Engagements are a beautiful thing and a great reason to celebrate and enjoy the moment with your family and friends! Especially if you’re planning on a long engagement, it can feel like your big day is ages away. So there’s no need to rush getting started on wedding planning, right?
Don’t push it too long. Wedding planning can take some serious time to coordinate properly,so it’s best to get started as soon as possible. Since many vendors are booked up a year in advance, it’s wise to start thinking of a date right away to be able to snag your dream location or the perfect wedding caterer and avoid any hassle or disappointment later on. Once the bubbly is done flowing, it’s time to get down to work, and we have the ultimate timeline for you to follow.
9-12 Months Prior
These first months will pave the way for the rest of your wedding planning and create a solid backbone to work from. When you’re 9-12 months away, start thinking ahead, and you’ll be sure to secure everything you need for your big day.
- Create a rough guest list–this will give you an idea of how much money to budget
- Settle on budget–any cost division should be allocated here
- Pick a date
- Source venue estimates and reserve your ceremony and reception venues—trendy or popular venues may be booked up to a year or more in advance
- Find an officiant
- Choose your wedding party
- Choose a wedding coordinator
- Book florist, photographer, DJ, band, or any other vendors you’d like to include
6-9 Months Prior
- Find and book a wedding caterer–you may want to schedule a future menu tasting as well
- Dress shopping–for both yourself and your bridesmaids
- Register for gifts–this could be for your shower and/or wedding (some custom shops need at least six months to make and alter dresses)
- Start planning your honeymoon and make sure to get the early bird deals–and don’t forget to mention that it’s your honeymoon. Who doesn’t like a deal?
- Create a wedding website or hashtag
- Organize transportation
4-6 Months Prior
- Finalize guestlist
- Create and send save the dates
- Reserve any rentals for ceremony/reception
- Create wedding invitations
- Finalize date and location of your rehearsal dinner
- Reserve hotel blocks for out of town guests–hotels will often give a group discount rate
- Meet with officiant and develop ceremony details
2-4 Months Prior
- Finalize and mail invitations
- Shop for wedding rings
- Order your cake
- Obtain marriage license after 90 day mark
- Book make up artist and hair stylist, and arrangetest trials
- Purchase gifts and guest favours
6-8 Weeks Prior
- Send rehearsal dinner invitations
- Reserve tuxedos for groomsmen
- Settle on menu, venue logistics, floral arrangements, and any other vendor services
- Meet with all vendors to confirm all details
- Create back up plans should anything happen to fall through–better safe than sorry
2-6 Weeks Prior
- Print seating cards and programs
- Create a seating plan–this is always a good idea; you probably don’t want your great-grandma sitting next to your rowdy college roommate!
- Arrange final dress fitting
- Write your vows
- Finalize all vendor details–you won’t want to be making any major changes after this leg of the wedding planning
1 Week Prior
- Deal with last minute issues–they’re bound to happen! That’s why you have your contingency plans
- Confirm all arrival times and scheduling–ensure that everyone, including vendors and guests, are aware of the timeline
- Delegate tasks to the wedding party–this way they won’t be asking too many questions on the day of
The Day Of
Hopefully, with all of your extensive wedding planning or help from a great wedding coordinator or event caterer, the only thing left to do on your wedding day is to enjoy your time celebrating with your loved ones.
