Today I’m sharing my wedding to do list so that you can see the details of planning a wedding and when we did them. This is a month-by-month list of our tasks and deadlines.
Let me first give you some context about our wedding, though. Because I work in a creative field, I already knew some of the vendors I wanted to hire (such as the photographer, makeup artist, and day of coordinator). If you don’t have people in mind already, you’ll likely need to do some of the things on this list sooner than I did.
For example, I didn’t have a trial with my makeup artist until three months out, but I knew her work already and was confident she was right for me. If you decide to hire a makeup artist but don’t have someone in mind, you should start earlier with makeup trials to ensure that the artist is someone you want to work with. Also, I wore a fairly simple lace dress (which I snagged on sale online). If you want a particular designer gown or a custom suit or other custom garment, you’ll need more time to go through fittings.
This timeline is meant to help you think about the tasks you might need to undertake, but as I wrote in my first post about weddings, prioritize what’s important to you. The items on this list are specific to what we wanted to have, but hey, you may not want a makeup artist or a rehearsal dinner. You do you!
Photo by Lanty/Unsplash
Five Months Out
- Book venue & pay security deposit (But honestly, I recommend starting earlier on this. In a lot of cities, you might have to book your venue a year in advance, especially if you want a certain date. We didn’t have a particular date in mind, and we also didn’t mind getting married on a Friday, which meant we had more options available. It was cheaper as well.)
- Finalize guest list
- Send Save the Date email (We made a little video.)
- Book photographer
- Book makeup artist
- Contact catering and choose items for tasting
Four Months Out
- Block hotel rooms
- Create wedding website
- Start composing day of timeline
- Attend catering tasting
- Research printing vendors (If you want physical invitations)
- Book graphic designer to create invitations (If needed — there are also plenty of templates)
- Start wedding outfit search
Three Months Out
- Finalize wedding website
- Print and send invitations
- Meet with makeup artist for trial
- Finalize menu selections with caterer
- Obtain liability insurance
- Pay balance to venue
- Book bartending service (Our venue required licensed bartenders.)
- Book photo booth (If you want one)
- Ask someone to be our officiant
- Make accommodation plan for families
- Research wedding rings
Two Months Out
- Send RSVP reminder to guests via email
- Put deposit down on catering
- Book day of coordinator (BTW, you don’t need someone who specializes in weddings for this. Someone who coordinates other types of events can do this.)
- Book linens/glassware rental
- Book entertainment/activity (For us, we asked musician friends to play. This was followed by karaoke. You might have to do this the month before, depending on what your entertainment is. We just had to rent a karaoke machine)
- Buy decorations
- Finalize day of timeline & send to vendors
- Buy rings
- Finalize day after wedding location (We had a brunch the next day for guests, but you may not even want to do this.)
One Month Out
- Send final reminders to anyone who has not RSVPed
- Calculate final guest count
- Remind guests about hotel booking deadline
- Send vendors list, guest count, timeline, & floor plan to venue
- Get alterations, if any, for clothing (If you have complicated alterations, you may want to do this earlier)
- Buy plates & utensils (We decided not to rent plates & cutlery and purchased compostable ones.)
- Buy photo booth props
- Buy favors (We ended up making ours a DIY activity, which was a big hit with kids and adults alike.)
- Discuss photo shots & locations with photographer
- Map out ceremony with officiant
- Make invite list for rehearsal dinner & invite guests
- Make reservation for rehearsal dinner
- Get hair cut (Depending on how early you like to get your hair cut and how short you wear it. I personally like three weeks out for my hairstyle. My partner, who has much shorter hair, went the week of the wedding.)
Two Weeks Out
- Obtain marriage license
- Meet with catering to go over final details
- Meet with day of coordinator
- Send final guest count to catering, bartending, and linens rental
- Check on rings for resizing
- Decide what volunteer tasks are needed and ask friends
- Email guests with reminders & details
- Send schedules to families & friends who are involved in ceremony, set up, or tear down
- Finalize AV needs for ceremony, musicians, & karaoke
- Make list of who is bringing what on the day of
1 Weeks Out & The Week Of
- Order flowers from Trader Joe’s
- Reconfirm arrival times with all vendors
- Pick up rings after resizing
- Write vows
- Get a facial & manicure
- Pick up flowers & assemble
- Assemble bridal bouquet
- Finalize ceremony with officiant
- Order lunch for pick up for day of wedding
After the Wedding
- Pay any vendors who still need to be paid
- Follow up email to guests (With thank yous, link to photo booth photos, lost & found list.)
- Receive deposit back from venue
- Write thank you notes
First photo: Jazmin Quaynor/Unsplash
I find it a little strange/concerning that “writing vows” is left until the week of the wedding. The wedding is just the first day of a marriage. Everyone wants their big day to be perfect, but trust me (this is 28 years of marriage talking), you won’t remember half of what happened that day. But your vows will hold you together through all the hard work of marriage. Maybe spend a little more than a couple of days thinking about what you’re going to promise each other.
This is what worked for us. But everyone should adjust for what works for them.