Wedding Checklists, the best guide to plan your wedding

The wedding timeline checklist is the main checklist most couples search for when planning their wedding. The To-Do-List is organized from 9-12 months before the wedding until the first days after the wedding.

Don’t feel overwhelmed by all the To-Do-Things pointed out here. Just pick the ones that best suit your dream wedding.

9-12 months before the wedding

• Officially announce your engagement
• Decide on who pays for what and set an overall budget
• Set a wedding date (consult with registry office and officiant)
• Decide on the type of wedding (formal, semi-formal, informal…)
• Book reception site (liability insurance necessary?) and arrange parking
• Book ceremony location (liability insurance necessary?)
• Decide whether you need/want pre-marital counseling
• Get some useful wedding checklists or prepare your own ones
• Hire wedding planner if you wish
• Start first draft of your guest list

6-9 months before the wedding

• Announce wedding date (especially for out-of-town guests)
• Start shopping for wedding dress, shoes, jewelry etc.
• Decide on bridesmaids dresses
• Organize (flower) decoration and bouquets
• Hire catering service
• Hire wedding photographer/videographer
• Hire DJ/band
• Choose officiant and discuss ceremony process
• Start thinking about gift registry options
• Reserve hotel rooms (in varying price ranges) for out-of-town guests
• Have an engagement party if you wish
• Book honeymoon

4-6 months before the wedding

• Select and order wedding invitations and stationery
• Choose wedding cake
• Discuss menu ideas with catering service
• Arrange for rental items (arches, candelabras, china, crystal, flatware…)
• Buy wedding rings
• Organize groom’s tux and decide what groomsmen will wear
• Make sure bridesmaids ordered their gowns and decide on accessories
• Look for wedding favors
• Confirm dates for bridal shower and bachelorette parties
• Start registry (before sending bridal shower invitations)
• Get ideas for wedding hair and makeup
• Organize helpers (readers, musicians, guest book attendant etc.)
• Organize additional management staff, babysitters etc.
• Give guest list to shower hostesses
• Decide whether you want wedding insurance

2-4 months before the wedding

• Finalize guest list and send invitations
• Select place for rehearsal dinner
• Finalize rehearsal dinner plans
• Finalize menu
• Select music for ceremony, reception etc.
• Book makeup artist and hairstylist
• Check tuxes for groom and groomsmen have been ordered
• Organize wedding transportation (for you and your guests)
• Order wedding favors
• Find gifts for each other, your attendants, shower hostess, parents etc.
• Purchase bridal party gifts
• Purchase wedding accessories (candles, baskets, ring pillow etc.)
• Check registry regularly (there always have to be enough options left)
• Joint bank accounts, insurance, merging of money…
• Start preparations for honeymoon
• Send invitations 8 weeks before wedding date

1-2 months before the wedding

• Have first bridal gown fitting
• Schedule a final fitting for your gown so it can be ready for formal bridal portrait
• Finalize ceremony readings, songs, etc.
• Design wedding programs
• Meet with officiant to finalize ceremony
• Arrange “Bridesmaid Luncheon” and other “Pre-Wedding Parties”
• Write vows
• Set appointment with photographer for your formal bridal portrait.
• Prepare photo and video shot list
• Check requirements for blood test and marriage license in your state
• Discuss and finalize details with wedding service providers

3-4 weeks before the wedding

• Get marriage license (normally no earlier than 30 days before wedding)
• Arrange name change
• Mail rehearsal-dinner invitations
• Meet with stylist to discuss makeup and hair
• Confirm hotel arrangements for out-of-town guests

1-2 weeks before the wedding

• Call guests who have not responded to invitation
• Make final payments for all services that require payment
• Have final wedding gown fitting
• Finalize wedding-day schedule and share with attendants, parents and all vendors
• Pick up wedding dress and make sure all accessories are together
• Reconfirm all wedding plans: ceremony, reception site, florist, photo-/videographer, musicians, DJ, baker, honeymoon
• Give caterer/reception site final head count
• Provide wedding party and out-of-town guests with itinerary and maps
• Prepare emergency kit with needle, thread, safety pins, tape, mirror, etc.
• Give someone at home emergency numbers of honeymoon locations, credit card numbers etc.
• Finalize seating arrangements
• Prepare place cards
• Prepare “wedding box” for ceremony accessories
• Prepare “reception box” for reception accessories
• Prepare wedding favors for transportation
• Complete seating plan for reception
• Confirm all rental and floral delivery dates and times
• Confirm arrival times for attendants
• Pack for wedding night and honeymoon

The day before the wedding

• Prepare payment envelopes, choosing who is responsible for each one
• Hand out assignment lists and checklists to ensure everyone knows their tasks
• Hand out ceremony box to appropriate person
• Hand out reception box to appropriate person
• Hand out favor box to appropriate person
• Give rings to best man
• Gather wedding dress and all accessories
• Get a manicure, pedicure, massage
• Rehearse ceremony with officiant and wedding party
• Confirm flight arrangements for honeymoon
• Compile an emergency list of all wedding vendors with phone numbers

The wedding day

• Try to eat breakfast
• See hairdresser
• Have makeup applied
• Don’t forget rings (if you haven’t given them to best man) and wedding license
• Take a relaxing bath

After wedding

• Get wedding gown cleaned and preserved
• Preserve bouquet
• Write and send thank-you notes
• Complete process of name change
• Finalize gift registry
• Meet with photographer/videographer to finalize albums/video

If you already feel like having a look at some of the best wedding vendors out there, check our recommended wedding suppliers to find what you are looking for from the comfort of your home.

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I learned quite a few things during my wedding planning process. Planning a wedding is like many things in life, you learn by diving in and going through the process. One thing I learned was creating wedding checklists ahead of time can seriously save you money in the long run. Organization makes a huge difference.

When I was going through the wedding planning, I actually started writing my wedding checklist about a year ahead of time. Yes, some couples don’t even know that they are getting married that far in advance. Obviously many weddings are planned as more of a spur of the moment romantic decision. However, if you happen to have the luxury of some additional planning time like I did, you will find you will be pleased with your decision to make wedding checklists.

My wedding checklists allowed me to write the estimated cost and final cost of all my wedding expenses. In fact, the checklist made sure I accounted for all areas of my wedding I might have otherwise forgotten. For example, I was completely on top of many of the obvious wedding planning expenses. I had already thought through decoration, accessories, my dress and makeup (of course), and the photographer and easily checked these expenses off on my wedding checklist.

However, there were items I had completely overlooked. When I put together my wedding checklist I realized I had left out some items I just didn’t know about, because I had never planned a wedding before. I would have totally forgotten the rental equipment, the chairs, tables, technical equipment and tents if it hadn’t been for my wedding checklist. When I compiled the list, I realized these items would have never crossed my mind. I was able to look into these rentals a year in advance, and this advance time allowed me to shop for the best prices. If I had forgotten about the rentals, and tried to negotiate these rentals at the last minute, it would have cost me a lot more money. You know that stores always love to hike up prices on last minute shoppers.

As obvious as it sounds, many couples actually forget to budget for their honeymoon! I know it sounds crazy. However, when I saw “honeymoon” on my wedding checklist it was a real eye-opener for me. Everyone knows you can really cut down on travel costs by booking in advance. Through arranging our hotel and flight, we were able to save at least a thousand dollars on the total cost of our wedding.

I know for a fact that if I hadn’t seen “honeymoon” on my wedding checklist, there would have been no way I could have remembered to go ahead and pay for it months in advance. As a result, we very likely could have eaten up our honeymoon budget on last minute wedding planning expenses. Again, my wedding checklists saved the day by reminding me of all the important parts of wedding planning that should not be overlooked.

If you liked this article about checklists, feel free to use any of the wedding checklists we have at your disposal on the left.

Or check our Recommended Wedding Suppliers to find some of the best wedding vendors in quality and price from the comfort of your home.

So, the time has finally arrived. You and your partner have decided to tie the knot. Before deciding who should plan and organize your marriage ceremony and wedding celebration, one of the most critical things is for both parties to be on the same page about what the events represent and symbolize. Having a joint definition will help you establish a joint vision of how you want the day(s) to unfold and how to best go about arrangements.

Most people would love to have a wedding planner take the stress of planning their wedding off their hands – especially if the celebration is to be quite elaborate. Others like to keep the event intimate with every detail taken care of by the couple itself. And, well, let’s be honest. There is the third scenario: you would like to have an elaborate celebration but can’t afford a wedding planner, so you’re left doing it yourself. Truth be told, the last was the category we fell into.

While my partner and I seemed to be on the same page, knowing him a little better now than I did then, I’m sure he would have passed on numerous elements, but chose to humour me and my desires, knowing that I was the stereotypical girl who had dreamed of meeting her Prince Charming and having a most elegant wedding. Having learned from the experience, this is why a unified understanding and vision is quite important. In order for us to have the wedding I dreamed of, we ended up doing pretty much all of the planning and organizing ourselves. I was lucky I had a tremendously patient fiancé and very “hands-off” relatives, but it doesn`t surprise me that some couples end up breaking off the engagement during the planning phase.

Here is our list of advantages and disadvantages to planning your own wedding:

Advantages of Planning Your Own Wedding

You can take full credit for the event.
You have full ownership of everything.
You add a personal touch to everything.
You get to know each other (and each others’ families) better.
You can assemble a good, solid team that can assist and decrease the stress.
You can explore your individual and joint creativity.
You can produce a very unique, unconventional event.
You can assemble wedding checklists to help keep you on track.
You can save money.
You may overpay a professional for things you could have done yourself.

Disadvantages of Planning Your Own Wedding

You may blame each other for mishaps.
You may not have time to do everything yourself.
You may not have the flawless event you had hoped for because you relied on others.
You and your families can get on each other’s nerves.
You may not have as many resources as professional planners .
You may have to deal with glitches and crises yourself on the day of the ceremony/celebration
You may have to deal with not only yourself and getting ready, but also managing the behind-the-scene glitches.
You may miss out on organizing something if you haven’t had it on your list.
You may not get the quality that you would like.
You may go over budget, unaware of the overall costs.

That having been said, if you are set on having a professional do your planning and organizing, but can’t afford it, maybe you need to scale down your celebration or put it off until finances allow.
But if you prefer to plan your wedding yourself, make yourself a favor and make the process easier by using wedding checklists.

You can also have a look at our Recommended Wedding Suppliers to find some of the best wedding vendors in quality and price from the comfort of your home.

When you are in the midst of wedding planning, sometimes the amount of detail that you are managing can seem somewhat bewildering, and so wedding-planning checklists can prove to be quite essential. Even if you are extremely proficient with multitasking, the level of detail that can be involved with wedding planning often may feel overwhelming.

If your big day is coming up, you want to make sure you enjoy the process. Why feel stressed out about keeping up with the wedding to do list and planning process? With all the commotion and excitement of an upcoming wedding it is easy to forget details, even key details. Wedding checklists keep you on task to remember everything necessary with your wedding planning process.

If you are wondering how to plan a wedding, wedding checklists are also great tools for guidance and instruction. Many couples start with lists that chart out a 12-month countdown to the big day. So what types of items are on wedding checklists? Essentially all important steps necessary for wedding planning including composing your guest list, selecting bridesmaids, selecting a caterer, choosing a florist, and so on. The checklist will usually break it down into a schedule of what tasks should be accomplished in various time intervals.

Most couples and their families spend a lot of money on making sure everything at the wedding is just right. Since you will remember your wedding day for the rest of your life, you want to make the wedding planning process not only as easy as possible, but also as accurate as possible.

If you are planning a wedding on a budget, wedding checklists can also be essential. On your list, feel free to write down the amount of money that everything costs and use that as a guide to monitor your spending. Wedding checklists and wedding guides are an ideal way to make sure you don’t accidentally make a mistake. Forgetting an essential item and needing to acquire it at the last minute can sometimes be costly, and cause you stress and worry that you don’t need on your big day.

Believe it or not, the simple strategy of outlining this list can take a great deal of pressure off of you. Oftentimes couples don’t take the small amount of time out to create a wedding checklist, and as a result don’t get to experience the amazing benefits that it can offer. A little bit of organization and forethought on how to plan a wedding can save you a great deal of time and energy in the long run.

If you look at any wedding guide online resource or book, you will see wedding checklists available either as free samples or for purchase. Taking a few moments out to organize with wedding checklists can contribute to a wedding day that is joyous and carefree.

Feel free to save, print or send to your email or your friends’ email the free wedding checklists that we have available for you on the left.

Or have a look at our recommended Wedding Suppliers to find some of the best vendors in quality and price from the comfort of your home.