The Ultimate Checklist for Planning your Wedding
It’s safe to say we know a thing or two about weddings, and one of them is how overwhelming they can be to plan! If you’re just getting started on your wedding planning journey, read on for our ultimate checklist to guide you through everything from the early planning stages to after the honeymoon.
BEFORE YOU GET STARTED
The very first thing you should think about when planning your wedding is what type of wedding you actually want! It seems simple, but there are so many things you can include on your special day and they can get overwhelming fast if you move forward without a solid idea of how you want your celebration to turn out.
Do you want a simple, relaxed celebration with your most important people? Or a rocking 3-day love fest with everyone you know? Only you can decide, and there are honestly no rules when it comes to doing your day your way.
Do you really want to cut the cake, do a first dance, or throw a bouquet? If yes, go for it! If not, ditch them in favour of something else.
We often get asked if you have to have the same number of bridesmaids as groomsmen for perfect photos and our answer is always OF COURSE NOT! There’s no such thing as ruined wedding photos when you’re capturing all your favourite people.
Long story short, put some thought into how you want to celebrate and why, and the rest will fall into place.
6-12 MONTHS BEFORE YOUR WEDDING
Pull your dream team together and decide on a wedding date. You might have an ideal time of year in mind - start there and contact all your must-have suppliers to see when they’re free. Venue, celebrant/priest/rabbi, photographer, videographer, entertainment, planner, stylist, florist, catering, outfits and hair & make up. Trust them wholeheartedly and let them do their thing - that’s why you chose them!
If just looking at that list makes you feel nervous, we recommend hiring a planner to help you with the whole process. Especially if you’re having a private property wedding! We enlisted the help of a wedding planner when we got married and it was just so great to have some extra support in the lead up and on the day. You can check out some of our favourites here.
3-4 MONTHS BEFORE YOUR WEDDING
Once the big things are locked in, there are lots of smaller, but no less important, details to get moving on. Things like your invitations, wedding rings, shoes, menu tastings and time off work before and/or after your big day.
It can be exciting to be on the search for inspiration for your wedding day 24/7, but make sure you keep paying attention to the reason you’re getting married in the first place - each other! Go on date nights with no wedding chat and make sure you make time for your relationship during the process. This is new territory, and it can be stressful talking about planning and budgets all the time, so nurture your relationship during the process and enjoy the ride!
1 MONTH BEFORE YOUR WEDDING
Gather your RSVPs, finalise your guest list and let your venue/caterer know about any dietary requirements. You might also like to put together a running sheet for all your vendors so they are clear about the timings and plans for the day.
Have you got your outfits sorted, including shoes and socks?! And are there any beauty appointments you need to make? Lock in those nails/brows/tanning specialists now.
ON THE DAY
Have the best time and try not to worry about anything else! Delegate any last minute tasks to friends and family and focus on enjoying this very special day.
AFTER THE WEDDING
You’re married, congratulations! There’s just a few final things to check off before you can get going on the rest of your lives.
Write your thank you cards. You might choose to do a few at a time or dedicate a whole evening to getting through the lot. Extending a personal thank you to your guests is such a lovely touch, and a great way to make sure you keep track of the gifts and contributions from the people that love you.
Order and complete your change of name kit (if you’re choosing to change your last name, that is!). Doing it this way makes it super simple and gets everything organised in one go.
Lastly, print your wedding photos! If you’re ordering an album your photographer can help you with this, otherwise we’re happy to help you with our favourite printing and framing recommendations. We promise you’ll get so much more from your wedding photos if you can actually see them!
And that’s it! Did we miss anything? We hope this helps you on your wedding planning adventure. It can be such a significant time in your life (sometimes more than 18 months!) so we hope we can help make it as fun and stress-free as possible.
If you need a head start on vendors or anything else for your special day, check out our Favourite Vendors page or get in touch with us anytime!