers for your special day. You can go all out with installations and decorations or just simply with a bouquet and buttonholes.
Send out Save the Dates
With all of the plans organised and the details set, you should send out your save the dates to your guest list so they know to keep that day in their diary free for you.
Go Wedding Dress Shopping!
Also a really fun part of the Wedding checklist! Wedding dresses generally take longer to organise than the suits for the men, as you want to allow plenty of time for the dress to arrive and lots of time for any alterations or production delays.
Book Your Honeymoon
Whether your dream honeymoon is an all-inclusive Island resort, or you would prefer to travel around Europe by train… whatever is perfect for you both, now is a great time to start looking at options and start booking flights or accommodation. (It can also be a really nice break from any Wedding planning stress you might be feeling at this time!)
6 MONTHS
Order Your Wedding Cake
Choose a look and flavor for the cake that you both love. Go to lots of tastings and speak with potential bakeries. Don’t worry about pleasing every one of your guests - this is your cake as a couple.
Wedding Party Dresses and Suits
It’s a good idea to go shopping for bridesmaid dresses and wedding party suits after you've chosen the Wedding dress and the Grooms suit as you'll know your theme by then. It also might be easier for the Groom to pick his suit at the same time as his Groomsmen and Ushers so they are all similar.
Book Your Transport
If your wedding ceremony is at a separate location from your wedding reception, you’ll need to arrange wedding cars and transport for yourself, your wedding party and for your guests, if needed.
4 MONTHS
Send Invitations
Your wedding invitation should include details of your guest list, timings of the day, nearby accommodation recommendations, dress code, date, location and how to RSVP.
Chose Wedding Rings
Take time when choosing your Wedding rings, as it has to be something that you both agree on, and you are going to be wearing them every day for the rest of your life! You’ll want to choose a wedding band that will compliment your engagement ring.
Book Hair and Makeup
Put together some inspiration for styles from Pinterest or wedding magazines, and book trials with potential hair and makeup artists. They’ll be able to give you a really good idea of what is possible and what suits you for your big day.
Create Your Gift List
If you have decided to share a gift list with your guests, now is a great time to start collating one with your other half. Think about the things you really need, or that would really matter to you in the early stages of your married life together. There are lots of online gift list websites that you can use and easily share with your guests.
2 MONTHS
Finalize Order of Service and the Day
This might seem like quite a small detail but you’ll really need to make a plan for how the whole day is going to run and the timings of everything, so you have a structure to follow.
Confirm with all Vendors
Now is a good time to just check in with all of your wedding suppliers and vendors to confirm the final details, check they have everything they need and confirm all payments are up to date as needed.
Chase RSVPs
Some of your guests are not going to be immediate to RSVP, and people live very busy lives so it’s easy to forget these things! This is a great time to check in with anyone you’re waiting to hear from and confirm if they are planning on attending.
1 MONTH
Organize Your Seating Plan
With all of your RSVPs chased up, you can write and order your seating plan. This is best left to the last minute in case of any cancellations or changes of plan.
Start Writing Your Vows
Starting to write your wedding vows within the month leading up to your wedding is a really good idea because it gives you lots of time to go back to them and make sure that you have said everything you want to.
1 WEEK
Congratulations! You made it to the final week. All the hard work is over now, so just take this week to think about the little details and start to get excited for your big day. Take care of things like:
Manicure and Pedicure
Final dress fitting
Wear in your Wedding shoes (strut around the house in them!)
Pack your honeymoon bags (don’t forget your passport!)
Practice your vows
Drop off any decor items to the venue
Have beauty and spa treatments
I really hope that this wedding timeline checklist helps take the stress of your wedding planning for you, and helps you feel more organized. If you want help in creating a Wedding theme or in designing bespoke decor for your special day, I would love to help! You can get in touch with me here.