The Ultimate Wedding Checklist – from ‘Yes!’ to ‘I Do’!

At Engagement

Decide Dates/when

After the question is popped, one of the first things to decide is when to hold the wedding! You might already have a dream date in mind, but we recommend that you plan for at least a year-long engagement. Venues and services can be booked up long in advance, and there’s a lot of planning to do before the wedding!

Research venues

This early in the process, it’s important to take a moment and enjoy the fantasy – you’re engaged! You can spend hours looking at dream wedding venues, poring over menus, and creating mood boards of cakes. 

Engagement Party

An engagement party is a fun way to share the news with your family and friends! This can be a great way to ask people to be in your wedding party as well. Keep in mind that anyone you invite to the engagement party will be expecting an invitation to your wedding as well, to avoid any awkwardness in the future.

 

12 Months before

(Optional) Insure the Engagement Ring

Insuring the engagement ring is a personal choice that will be different for every couple, but the sooner it’s insured, the sooner it’s protected. Your new fiancé or fiancée may have already insured it when they purchased the ring, but if not, this may be a discussion you want to have with them. You wouldn’t want to lose it now, after all!

Determine your budget

In 2021, the average wedding in the UK cost about £17,300. Your own budget may be bigger or smaller than this depending on your personal circumstances – and there’s certainly nothing wrong with building a wedding on a budget!

However, it’s important to determine your budget early on in the process – we recommend at least a year before the wedding. If you go in unprepared, it’s easy to spend way over your budget. You don’t want to book your dream venue on the perfect date, only to find you have no money left for the catering, cake or dress! Sit down with your new fiancé or fiancée at the earliest possible opportunity and discuss your target budget.

Make a guest list

If you held an engagement party, you may have gotten a head start on this one. Time to break out the address book and list out your extended family and circle of friends.

Only you can decide how many guests you want – it’s your day, after all. You likely already have an idea of whether you want a large party or smaller, more intimate ceremony. Now it’s time to create the guest list itself. You and your partner can both weigh in on this, of course, but it’s up to you how much say you give anyone else.

If anyone else is helping you fund the wedding, you may want to consider giving them a say in the guest list as well. As an example, traditionally if each pair of parents is funding half the wedding, they will each get to pick a third of the guest list, with the couple picking the final third.

Whichever way you decide to choose your guests, make sure to do it quickly, as costs for venues, caterers and many other parts of the wedding will depend on how many people you’re expecting.

Start researching wedding dresses

Do you have a dream wedding dress already in mind? Perhaps you’ve got a mood board that’s years in the making, or maybe this is the first time you’ve even thought about it. Either way, now it’s time to get specific.

Start researching dresses – browse the internet, and go out to shops to explore your options. Keep your budget in mind, but allow yourself to relax a bit – it’s a few months before you’ll be buying it. This is a great chance to bond with your wedding party, so bring your family and friends along for their opinions!

Ask everyone you want to be in your wedding/bridal party

Speaking of your wedding party, it’s time to pop the question to them! Knowing exactly who your bridesmaids and groomsmen are will be a great help as you start to form the wedding plans. It gives them a chance to get to know each other, and to start planning any hen/stag parties or bridal showers. Knowing who your team is early on will help immensely in the coming months.

(Optional) Hire a wedding planner

This one is budget-dependent, but you can save yourself a lot of stress with a wedding planner. In fact, if you do, they’ll take care of a lot of the things on this list, leaving you to sit back and enjoy being engaged! You’ll still have complete control over your wedding, but all the details of scheduling, contract negotiation, communication between vendors, and any other nasty details will be covered. Regardless of your budget, a wedding planner is worth considering, but every couple will have their own circumstances and preferences.

Create a wedding workout plan

A workout plan is a great way to help you look and feel your best for your wedding day. This may seem early, but the last thing you want is to be desperately trying to lose weight through intense starvation and training the week before you get married. The earlier you start with a healthy diet and exercise plan, the less stress you’ll have before the big day.

There are plenty of resources out there for getting into shape, but we recommend starting with a simple 10-minute full body workout, and you’ll soon have the flexibility and strength to go further!

Decide formality and overall theme

Will your guests be wearing tuxedos and ball gowns, or swimwear and t-shirts? Okay, probably not the second one – but you should decide how formal you want everyone to be. If you and your partner want a theme for the wedding, it’s time to select that as well. Don’t be afraid of expressing yourself through your wedding – this day is about you two, not anybody else!

With that said, do keep in mind that your guests and wedding party may have their own budget. Demanding everyone spend hundreds or thousands on formalwear if you’re not planning to assist may raise a few eyebrows.

Select the venue

While weddings traditionally take place in churches, most UK weddings now take place in country/manor houses, barns or hotels. If there’s somewhere within-budget that you’ve been dreaming about for years, go for it! If not, you may have to have conversations with your partner about where you both want to go. Tour venues, ask questions and discuss with your friends and family if you find it helpful!

However, you’ll want to have your wedding venue picked by around the 12-month mark. They book up fast, and you need plenty of time to plan out the rest of your wedding.

(Optional) Buy wedding insurance

Wedding insurance protects your wedding if anything goes wrong with your plans, such as a sudden illness or issue with a supplier. Typically these will cover situations where a venue closes down before your wedding, or lost, stolen or damaged items before the wedding. They usually don’t cover situations like the couple deciding not to get married, bad weather, or financial difficulties.

However, every insurance policy will differ, and we suggest discussing wedding insurance with your partner, and doing the research to decide if a wedding insurance policy is right for you.

Select the Caterer

Another big decision – what food will you and your guests be eating on the day? Similar to venues, caterers are booked up well in advance, so even though the wedding is a year away, make sure to choose your caterer now. Your venue may have options – and some may even require you to use their in-house catering to book the venue.

If not, though, you’ll have to look further afield. If you have a favourite fancy restaurant, they may cater to weddings if you’re willing to work out the logistics with them. There are also plenty of less-traditional options, such as a food truck, or even self-catering! The choice is truly up to the two of you, your taste, and your budget.

 

11 Months before

Choose a Colour theme and start thinking of overall design

Now that you know the venue and the food, you can start planning out themes and colours. Once you pick the wedding colours, you’ll have guidance for future planning – the flowers, wedding party outfits, etc. Your venue may already guide you towards certain themes. For example, a super-formal church wedding may mean a black and white theme works for you. You may already have a favourite flower or colour to base your theme on.

As with so many other parts of your wedding, this is completely down to your tastes as a couple. Make sure you’re both happy with your choices, as you’ll be seeing a lot of this theme soon!

Hire vendors who book up quickly, including photographer, band, DJ, videographer

Wedding vendors are always in demand, so it’s crucial to get them booked early. This includes your celebrant! This is best done when you know the theme/formality of your wedding. Do you want someone who’ll have your guests laughing, or a more solemn, formal affair? If you’re having a religious ceremony, you may have some very specific requirements for a celebrant. Hiring them as early as possible guarantees your ideal celebrant.

You should also be hiring your photographer and videographer around this time. You may have already decided whether you want a DJ or a live band when choosing the theme. Whichever you and your partner decide, you should get them hired about 11 months before the wedding.

 

10 Months before

Start shopping for wedding dress

You’ve had a couple of months to do your research. Hopefully you’ve found a wedding dress you love that fits with the theme of your wedding! It’s time to start seriously preparing to buy your dress. It may take many months to be produced, as components may need to be transported from different parts of the world. That’s not to mention any customisations, as well as fittings you’ll need to do. You don’t need to buy it until next month, but you should be close to making your final choice.

Book hotel room blocks for guests

It’s a good idea to get hotel rooms reserved early. You don’t need to know the exact number of guests attending, but start talking to hotels near your venue. Make sure that the hotel or hotels you book aren’t more than 30 minutes away from the venue. Otherwise, your guests may have trouble finding it or getting there in time on the day. Your venue may have suggestions for the best or most budget-friendly hotels in their area.

You may also wish to speak to multiple hotels to cater to your guest’s different budgets. Of course, if you have a huge number of guests, you may need multiple hotels anyway!

Create wedding website

Keeping all your guests in the loop on venue, directions, menus, and any other changes in plans, can be difficult. A wedding website is a great way to put all your information in one place for guests to check anytime. You can share event itineraries, collect RSVPs, start times, locations and more with everyone! You can link to hotel booking after blocking your hotel rooms, as well as your registry.

It’s also a great place to share your history as a couple. This can be especially helpful for extended family and other guests who you may not see as often.

Take engagement photos

Now that wedding plans are well underway, it’s time to relax a little and celebrate as a couple! Engagement photos are a great way to celebrate and express yourselves. There are as many types of engagement photos as there are couples. Every couple is different, and your engagement photos should reflect the two of you.

This is a great time to trial your wedding photographer, and get a beautiful set of pictures to treasure forever. Location is everything – take your photos where you had your first date, at the beach, or anywhere else you love! You can even take them on holiday, although you may have to find a different photographer.

And once you have your engagement photos, turn them into a beautiful photobook! With our unique designer, you can create beautiful books with text, backgrounds, and much more. Don’t forget to order copies for your parents and loved ones too!

Start looking at invitations

After taking a break for your wedding photos, it’s time to keep on planning the wedding. You don’t yet need to order anything, but start looking at wedding invitations. There are loads of beautiful, creative designs out there, so check websites like Etsy for ideas. Keep these in the back of your mind for the next few months. As always, work with your partner to decide on invitations that express you as a couple!

 

9 Months before

Buy your wedding dress

If this seems too early, remember how long it can take for dresses to be produced and shipped. That’s not even counting any additional customisations and fittings after the dress arrives! Hopefully you’ve been working with your wedding consultant or shop to find the perfect dress. It’s time to get it ordered. Show it to everyone you want to first, and go for a final check with a parent or someone you trust. Once you’re certain, and the dress (plus future fittings/customisations) is within your budget, it’s time to buy!

Send save-the-dates

Save-the-dates are a traditional part of the wedding process. Typically mailed to everyone on the guest list, they alert them of the dates before the official invitations are sent. This ensures everyone will have the date free, and there’ll be no awkwardness when the invitations go out. If you’ve created a website, the save-the-dates should direct them there for more information. You don’t need to name the venue, just the wedding date and location (town or city) will be enough!

Nowadays, it’s acceptable to send out your save-the-dates by email rather than physical mail. If you do this, make sure to check in with the older or less tech-literate people on your guest list. Email may also get sent to spam folders, so if you want to be certain, we’d recommend the mail route. A physical reminder also lets people keep the announcement to look at every so often, so they won’t forget it.

 

8 Months before

Register for Gifts

Registering for gifts will make life a lot easier for your guests. Choose a store you love, and create a list of items you know you want for your life ahead as a couple. You should both have equal say over the list, and ideally they’ll be things you can use. Traditionally registries may include bed linen, cookware, and kitchen appliances. If you’ve been living together for some time, you may already have everything you need in your home life. In that case, think outside the box! Do remember, however, that every guest will be able to see the registry, so it’s best to play it safe when in doubt.

Make sure to include a range of prices, as well. It’s important that your guests are comfortable shopping from your registry, so take different budgets into account. It’s better to have lots of low-price items to allow some people to purchase multiple items for you. That way, guests with a smaller budget can just choose one item without feeling awkward.

Remember some guests may choose to ignore the registry and get something unexpected. In this case, remember to be thankful they chose to make a personal effort for you!

Select the bridesmaids dresses and bridal party accessories and schedule fittings within the month

This is another one that may seem early, but can help you avoid any last-minute panics. Knowing the theme and colour of the wedding, as well as who your bridesmaids will be, should make it a lot easier to pick the bridesmaids dresses.

Selecting dresses this early also allows you to look for deals that may make it less costly, either for you or your bridesmaids. 

Meet with potential florists/select flowers

Do you have a favourite flower you’ve based your wedding around? Even if you don’t, it’s time to start talking to florists to choose the flowers in your wedding. Feel free to shop around – it’s important that both of you are happy with the flowers, and that they fit the colours and theme of your wedding.

Alternatively, you can buy and arrange your own flowers. This can take a lot longer, and may leave you and your wedding party tired and stressed. Getting the supplies together is also expensive – so unless you’re confident in your abilities, it’s probably a good idea to find a florist.

 

7 Months before

(Optional) Book the rehearsal dinner venue

If you’re going to be having a rehearsal dinner, it’s time to get the venue booked. You’ll want a wedding rehearsal with all the most important people in your wedding – the groomsmen, bridesmaids, parents, and of course the bride and groom. Afterwards, a lot of wedding parties go out for a fancy meal afterwards – the rehearsal dinner. This is a great way for people to bond before the wedding. Get your camera ready, too – you’ll find some great candid shots can be had here.

It’s best to hold these fairly close to the wedding venue or hotel. Remember the wedding is just around the corner at this point. People won’t want to travel great distances with such a big day ahead.

Hire the ceremony musicians

Time to decide on the music for your wedding, and get the musicians hired. Hopefully you’ve discussed the music you want at the wedding with your partner. Traditional options include a harpist or string quartet, or maybe an acoustic solo. You don’t have to be traditional, though. Your wedding is about you and your partner, and expressing what makes you two unique as a couple.

Whatever style of music you choose, make sure to book the musician! Anything and everything wedding-related books up long in advance, so being ahead of the game will pay off.

Order rental items, such as specialty chairs, linens, drapings, lounge furniture, white dance floor, etc

Time to decorate your wedding. Now that you know what you want it to look like, make a note of all the rental items and accessories you need. This includes table linens, lounge furniture, a dance floor, and a unique bar. Some things, like tableware, may be provided by your venue or caterers, or you may need to rent them. Be sure to check in with them so that you know exactly what they provide and what you need to rent yourself.

Hire an officiant

You may have already found the perfect celebrant/officiant months ago. If not, this is the time you should be thinking about hiring them. If you have any religious considerations, make sure the officiant knows about them well in advance. We’d recommend spending an hour or two talking to the celebrant to make sure you get on well. You’ll need to be working closely together, so it’s important they’re on-board with your relationship. The better they understand you and your partner, the better they can help celebrate what makes your story unique.

 

6 Months before

Hire a lighting technician

Your venue may already have resources you can use when it comes to lighting. Make sure to talk to them about how the venue will be lit and what options they have. You may learn you need to provide your own lighting technician. If so, you should hire them around the 6-month mark. As with everything wedding-related, they book up quickly. Make sure to keep them in the loop so that they know what you need for the ceremony!

 

5 Months before

Book transportation for guests if needed

Depending on how close your guests are to the venue, they may need help getting there. You may also want to make sure everyone sticks together or sticks to a schedule. Providing transportation for your guests will save them hassle, and could help your wedding day run more smoothly. The photographer will find it easier to plan photos if they know exactly who is arriving when, after all.

If your hotel or venue are popular wedding destinations, they may already have packages for transport. Even if they don’t, you can probably get advice on local transportation providers. You’ll want to book this around five months in advance. Of course, depending on the size and location of your wedding, you may not need transport, or may just want your guests to make their own way there.

Book newlyweds transportation (Limo etc)

After the ceremony, you’ll officially be married! From there, you’ll be proceeding to the reception as a married couple. You may want to use the same transport you took to the venue, whether that’s a limo or other car. You may also want to book something special for your first journey as a couple. If the venue and reception are close enough you could even walk! If you’re taking any sort of transport, get it booked along with the transportation for your guests.

Book the Honeymoon

Do you know where you’re going on your honeymoon? Not every couple chooses to go abroad, or even too far from home, but it’s common to get away from the bustle of life for a while. You’ll learn new things about each other, and get to enjoy your first days as a married couple. Wherever you’re going, it’s time to book your trip. You may have to grit your teeth – this can be one of the more expensive costs in the wedding.

Some couples choose to postpone their honeymoon for a few weeks or months. This gives them a chance to recover from the wedding and settle into married life a bit. The choice is completely up to you. If you are going to postpone your honeymoon, make the decision now. It’s best to book it around 5 months before you go away.

Buy/Rent groom tuxedo

Whether you’re buying or renting, the groom’s tuxedo should be ordered now. It may need additional fittings, and you can add additional accessories like a top hat, waistcoat etc. This will partially depend on your budget. You can rent a high-quality tuxedo for far cheaper than it would cost to buy one. However, buying a tuxedo, especially a bespoke one, will give you greater control over how the groom looks. As with everything in your wedding, it’s up to you! If you’re buying, you may have more fittings as you get closer to the wedding to ensure the suit is a perfect fit.

It’s also worth considering what the groomsmen will be wearing. Do you want them to be matching? If the bridesmaids will be mismatched, it may be worth carrying the style over to the groomsmen as well. Make sure both you and your partner agree before making a decision.

(Optional) Begin premarital counselling

Premarital counselling isn’t just for the bad times! Marriage is a huge step forward in a relationship, and comes with lots of unexpected challenges. To start with your best foot forward, it’s important to address any lingering concerns about the relationship before walking down the aisle.

A counsellor will talk you through common areas that couples sometimes avoid before marriage. Plenty of topics, such as children, families, religion etc. can be difficult to approach, and a counsellor will bring these up in a constructive, non-judgemental environment. Even if you don’t have any specific areas of concern, it can be a good idea to sit with a professional and make sure you haven’t missed anything. Marriage is a huge, lifelong change, so you can’t be overprepared.

4 Months before

Final tasting with Caterer

At this point, your caterer should be decided. The final tasting is a time to confirm the vendor you want to go with. You may choose to use the venue’s in-house catering team, or they may allow or require you to bring in a caterer. You may also have guests with dietary restrictions. Discuss this with catering teams before you make a final choice, and ensure they can accommodate any special requirements.

You don’t need to know the exact menu yet. Make sure you get on well with your chosen caterer. They may need details of your venue and other vendors you’re using to liaise about the wedding plans. Of course, if you’ve chosen a caterer provided by the venue, this shouldn’t be an issue!

Choose cake

The most important thing to keep in mind when choosing your wedding cake is to make sure it’s about you. You as a couple, that is, not just one of you! Don’t fret too much about your guests’ favourite flavours or design. The cake is a centrepiece in the design of your wedding. Whatever theme you’ve chosen should be obvious through the cake.

This can be anything from a traditional white floral theme, to something decorated with fruit, or even something referencing an in-joke between the two of you. Don’t be afraid to be selfish here! It goes without saying, but make sure it tastes great too.

Buy wedding bands

You probably want to buy the rings as a couple. They’ll be with you for a long time, so again, making sure you’re happy with the wedding bands is important. If you ever feel uncomfortable about the direction you’re going in, talk to your partner. The wedding bands are an expression of your relationship, so both of you need to be on board.

Some couples wait until a couple of months before the wedding to buy them. We recommend shopping about four months before the wedding. This gives you time to shop around, try different styles, and make it an experience. Make sure to read up on keeping them in great condition as well!

Select groomsmen’s attire and schedule fittings within the month

The groomsmen will need fittings, especially if you’ve chosen specific outfits for them. If you live close enough to each other, this can be a great pre-wedding experience for the groom. If not, make sure to talk to the groomsmen and make sure everyone has their fittings scheduled.

How far you go in deciding what the groomsmen should wear is up to you as a couple. However, if you’re expecting them to buy their own suits, make sure to have options available for all budgets. This goes double if you’re already expecting them to pay to travel for the wedding.

Hair/Makeup trial

Time to trial your hair and makeup for the wedding! Do this early, because you’ll want this to be right on the day. You may need to take some time to find the perfect look. Work closely with any professionals you’re using to find the perfect look for you. Together, you can decide if there are any changes you’ll need to make before the wedding.

 

3 Months before

Order invitations and hire calligrapher

You’ll be sending the invitations out 1-2 months in advance of the wedding. Ideally, you should order the invitations and hire a calligrapher (if you’re using one) about 3 months out from the big day. That gives the invitations time to arrive and be written before you send them out.

Of course, by now the guests should already know when/where the wedding is happening. The invitations are a final confirmation that they’ll be attending, to allow you to make any final adjustments to seating, catering numbers etc.

Create/Plan menu

Finally, it’s time to create your menu! Since you’ve worked with your caterer up to now, you should have a pretty firm idea of what you’re looking for. Sit down with your partner and caterer and decide the final menu for your wedding. You may want to have a copy of the guest list handy to ensure that you’ve given options for any dietary requirements your guests may have. Other than that, go ahead and pick your perfect menu!

Brainstorm guest favours and gift bags

You may wish to offer guests small souvenirs or gifts as thanks for attending. There are lots of options you can take with this, from pens and sparklers to macarons and coffee bags. You don’t need to buy these yet, but you should get a good idea of what to look for.

We recommend personalised gifts! Photo gifts let you share those special moments in your life with loved ones, and are a simple way to say ‘Thank you’. You could offer personalised mugs with great designs, or even small calendars for the year ahead, if your wedding is near the end of the year. There’s endless possibilities, so check our site for inspiration.

(Optional) Book a photo-booth rental

If you want to book a photo-booth for your wedding (and the venue doesn’t have any easy way to do this) you’ll want to get it ordered soon. As with everything wedding-related, they’ll book up quickly, so doing it three months out will give you plenty of time.

A photo booth is a fun way for you and your guests to take a range of photos without having to bother the ever-busy photographer. They can range from fun to serious. Photos are how we keep our memories of a day intact, so we’d definitely recommend one!

Write vows

A key part of any wedding ceremony, your vows should be written up now. These can be difficult to write – how can you express the breadth and depth of your love for your partner in a few words? That’s why we suggest doing this a few months out. All sorts of things might pop into your head to add to the vows, and you’ll need plenty of time to practice them.

You don’t need to be shy about them either! While you might want to save the actual wording as a surprise, chat to your partner and make sure you’re on the same page about your relationship as it moves into the next exciting stage.

Select readings

You don’t need to be religious to have readings at your wedding. While many may choose readings from the bible or other religious text, there’s no need to be left out if you’re having a secular wedding. Any philosophical, spiritual or religious passages about life and love that you adore can be read. Discuss this with your officiant and partner, and work together to choose your favourite readings.

Meet officiant and invite to rehearsal dinner

You should already know your officiant, but with the wedding so close, they’re probably eager to sit down and discuss the specifics of the wedding and ceremony in finer details. If you have your readings and vows, you can start to share your thoughts and ideas with them. Invite them to the rehearsal dinner if you’re having one, too – they’re a huge part of the wedding’s success, after all!

(Optional) Start crafting DIY items

If you’ve chosen to use any DIY items – guest favours, table decorations, or anything else – make sure to start crafting them. You should know by now how hectic wedding preparation can be, so you need to give yourself plenty of time to create everything you need. 

 

2 Months before

Send wedding/rehearsal dinner invitations with RSVPs due one month before weddings

The wedding invitations you ordered should have arrived and been written by now. It’s time to send them! While it’s possible to use e-mail, we definitely suggest using physical invitations as well. You don’t want to hit anyone’s spam folders or for them to miss it by accident. A month should be enough time for them to RSVP. After that, you can send the final attendance details to your caterer, venue, and anyone else who may need to know. This also allows you to set guest favour numbers etc.

If you’re having a rehearsal dinner, you can also send invitations to this. This is especially necessary if the dinner will be at a different place to the venue or hotel – a local fancy restaurant, for example. Just make sure to double-check who gets sent what!

First dress fitting

2 months before the wedding, you’ll want to have your first dress fitting. The dress is finally finished! Go ahead and celebrate, but remember you’ll need a series of fittings before the big day. These will carry on up until shortly before the wedding, to make sure that the dress of your dreams fits you on the big day.

Pick up marriage licence

An important part of the wedding, make sure to pick up the marriage licence! This involves giving the government notice of your intent to marry. There’s a small cost attached, and you’ll need to go to the local register office to sign the correct documents and pick up the paperwork. You’ll need to have the appointment at least 29 days before you get married, so make sure to get this done quickly.

Buy wedding party gifts

Your wedding party deserves some amazing gifts as thanks for all their hard work! There are a huge number of things you could get for them, but as always, we recommend photo gifts! Depending on the size of your wedding party, we have a great set of wedding gift book packages. You can design books with a range of covers for your guests, tailored to each of them individually! Check them out now, and get them ordered.

Give song selections to band/DJ/ceremony musicians

Pick out your favourite songs with your partner! Make sure to pick romantic ones – the first song you danced to is always a classic. Remember these will be the first songs you dance to as a married couple – make those memories special by picking out a song that has meaning for both of you.

Order the Guestbook

A guestbook is a book at the entrance to the wedding for guests to sign as they enter. It’s a great way to keep track of your guests, and to look back on after the wedding to see everyone’s well-wishes.

Most guestbooks have plain insides for guests to write anything, but we offer a unique, foil-blocked guestbook you can personalise as a couple! It offers a range of prompts for your guests, asking for ideas for dates, where they think you’ll be in 10 years, and much more! Check it out now, and start designing.

Buy all small items

Placecards, streamers, confetti – there are a lot of small items a wedding needs that you’ll need to order now. Go through your entire wedding and check if there’s anything you’ve missed. Make sure to get a second opinion too. If your venue sees a lot of weddings, they’ll probably have a good idea of miscellaneous items people need and often forget.

 

1 Month before

Assemble gift bags

Remember all those party favours and gift bags you either bought or created? Time to bust them out! Sit down with whoever you can and make them look great. Sort them into neat bags. Of course, if they’re small enough, you may prefer to arrange them neatly to allow people to take them as they enter, or even leave them at people’s tables. Just make sure they’re ready to go to the wedding.

Pay vendors in full

You don’t want to be panicking about unpaid bills during the honeymoon, so go through your whole list of vendors, and everyone else involved with the wedding. Make sure everyone has been paid in full (unless you have any other payment arrangements made).

Create seating chart

Do you already know who will be sitting where? If not, get out the guest list and start planning. Now that everyone has RSVPed (…right?) you can set out tables. This completely depends on you and your guests, of course. You may want a single’s table, or to sit people with their families, or groups of friends. You know these people the best, so make sure everyone will be comfortable with their placements. Talk to your partner if you aren’t sure about anyone’s situation.

Final venue walk through

It’s important to have a clear idea of what the day will look like, so that you can rehearse it – both in person and in your head. Make sure to do a final walk-through of the wedding, noting where people will sit, where tables will be, where the band will play, and everything else. Include the boring stuff like fire escapes and fire extinguishers too – you don’t want to be caught out in an emergency.

Break in wedding shoes

The last thing you want is to start getting blisters right as you walk down the aisle. Break in your wedding shoes, and make sure they’re completely comfortable. Your feet should be the furthest thing from your mind on your big day! You’ll be doing a lot of walking as well, so make absolutely sure you’ve made the right choice here.

 

2 Weeks before

From here, keep an eye on the weather forecast. If you have any part of your wedding planned outside, you don’t want to be caught off-guard by a sudden downpour. Even if your wedding is totally indoors, you should keep an eye out. People may need umbrellas to travel to the venue, or need protection for their formal clothes.

 

1 Week before

Finally, just one week to go! You’ve come a long way, and soon you’ll be on your honeymoon breathing a sigh of relief. There are still lots of small things to take care of, so make sure you get them all ticked off. Get excited with your partner – you’re nearly there! Here’s what to keep in mind:

 – Refresh your hair colour, have a massage, get your eyebrows done, and treat yourself to a mani-pedi. You’ll want to look and feel your best!

 – Complete your final dress fitting, and get it ready for the big day.

 – Pack your bags for honeymoon.

 – Pre-arrange for any rentals to be returned after the wedding, especially if you’re leaving straight to the honeymoon.

 – Provide all services and vendors with an emergency phone number in case of any issues.

 – Complete any edible crafting that needs to be done, if there is any.

 – Clean your rings ready to be presented.

 – Chase any RSVP stragglers and deliver a head count to the venue and vendors.

 – Practice your vows out loud (preferably in front of the mirror).

 – Write your partner a note of love and encouragement for the morning of the wedding, and have them do the same. This will help reaffirm your love and calm the nerves on the day.

 

Night before

You’ll probably be too excited and nervous to think straight the night before the wedding. However, there are still a few things you need to make sure have been taken care of! Having a wedding checklist like this one will come in especially handy here. Make sure to write down anything else you think of as well. Here’s what to watch out for: 

 – Sort out any final payments for after the reception.

 – Pack a small bag of personal items you might need during the day.

 – Put any boxes/suitcases in the car ready for the wedding or honeymoon.

 – Eat a healthy meal, drink plenty of water, go to bed early and get a good night’s sleep.

 

Day of

It’s finally the big day! Well done on making it this far – we salute you! Remember, this is your and your partner’s day, nobody else’s, so have fun! Before you set off, though, review this list quickly – there are a few things that may slip your mind, or that you’ll need to be aware of. It’s going to be an exhausting day, so make sure you stay healthy and aware the whole day as well:

 – Stay off your feet as much as you can. You’ll be moving around a lot, greeting all your guests and making sure everything goes smoothly. Take advantage of any opportunity to sit and rest your feet.

 – Eat breakfast, and drink plenty of water.

 – Take your dress and veil out of the bag and have them steamed before wearing them.

 – Lay out any items you’ll need for the day in the morning. You don’t want something to go missing at the worst possible moment.

 – Exchange your notes with your partner. This will help calm the nerves, and you can walk down the aisle confident in your love for each other and your future.

 – Say thank you to all your guests, but especially your wedding party. They’ll be putting a lot of effort into making sure your day goes smoothly. Don’t forget to get them great gifts when all is said and done!