The Perfect Timeline to Keep You Organized Leading Up to Your Wedding Day!
18–24 Months
- Choose wedding date
- Select venue (for both ceremony and reception, if at two different spots) followed by photographer and DJ
- Create your ideal wedding budget (what you’d like to spend on everything then break it down by vendor etc.) *Pricing definitely does differentiate from vendor to vendor so really put the money into what’s most important to you.
- We’d say to hire a wedding planner but honestly, if you read through our entire site (this will only take a few hours or so), you’ll have all the information you need to easily plan your own!
- Start looking at styles for your wedding gown
- Create a profile on both The Knot and Weddingwire! You might like one more than the other so that’s the one you can keep but they each have some nifty benefits so we recommend trying the two of them then seeing if you want to keep both or just one!
- Select your bridal party and think of a cute way to ask them! A quick Google search will give you ideas that you can put your own unique spin on!
- Some of our favorite ways to ask your girls are as follows:
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- Eat Chinese food then have custom fortune cookies asking
- Go out for coffee and bring personalized mugs or have the barista write the question on each cup
- Pack a thoughtful gift box with a handwritten note
- Buy all monogrammed robes and have a spa day
- Say it with a cute t-shirt from Etsy. It could say, “Bride’s Babes” or “Nacho Average Bridesmaid” just to give a few ideas 🙂
- Give all a box of chocolates that, when they open it, asks them to be a bridesmaid
- And don’t you worry, we’ve got ideas for the guys too!
- Give all a cigar with the question on it
- Have the invite engraved on their favorite bottle
- Purchase custom cuff links with their initials engraved then either ask or write a handwritten card
- Give them directions to where you’re purchasing your tuxes to see if they get the hint 🙂
12 Months
Hire: Caterer, officiant, and florist
Other to-dos…
- Plan your engagement party
- Sign up for your gift registry
- Say “yes” to the dress
- Select bridesmaid dresses
- Create your guest list
- Schedule your engagement session
- Select centerpieces/ décor for ceremony and reception
8 Months
- Create save the dates (if your wedding is on a popular date and/ or you have a lot of out-of-town guests, this is a great plan!)
- Arrange hotel accommodations for your guests (block off rooms)
- Book honeymoon
- Select wedding dessert
- Arrange transportation/ limo service
- Select menu options with caterer
- Create wedding day timeline (see our amazing article on this here: https://www.sbphotoanddesign.com/wedding-day-timeline/)
4 Months
- Send out invites
- Select tuxes
- Choose wedding music
- Book rehearsal dinner
- Schedule any alterations needed for bridesmaids’ dresses and wedding gown
- Confirm your order with florist
- Order wedding favors (we looked through a lot of articles and these two are our faves re: best wedding gifts for your guests: https://www.weddingwire.com/wedding-ideas/creative-wedding-favor-ideas and https://www.buzzfeed.com/peggy/useful-wedding-favors-your-guests-will-actually-want)
- Shop for bridal party gifts
- Begin counseling with officiant
- Create table seating arrangement
2 Months
- Fill our questionnaire and schedule final consult with your vendors (venue, photographer, DJ, caterer, and florist)
- Choose all wedding accessories
- Order new address labels (this adds a personalized touch to your thank yous!)
- Do a trial run of hair and makeup (make a day of it, schedule bridal portraits then have a romantic dinner following :))
- Apply for marriage license
- Discuss final details with all vendors (just shoot them an email checking in)
- Final dress fitting
- If you want a tan then start tanning now
3 Weeks
- Call any guests who haven’t RSVP’d and give caterer final headcount
- Pick up marriage license
- If you haven’t yet, give DJ list of song requests/ events you’d like at reception/ songs to play during ceremony and scheduled dances/ songs not to play
- Confirm rehearsal dinner plans (headcount to let restaurant know then be sure you are booked for your venue/ church prior to dinner for an hour)
- Confirm rental and floral – all delivery times
- Check all parking arrangements
1-2 Weeks
- Pick up formalwear
- Do a final check over table seating arrangement
- Pick up passports and be sure you have all documents required for travel
- Pack for honeymoon and double check reservations
- Organize wedding day attire
- Triple check seating arrangements for reception
- Confirm out-of-town guests’ reservations
- Create a wedding day emergency kit (we come prepared, see ours here! https://www.sbphotoanddesign.com/emergency-kits/)
1-2 Days
- Mani/ Pedi
- Be sure all wedding accessories and dress are all in a pile together
- Go through your to-do list and check it all off
The Night Before
- Take a bubblebath and relax!
- Try to get a good night’s sleep
The Wedding Day
- Do not pick up calls, if someone is disturbing you on your big day, have a personal attendant or someone designated to field those calls!
- Eat something!
- Get hair/ makeup done
- Get dressed
- Give rings to best man after the photographer has captured them with all your beautiful details (have a bridesmaid take them to him)
After the Wedding
- Have your gown and flowers preserved
- Change your name
- Write thank yous
