Planning a wedding is a huge undertaking. It can seem like an impossible task when you start thinking about all the things you will need to make your big day special. Everyone knows that you need a venue, decorations, a guest list, a cake, and more; but how do you go about securing these items? Also, how do you coordinate all these elements? Here is a A Checklist For The Countdown To Your Wedding.
The key to planning any event is organisation. You need a time-sensitive plan to follow to get everything in place for your wedding. Fortunately, that is exactly what this article seeks to provide. So take a deep breath, relax, and follow the instructions below to start planning the perfect wedding.
Table of Contents
12 Months Out
The very first thing that couples should do when planning a wedding is to find a wedding venue. The venue is not just the stage for your big day. It can also determine the budget that you have to work with, how many guests you can invite, and help you pick out a date that works out for both you and your ideal venue. For instance, those who live in London may struggle to find a wedding venue that fits within their budget or guest limit so they might have to expand their search to include places in the local area, such as wedding venues in Watford.
Once you have found the perfect wedding venue, you can then begin to craft your guest list and send out the invites. You should have a concrete date now that you have planned with the venue, so now you have a target to work towards.
10 Months Out
You should now have an idea of how many people are attending your wedding during this time as your guests will have responded to their invites. Therefore, you can now begin to make arrangements that reflect this information.
Some guests will travel from outside the local area. This means that you can start asking about accommodation and transport for the night of your wedding. You will have more luck securing hotel rooms and taxis when you book early, so once you have a confirmed guest list it is important to secure these items.
The big thing on your initial list should be booking a photographer. These individuals are responsible for capturing everything on your big day, but they are one of the most expensive aspects of planning a wedding. Make sure that you have booked well enough in advance to be able to pay them on time.
9 Months Out
Now that the two big hurdles have been cleared, you can now turn your attention to the smaller jobs. Your venue should have discussed food options with you both when you first booked with them. A wedding venue may offer its own catering services, but if not, they will have links to other local companies that can cater to your guests.
With the caterer booked, you can then start to discuss the layout for your big day. You can draft up a seating plan, decide on who is giving speeches, and move on to the evening’s entertainment. Wedding bands book up quickly during wedding season, so try to arrange the evening festivities before the six-month mark to ensure that you get the group you want.
6 Months Out
Once you have arranged the food and entertainment for your guests, it is now time to turn the attention to yourselves. Both the bride and groom will need wedding outfits, and now is the perfect time to go shopping. Arranging your wedding attire this far out provides you with enough time to get things fitted for size or make any personal adjustments. With this in mind, it is also a good idea to pick out your wedding rings during this time. Again, doing so now will ensure that there is enough time to get the rings re-sized if necessary.
Also, you will need to start thinking about the legal aspects of your wedding. UK residents will need to give notice of marriage to their local council. It can take them some time to get all the appropriate paperwork sorted and update their systems. You can reduce your stress by getting this stuff arranged six months beforehand so that you have a chance to address any potential errors.
3 Months Out
With all the serious stuff out of the way, there are several aesthetic elements to address. If you need some help, you can start thinking about hiring a wedding supplier. These companies can provide you with the decorations you want and help you set everything up on your wedding day. Most couples choose a theme for their wedding, so make sure you agree on an idea before you get your decorations sorted.
Your wedding is also a time for the two of you to get up in front of everyone you know. To profess your love for one another. As such, you will need to write your wedding vows and select some readings for your ceremony.
1 Month Out
The month leading up to your wedding is where the fun of the event can truly begin. Both the bride and groom can start to go out on their respective hen/stag dos. You can finally relax knowing that everything is sorted for the big day. However, you aren’t quite finished just yet.
As your wedding day draws near, you may want to start rehearsing for the big day. Rehearsal dinner with the main wedding party is a good way to make sure that everything runs on time and is in the correct place. It doesn’t have to be a formal affair, just enough of a run-through to settle any last-minute nerves.
The last thing left to do is finalise everything with the companies that you have booked. Plus get your honeymoon sorted. It is perfectly normal for couples to wait until the year after their wedding to go on their honeymoon. Don’t worry if you can’t get anything booked for the week after. Take this time to focus on the wedding.
Conclusion
There you have a comprehensive time schedule for organising your wedding. A standard wedding will fit this bill perfectly, and the more you learn about wedding planning the easier it becomes.
Great checklist!
Such a useful check list especially as I tend to leave stuff to the last minute
Reading this made me remember how much planning there was to a wedding. We thought we kept our wedding simple but in the end we still had to do so much, especially when we had no bride-maids or maid of honour to help us. We didn’t even have a hen do or a stag do so the fun really did not begin until our wedding began
No matter how simple you try to make it, there is always so much to do
Organisation is key to a beautiful wedding day – less stress just a happy ever after
There’s so much to plan when getting married. I get stressed easily and the thought of planning a wedding terrified me some and my husband went abroad to get married
I would love to have done that
Thank you. That is a really useful guide. I have a friend who has just got engaged, so will direct her this way!