The Best Wedding Planning Checklist

You want to keep your wedding organized, fun, and enjoyable for everyone!  Ideal thing to do is start at least 12 to 18 months in advance and start planning.  You will have more choices for all the wedding vendors and be able to get a discount for booking early.

 

 

 

Start planning 12 to 18 months in advance

• • Reason for an early start is to pick the reputable and experienced wedding vendors in your target market area

 

Set a budget

• • Extremely important to make sure all expenses are generously covered from the beginning

 

Start searching for a Photographer

• • See our blog on How to find The Best Wedding Photographer

 

Videographer and/or Cinematographer

• • Ask friends and family for some names and review their online presence and portfolio 

  • Contact the ones whose work is outstanding and to your taste & style. Email them for a quote ahead of time to have an idea on how it will fit with the allotted budget

 

Pick Venue (read online reviews, visit the place)

• • Venue that is large enough to occupy your estimated invited guests with the atmosphere you prefer

• • One with excellent reviews, friendly staff, and that accommodates your needs

  • If it suits your taste and style, look for one that possibly has some water flowing, an open sky, or dim-lit hall for a special, cozy ceremony, to your preference

 

Start planning # of guests from HIS side

• • Make sure to ask parents, siblings, and close relatives so everyone important is included

 

Start planning # of guests from HER side

• • Go over the list of included people and make sure both bride and groom as well as the parents agree on the total invited guests

 

Hire a wedding planner

• • Someone with a cheerful personality and who can fit in your budget.  Must be a person who can work under stress and handle all the wedding vendors, guests, family, friends, and other personnel who may be involved with the preparations

 

Pick out florists, bands, caterers, musicians

• • Start making a list of wedding vendors who are possibly nearby the location of the hotel/hall or can deliver on the wedding day without any issues.  Look for their online reputation and interview them on timely delivery

  • Keep their cost in mind, especially if they’re from out of town or needs to be flown in

 

Go shopping for the dress (probably the most fun part)

• • Go with friends and family who have similar taste as yours and are your well wishers.  You need someone to tell you the truth and make sure you look your absolute best on your biggest day!

 

Look for guests accommodations nearby reception/wedding halls

• • Pick a hotel nearby that is offering a good deal for your guests.  Try to negotiate once you have your wedding date set to get the early discount. Ask to throw in extras if you’re bringing in so much business to them on the wedding day.  Negotiate, negotiate, negotiate!

 

Book rooms for guests or provide info to them on booking

• • Once you have negotiated a good rate from the hotel nearby the venue, provide detailed information to your guests to make it easier for them to navigate and get to the morning ceremony on time

  • Have your designated person available to take calls for them if they  need help with directions

 

Wedding Registry – HIS and HER choice of retailers

• • Definitely something fun to work on.  Pick out your favorite stores and get the wedding gift registry ready.  If you don’t prefer boxed gifts, simply say “No boxed gifts please.” Many couples prefer gifts in cash since the guests may not know what they need as they start their new life

 

Put together an email list of all wedding vendors and communicate in a group to make sure everyone is aware of ongoing updates

• • Create an email list with names of vendors from both sides to maintain a uniform communication and have one person in charge to speak with the vendors and keep everything organized

 

Start looking at honeymoon locations

• • #1 favorite thing to do for both bride & groom probably.  This topic does not need more explanation

  • Many couple probably picked out their honeymoon location as they got engaged

  • Contact one of our good friends, Cecilia Chisu at Cruise Planners, for your honeymoon packages – specializing in cruises, land and tour vacations, including Weddings and Honeymoons

 

Pick the days to be off from work for honeymoon & request vacation from boss/HR

• • Something that often gets forgotten by many in midst of all the other preparations.  Definitely let the boss know of your wedding dates and the honeymoon days, so you can enjoy your most precious time

 

Set up an early pre-wedding photo session and pick a picture for save-the-date cards

• • This is when you get to know your wedding photographer.  Pick a nice location if you’ve done your research otherwise ask your wedding photographer for ideas.  Your ideal wedding photographer should be able to point out the best spots and also show samples of past work.  Definitely plan at least 8 months in advance and have a backup date ready in case of rain or unexpected bad weather

 

Select wedding invitations and place an order at least 6 to 8 months in advance

• • Pick the invitations that suit your taste and the budget.  Send out ahead of time to get an accurate count of guests.  If you receive a declination, you will be able to invite other guests that you could not accommodate before

 

Start looking at the cake designs

• • If the venue location offers wedding cakes, do look at those first.  If those do not match your taste, look for a vendor who can make one to suit your style and taste.  Ask about additional discount if you reserve and pay deposit ahead of time. Make sure the on-time delivery time is stressed

 

Pick your slow-dance songs and other songs for families as they enter

• • Music will set the scene as your reception begins.  Pick the song that you’ve always wanted to dance to on your wedding day and also help out your parents if they need a song for their introduction

 

Pick out your DJs / Emcees

• • Friends/family who know you the most & can represent you the best will make the best master of ceremony.  Make sure to pick someone who can speak freely publicly and make people laugh. Someone who is super engaging with the audience and keep the reception live

  • Friends/family can also make some recommendations on the DJs. If you know of someone from a reputable source, book them ahead of time since some DJs get booked as early as 2 years in advance

 

Do your research on the makeup and hair artists

• • Get recommendations from other vendors such as your photographer or videographer since they work with all types of makeup and hair artists.  Definitely look at their work and make sure you’re happy with their style. Do go over timeline on the day of the wedding to make sure you have enough time for pictures, makeup, and hair preparation

 

Make a list of people giving speeches

• • Ask politely about the length of their speech and make recommendations on keeping it short, if necessary, to stay within the timeline of the function

  • Recommend to make them funny, interesting, and role-playing rather than just talking. Simply speaking will bore the audience and lose the attention of the speaker in no time

 

Go shopping for the rings/bands and other jewelry

• • Find a jeweler after visiting a few to see which one has the style of jewelry that both of you prefer.  We love the ad we hear every now and then! “He went to Jared!”

 

Keep your vendors informed of changes as they take place in the itinerary

• • With one email list of all the vendors, communicate changes so everyone is aware and can make accomodations quickly

 

Send out invitations with RSVP cards

• • About 4 months before the wedding, send out the invitations to give enough time to your guests to respond to you in a timely manner.  Immediate family and close friends should communicate faster for better preparedness

 

Plan out a bachelor / bachelorette party

• • Vegas or veggie?  Make sure both of you agree with each other’s definition of a bachelor/bachelorette party.  Plan it out and have safe fun!

 

Register your marriage / obtain your license

• • Within a month of your wedding, register your marriage to take care of all the legal requirements

 

Plan out the rehearsal dinner

• • Rehearse as if your wedding is taking place that day.  Look out for possible mistakes and fix them on the spot to avoid it on the wedding day.  Goal is to make it perfect and fun!

 

Purchase gifts for family and friends

• • Review budget and make sure to put aside a figure that will go towards the gifts for immediate family and friends

 

Plan/Purchase gifts for Bridesmaids

• • We recommend Bridesmaids Gifts Boutique to plan and purchase gifts for all your beautiful bridesmaids. We recently received a Don’t Make Me Blush Tote. It is undoubtedly fancy-looking and can easily fit a small laptop. For all of my weddings, I use the bag to carry the laptop and one pair of extra clothes. You can also have a personalized monogram on it, up to 3 letters of your choice. In great summer colors, the bag is sheer trendy looking and has a zipper. The material and quality of the bag is truly flourishing and stylish. All the brides-to-be can show their style by giving this to their bridesmaids as a gift. Bridesmaids Gifts Boutique has many products for bridesmaids and we highly recommend them. Customer service we received was excellent and timely.

Plan/Purchase gifts for Groomsmen & Bridesmaids

• • We recommend Forever Wedding Favors to plan and purchase gifts for all your handsome groomsmen & beautiful bridesmaids. We recently received a bouquet of party favors that can be used as return gifts for guests on a reception table. It can also be used as a gift for groomsmen or bridesmaids. Groovy Guy Gifts also has a huge selection of unique groomsmen gifts to fit any guys style. Whether you are proposing to your bridal party, saying thank you, or getting ready for a fabulous bachelorette party, a huge selection of bridesmaid gifts is found at Forever Wedding Favors.

 

Prepare your vows

• • Sing from your heart and let them be as natural as possible.  Where do you see yourself with your significant other in next 5 or 10 years?  Kids? Let it all out!

 

Talk to your photographer and makeup artist so they can work together for the getting ready part

• • See our blog on 11 tips for brides on getting ready for wedding ceremony

  • Very important since all the moments need to be captured as they slowly take place in the morning.  Wedding photographer & the makeup artist should talk and agree on the timeline for the entire wedding day and work well together

 

Set the time of arrival of all parties

• • Communicate with each party approximate expected time of arrival and enforce timeliness to make sure everything goes smooth.  Keep any weather changes in mind and plan well

 

Prepare your itinerary, go over in details with relatives/friends

• • Everyone in the family should know their role in making sure everything takes place on time with proper arrangement 

  • Go over the details & make sure everyone is rock-solid on what they’re supposed to get/arrange. The more organized you are, the more enjoyable the wedding will be!

 

Ask everyone to review their assigned tasks

• • Double check with everyone to make sure they have what they need to perform their assigned task(s) on the big day!

 

Check in times with your photographers and other vendors one more time

• • Professional photographers should be checking in with you several days before the wedding & making sure the timeline as communicated early is the same

  • Notify all vendors of any changes (last minute changes) to keep everyone on time and organized

 

Arrange for transportation

• • For guests coming out of town, arrange for special transportation.  Assign designated people to transport bride and groom and immediate family and friends as well

 

Have one designated person close to you on your wedding day for any immediate and unexpected needs

• • Close friend or family who is familiar with all your wedding vendors and can quickly resolve issues is ideal to have by your side.  Even for a quick glass of water

 

Choose location and time for your first look

• • If you choose to do your first look outside of the wedding venue, make sure to have your photographer and videographer travelling with you

  • Ask your photographer and videographer for an ideal location

  • Discuss any unique ways you prefer your first look in advance

 

 

 

Have any additional tips for us to add to our comprehensive Wedding Planning Checklist?  Comment away!

 

 

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