Wedding Planning Checklist

First things first:

• Tell friends and family.
• Set the date.
• Choose what type of wedding you want (formal, semi-formal, informal; which season).
• Set a wedding budget and decide who will be able to contribute and how much.
• Visit, choose, and book your ceremony and reception sites.
• Pick a photographer/videographer.
• Have engagement photos taken.
• Start shopping for your gown.
• Start working on your guest list.
• Arrange for both sets of parents to get together.

9 to 12 months before:

• Sign up for any required pre-marital counseling or classes.
• Announce your engagement in local newspapers.
• Choose your wedding party members.
• Arrange the first meeting with your minister, priest or rabbi and wedding planner (if using one).
• Throw an engagement party.
• Start a wedding binder. Seach bridal, fashion and lifestyle magazines for inspiration and ideas.
• Insert the names of vendors and their contact information into a master contact list.

6 to 9 months before:

• Select a caterer.
• Choose a baker, schedule cake tastings.
• Shop for bridal attendant dresses.
• Hire a florist.
• Book band/DJ.
• Start researching honeymoon spots.
• Finalize the guest list.
• Book a stationer (and calligrapher, if using one).
• Mail save-the-date cards.
• Purchase your shoes, headpiece, jewelry and lingerie for the big day.
• Order your gown and schedule fittings (remember to bring your shoes).
• Schedule any beauty treatments (brow-waxing, facials, teeth-whitening) that you’d like to have before the wedding.
• Reserve structural and electrical necessities. Book portable toilets for outdoor events, extra chairs, linens, lighting and so on.
• Start making a day-of timeline, determining what should happen when (speeches, first dance, etc).
• Book a block of hotel rooms near the reception site for out-of-town guests. Pick more than one hotel at different price points.
• Register for gifts at two to three places. Remember that some guests will use your registries for showers and engagement gifts.
• Start to keep track of favorite songs.

4 to 6 months before:

• Order all wedding stationery (invitations, envelopes, thank-you notes) and work out pricing for programs, menus, and place cards, which will be printed closer to the date.
• Hire wedding day transportation.
• Book hair and makeup artists for the big day.
• Make plane and hotel reservations for your honeymoon.
• Arrange the rehearsal dinner.
• Send a guest list to the host of your bridal shower.
• Prepare map or directions to include with invitations.
• Have physical examinations and updated immunizations if traveling out of the country for your wedding or honeymoon.
• Order passport, if necessary.
• Purchase wedding rings; order engraving.
• Remind mothers and mothers-in-law to start shopping for their dresses.

2 to 4 months before:

• Order the tuxedos for the groom and groomsmen.
• Meet with the caterer or facility manager to discuss menus, wine selections, serving style, etc.
• Choose and order wedding favors and welcome baskets, if desired.
• Order the wedding cake.
• Meet with your officiant to discuss your ceremony; invite loved ones to perform readings, if appropriate.
• Choose songs for the ceremony and reception.
• Buy thank-you gifts for your attendants.
• Confirm group hotel rates for out-of-town guests.
• Finalize your honeymoon plans, including insurance.
• Send invitations to the calligrapher if you’re using one.
• Plan your bachelorette party with your attendants.
• Send a day-of timeline to your vendors so they’ll have ample time for tweaks and feedback.
• Sign up for dance lessons, if desired.
• Have attendants’ shoes dyed, if necessary.

1 to 2 months before:

• Mail invitations.
• Do a hair and makeup run-through (with headpiece).
• Meet with the caterer to decide on a menu.
• Send programs, menus and escort cards to the stationer to be printed (if not using a calligrapher).
• Send your wedding announcement to local newspapers, if desired.
• Write thank-you notes as you receive gifts.
• Maintain a list of all presents received and thank-yous written. Store all gifts in the boxes in which they came so you can return multiples.

2 to 4 weeks before:

• Plot the seating for the reception.
• Confirm times with all vendors.
• Have your final dress fitting.
• Write your rehearsal-dinner toast.
• Compose your vows, if desired.
• Visit the salon for one last cut and color.
• Send escort cards and the seating chart to your calligrapher to fill in guests’ names and table numbers.
• Enter RSVPs into a guest-list database, and call invitees who haven’t yet responded.
• Get your marriage license. If you’re changing your name, order several extra copies.
• If changing your name, make arrangements with Social Security, Department of Motor Vehicles, credit card companies and your bank.
• Arrange to have your fiancé become the beneficiary of your life insurance.
• Mail the rehearsal dinner invitations.
• Schedule caterer, if desired, for gift-opening party.
• Stock the bar using your final head count as a guide.
• Send out as many final payments as you can.
• Email and print directions for drivers of transport vehicles.
• Create a must-take “shot list” and discuss it with your photographer.
• Write your will, if you haven’t done so already.

1 week before:

• Place fees due on the wedding day in envelopes.
• Give the caterer a final head count.
• Appoint a reliable pal to transport the cake knife, toasting glasses, etc. to and from the reception site.
• Get final beauty treatments (facial, waxing, brow-shaping, etc).
• Pack for the honeymoon. Ask someone to bring your luggage to the reception if you’re leaving from there.
• Give your honeymoon itinerary to a friend or family member in case of emergency.
• Pick up your dress or make arrangements for it to be fetched or delivered.
• Arrange for the cake to be delivered to the reception venue.
• Buy a guest book.
• Delegate small wedding-day tasks: someone to carry your things; someone to bustle your dress; someone to manage the gifts; someone to hand out tips; someone to watch over the guest book; and someone to be the point person for vendors.
• Send a timeline to the bridal party, including every member’s contact information.
• Break in your shoes.
• Assemble and distribute welcome baskets to out-of-town guests, if desired.
• Pick up wedding rings, check engravings and sizes.
• Remind men to pick up formalwear and shoes, and check them for fit.
• Make arrangements for a place for you and the bridesmaids to dress before the wedding.
• If you don’t have a personal attendant, ask a friend to help you get dressed on the big day.
• Talk to head usher about any special seating arrangements.
• Arrange for a light snack for the wedding party to eat while getting ready for the ceremony.

Last 24 hours:

• Help decorate the venue, if necessary.
• Have a manicure, pedicure and any other last-minute pampering treatments.
• Distribute thank-you gifts to the wedding party, special attendants and parents.
• Organize for a note or gift to be delivered to your fiancé on the wedding day.
• Give marriage announcements to an attendant for mailing after the wedding.
• Take a relaxing bath, go to bed early and start getting excited. You’re about to get married!