Wedding Timeline
12 Months to go
□ Announce engagement
□ Arrange for your families to meet, if they haven’t already
□ Set a budget and determine who will be paying for what
□ Decide what type of wedding you want: style, size, location, time of day, etc.
□ Draft preliminary guest lists: Bride’s, Groom’s, Bride’s family, Groom’s family
□ Register for engagement gifts
□ Gather ideas for your ceremony and reception
□ Order thank-you notes for engagement gifts
□ Subscribe to wedding magazines
□ Begin dress research
11 Months to go
□ Interview wedding planners and hire one, if desired
□ Plan engagement party
□ Set a wedding date
□ Start your ceremony and reception location search
□ Create a wedding Website
10 Months to go
□ Determine your wedding’s color palette and theme
□ Make bridal salon appointments to try on wedding gowns
□ Reserve a ceremony and reception site
□ Research marriage license and residency requirements if you’re getting married abroad
□ Select the members of your bridal party
□ Reserve a block of rooms for out of town guests
9 Months to go
□ If wearing an heirloom gown, clean and schedule alterations
□ Gather vendor referrals from friends and relatives
□ Interview officiants
□ Order and mail save-the-date cards
□ Start meeting with vendors – photographers, caterers, bakers, videographers, florists, bands and DJs
□ Start a fitness/workout regime
□ Contact lighting and tent rental companies for at-home weddings
□ Delegate agreed responsibilities to your groom
8 Months to go
□ Finalize wedding theme and palette
□ Order your wedding dress and accessories
□ Contact lighting and tent rental companies for at-home weddings
□ Delegate agreed responsibilities to your groom
7 Months to go
□ Research wedding customs and traditions
□ If you’re getting married at-home, talk to your gardener about landscaping
6 Months to go
□ Select bridesmaids’ attire and confirm that each bridesmaid has ordered her dress
□ Book baker and decide on cake flavor, design and style
□ Discuss groom’s cake ideas, if having
□ Book caterer
□ Book florist and determine overall style for personal flowers and ceremony and reception décor
□ Book ceremony musicians and reception band or DJ
□ Book photographer and videographer
□ Finalize guest list and mailing addresses
□ Research invitation designs
□ Select an officiant and discuss ceremony service
□ Book day of transportation for the bride, groom and bridal party
□ Reserve a hotel room for your wedding night
□ If necessary, update passports
5 Months to go
□ Select attire for your flower girl(s) and ring bearer(s)
□ Provide bridal shower guest list to maid-of-honor
□ Update registry lists for bridal shower
□ Research honeymoon destinations
□ Finalize invitation design and order wedding invitations, and don’t forget to order extra outer-envelopes
□ Check invitation proof
□ Test drive directions before printing direction cards
□ Reserve rental items
4 Months to go
□ Book honeymoon
□ Provide guest address list to calligrapher
□ Meet with hair and makeup stylists to discuss ideas
□ Create song play and do not playlists
□ Select first dance and other special dance songs
□ Schedule dance lessons, if desired
□ Order wedding rings
□ Reserve tuxedos for groom, dads and groomsmen
□ Draft wedding program information
□ Schedule your wedding rehearsal with officiant and bridal party
3 Months to go
□ Plan rehearsal dinner: book space and order invitations
□ Order or make wedding favors
□ Purchase guest book/vessel for guest notes
□ Research signature drink options
□ Attend pre-marriage counseling or classes, if required
□ Request time off from work for your honeymoon
□ Finalize flower arrangements for ceremony, reception and personal flowers
□ Order wedding programs
2 Months to go
□ Attend first dress fitting
□ Confirm that each bridesmaid has received her dress
□ Mail wedding invitations
□ Keep a record of RSVP cards you receive
□ Schedule a makeup and hair trial
□ Select gifts for attendants and parents
□ Attend bridal shower
□ Write and mail shower thank-you notes
□ Start drafting your wedding vows, if writing your own
□ Schedule a tasting with your caterer and confirm reception menu
□ Send wedding announcement to local newspaper, if desired
1 Month to go
□ Draft seating chart
□ Review ceremony details with your officiant
□ Distribute copies of selected readings and songs to ceremony participants
□ Apply for a marriage license
□ Send photo shot list to photographer and do/do not play list to band/DJ
□ Attend bachelor/bachelorette parties
□ Write your wedding speech/toast
□ Prepare bride and groom emergency kits
□ Assemble guest room gifts for out-of-town guests
□ Start breaking in your wedding day shoes
□ Attend a hair and makeup trial and remember to take pictures of yourself
□ Schedule a haircut appointment for the groom for the week or two before the wedding
□ Find something old, new, borrowed and blue
□ Attend final dress fitting
□ Pick up your wedding rings
□ Send seating and place cards to calligrapher, or begin to write/print them yourself
□ Pick-up wedding dress from bridal salon or seamstress
1 Week to go
□ Have groom and groomsmen pick-up their tuxedos
□ Give the caterer your final head count
□ Send reception location manager final seating chart and drop off seating cards
□ Distribute wedding day timeline and contact list to vendors and bridal party
□ Give ceremony and reception location managers a vendor contact sheet
□ Confirm wedding day beauty appointments
□ Confirm wedding day details with all vendors
□ Pack for honeymoon
□ Deliver guest room gifts to hotel
□ Assign day-of responsibilities to attendants
□ Arrange for someone to send your wedding dress to a preservationist and return your groom’s tuxedo to the rental store
Day Before
□ Organize tipping envelopes
□ Attend rehearsal and rehearsal dinner
□ Drop off ceremony accessories at ceremony site – programs, yarmulkes, unity candle, etc.
□ Give attendants and parents thank you gifts
□ Get a manicure and pedicure
Day of
Don’t forget these important items on your wedding day:
□ Wedding dress, veil and headpiece
□ Shoes, hosiery and undergarments
□ Jewelry
□ Something old, new, borrowed and blue
□ Gloves, if wearing
□ Emergency Kits, for the bride, groom and bridesmaids (see separate template)
□ Copies of vendor and bridal party contact list and timeline for the day
□ Wedding programs, if you haven’t already delivered them to the ceremony site
□ Wedding favors, if you haven’t already delivered them to the reception site
□ Marriage license
□ Wedding bands and ring bearer pillow
□ Suitcase, airline tickets and passports if you’re leaving for your honeymoon from the reception
□ Copy of your wedding vows, if you’re writing your own
□ Copy of your wedding toast, if you are planning to make a speech
□ Envelopes with tips for vendors
After the Wedding
□ Mail thank you cards to guests within 8 weeks of returning from your honeymoon
□ Send thank you notes to your vendors
□ Send change-of-address form to post office, if necessary
□ Change your last name on necessary forms