The following Ultimate Wedding Planning Checklist itemizes everything you need to do or consider when planning your wedding, and the best time frame in which to accomplish each activity.
This checklist assumes that you have 12+ months to plan your wedding. If your wedding is in less than twelve months, just start at the beginning of the list, and try to catch up as quickly as you can.
Check-off the activities as you accomplish them. This will enable you to see your progress and help you determine what has been done and what still needs to be done.
Download the Jules Rupae Events Wedding Checklist here.
12+ Month’s Before Your Wedding Day:
- Meet with potential wedding consultants, interview & hire.
- Once wedding consultant is hired, schedule a planning meeting to go over budget & wishes.
- Set both the date & time for the wedding & reception.
- Create a budget & discuss with those helping to pay for the wedding & reception.
- Discuss wedding style, level of formality, time of day & size with fiancé.
- Start compiling names & addresses of guests; preferably in an excel spread sheet.
- Ask both families to compile preliminary guest lists, including relationship.
- Select & invite family & friends to be a part of the wedding party.
- Look for & reserve the ceremony & reception sites.
- Collect color swatches of colors desired to be used for your wedding & reception.
- Begin clipping out pictures from magazines for ideas & concepts that you like (and dislike).
- Begin creating your dream wedding inspiration board.
- Interview & sign contract with photographer.
- Interview & sign contract with videographer.
- Interview & sign contract with florist.
- Interview & sign contract with Officiant.
- Research & reserve rooms at select hotels for out-of-town guests & negotiate discounted rates – we recommend up to 3 options.
- Begin discussing & researching rehearsal dinner plans & begin making the necessary arrangements.
- Optional: Have an engagement party.
- Orchestrate a meeting between your parents & future in-laws.
- Optional: If you desire, discuss a pre-nuptial agreement, consult an attorney & then draft it.
- Put together a wedding website for guests to visit.
- Place order for your save-the-date cards.
- Discuss where you will both live after the wedding.
- Add a jewelry rider to your homeowner’s or renter’s insurance policy, or take out a special policy with a separate agency to insure your engagement ring and any other wedding related fine jewelry.
- Optional: Research & secure a wedding insurance policy to protect all of your deposits.
8-10 Month’s Before Your Wedding Day:
- Begin shopping for your wedding dress, headpiece, veil & accessories.
- Meet with bridesmaids & begin the selection process for their attire.
- Make appointment with photographer to shoot your engagement session if applicable.
- Send an announcement of your engagement to the newspaper/s.
- Send “save-the-date card” out to guests; especially recommended for out of town guests.
- Begin discussing honeymoon plans & making the necessary arrangements.
- Interview & sign contract with ceremony musician/s.
- Interview & sign contract with reception musician/s.
- Make arrangements for pre-wedding counseling if applicable.
- Create a wedding registry for easy gift-giving – we recommend up to 3 options.
- Interview & sign contract with hair stylist & communicate timing for service(s) on wedding day.
- Interview & sign contract with makeup artist & communicate timing for service(s) on wedding day.
- Update your wedding website.
4-6 Month’s Before Your Wedding Day:
- If not done yet, place your order for wedding gown & all accessories.
- If not done yet, place the order for all bridesmaids’ formal wear.
- If not done yet, make your arrangements for all wedding day transportation needs.
- Compile the final guest list; delete &/or correct as needed.
- Meet with the Officiant to discuss your vision & their input for your ceremony.
- Schedule tasting/s & contract with baker for cake &/or desired desserts.
- Shop for & order invitations, announcements & personal stationary.
- Renew or get passports if necessary – passport should be valid at honeymoon for 6+ months to be considered acceptable.
- Arrange any necessary shots from your doctor and if traveling out of the country for your honeymoon.
- Make sure that all deposits are paid for services contracted for.
- Attend pre-wedding counseling if applicable.
- Sign up for dance lessons.
- Visit your dentist for a teeth cleaning/whitening.
- Confirm rehearsal dinner plans: venue, rentals, décor, flowers, time, date, menu & guest list.
- Contact caterer to schedule a meeting to plan the menu selection for your reception.
- Schedule a time for the rehearsal @ the ceremony site.
- Begin making your musical selections for both the wedding ceremony & the reception.
- Schedule a site walk with your wedding coordinator to discuss your overall theme, rentals, & design concept – rental order should be placed at this time by the wedding coordinator.
- Book a room for your wedding night.
- Update your wedding website.
- Shop for & order wedding bands.
- Begin to delegate wedding day tasks to family members & friends – guest book, gift table, collecting items after reception, pinning on corsages & boutonnieres, transporting gifts, etc.
Choose & order men’s attire.
2-3 Month’s Before Your Wedding Day:
- Forward your rehearsal dinner guest list to the host(s).
- Confirm the design & flavors of your wedding cake & place order for it with the baker.
- Call bridal shop to determine when gown will arrive – schedule final fittings.
- Contact caterer & schedule a final tasting & confirm menu at that time.
- Double check your records for status of payments to all vendors & update if necessary.
- Order shoes & any remaining accessories for day of.
- Contract with a calligrapher if applicable to address formal invitations.
- Begin addressing the wedding invitations & announcements.
- Select wedding extras such as toasting glasses, guest book, pen, unity candles, cake knife & server, flower girl’s basket, ring bearer’s pillow, etc.
- Choose gifts for attendants’, family & future spouse.
- Determine the need for babysitting services for the wedding weekend.
- Meet with ceremony musicians to select play list for ceremony.
- Meet with reception musicians to select play list for reception.
- Meet with photographer to discuss ratio of candid vs. posed shots, etc.
- Bring color/fabric swatches to florist & finalize details for all wedding flowers.
- Finalize & place order for your favors to give to guests.
- Discuss & have printed map(s) to the wedding ceremony and/or reception, ceremony programs (1 per couple/not per person), place cards, table cards, menus & directional signage.
- Arrange for wedding day transportation – shuttles, limousines, horse drawn carriage, etc.
- If you are changing into a “going away outfit” when leaving the reception, purchase it now.
- Update your wedding website.
- Place your wedding invitations in the mail.
Advise the participants recommended to be present at rehearsal via email and/or a phone call – this task should proceed the actual rehearsal dinner invitation which should be sent out by the host 8 weeks in advance of the wedding day.
4-6 Week’s Before Your Wedding Day:
- Forward liability insurance policy / rider to venue(s) if requested.
- Submit wedding announcement to local newspapers with photo.
- Arrange for someone to feed the family pet & pick up your mail while you’re away.
- Confirm date & time of rehearsal with Officiant.
- Confirm participation in rehearsal of all desired participants
- Finalize the delegation of all wedding day tasks – guest book, gift table, collecting items after reception, pinning on corsages & boutonnieres, transporting gifts, etc.
- Schedule meetings w/ all vendors at site & go over details if necessary.
- Choose a hairstyle that compliments your headpiece.
- HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: Schedule a trial run with your hair stylist.
- HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: Schedule a trial run with your makeup artist.
- Compose your vows & forward to Officiant, and finalize all elements of the wedding ceremony & action items that were gathered at your original planning meeting with them.
- Have final fitting of wedding gown with appropriate shoes & undergarments.
- Write thank-you notes as wedding gifts arrive.
- Arrange the people to facilitate all of your post-wedding arrangements.
- Schedule meeting with wedding planner to identify your ideal “day of timeline.”
- Order & plan in-room welcome baskets & weekend agenda for all out of town guests.
2-3 Week’s Before Your Wedding Day:
- Contact florist and confirm order with them, and make all final changes.
- Confirm with your hair and makeup artist, the total # of services that they are to provide, and confirm the address & overall timing of the services w/ them.
- Optional: Address formal announcements to be mailed on the wedding day.
- Review final RSVP list & call any guests who have not yet sent in a response.
- Finalize the seating plan, master seating chart & place cards if having a sit down dinner &/or reserved seating for both the reception & rehearsal dinner.
- Confirm all duties & arrangements for those individuals that you requested to fulfill all post-wedding arrangements.
- Bride to put together her wedding day emergency kit.
- Confirm accommodations arranged for out-of-town guests.
- Go over all details with attendant/s, including an agenda for the weekend.
- Confirm final rehearsal dinner arrangements with groom’s family.
- Go to county office and apply for your marriage license.
- Pick up wedding rings; ensuring that they are the correct size.
- Make sure bridesmaids have their dresses & that they fit.
- See your hairstylist for a final trim & color if applicable.
- Break in your wedding shoes by walking around in them in the house.
- Wrap gifts for attendants; present them at the rehearsal dinner.
- Meet with the pet/house sitter to go over all details while you’re away.
- Make appointment for manicure/fill & pedicure before wedding.
- Finalize your day of timeline.
- Arrange for your gown & veil pick up date & time.
- Confirm honeymoon arrangements & make copies of passports.
- Provide honeymoon itinerary to family or friend in case of an emergency.
- Start packing for honeymoon.
- Delegate last-minute errands & details.
- Groom to request best man to remind all groomsmen to arrange for their final fitting & pick up their rental attire.
- Review final details with all contracted vendors & issue necessary lists and day of timeline.
- Write toasts for rehearsal dinner & reception.
- Confirm rental order & make any last minute changes.
- Deliver final song list to your DJ &/or band leader for both wedding & reception.
Please contact us to schedule a complimentary consultation –
Text: 503.314.4994
Email: Jules@JulesRupaeEvents.com
Phone: 503.850.4289
