You have just got engaged and are ready to start thinking about getting married, but when is the best time to set the date and what things do you need to get in order before the big day? While you have all these questions in your heads makes for the perfect time to make a wedding timeline.
How Long Will Planning Take
The amount of time it takes to plan a wedding will vary from couple to couple but the average time is anywhere from 8 to 16 months. Everyone’s wedding timeline will be different but the important thing to remember when it comes to making your wedding timeline is to prioritize things that are important in each interval of your timeline and stick to the items on the list in order of their priority.
The Time Saving Route
If you can afford it and you want to save time then a great and convenient way of creating your wedding day timeline is to hire a wedding planner that we will be able to do it for you. Not everyone can afford or even wants to do this however it is a great way to save some time so you can concentrate on other areas of your wedding planning yourself.
Making your Timeline
The first thing you should do divide up your wedding day timeline into intervals, how long each interval will be depends on how long you have allowed yourself for planning. For example if you are getting married in 4 months from your engagement then you could make a timeline of 4 monthly intervals. For the purpose of showing an example timeline we will use this guide of 4 months throughout the rest of the article.
Interval One
The first interval or month of your wedding timeline is straight after you get engaged, during the first interval you will mostly be researching. Here is an example breakdown of the first month of your wedding day timeline.
- Announce your engagement – Letting everyone know you intend to marry is priority number 1.
- Set Your Budget – Knowing your budget before you start planning will make your choices later on in the planning stages much easier.
- List everything – Make a list of everything that you will need to sort out this includes venue, flowers, wedding cake, wedding cars, wedding photographer etc. It’s important not to forget anything here so you can plan more in as your wedding timeline progresses.
- Research – Look at websites and wedding magazines for ideas on wedding cakes, wedding dresses and other things that you like so you can start settling on a theme for your big day.
- Schedule – You will need to schedule everything on your list that you made earlier in order of their priority.
- Set a Date – One of the last things to do in this part of your timeline is to set a date, once you have done this you can then move on to booking your venue.
- Book venue – Once you have a date you should aim to book your venue for both your ceremony and your wedding reception as early as you can.
- Create a guest list – Settle on whom you are going to invite.
Interval Two
Month 2 of your wedding day timeline as the big day gets closer here are some of the things you should have on your list.
- Settle on a theme – choose a theme and or colour style for your wedding, doing this first means you can work the rest of your plans around the theme such as your wedding flowers.
- Meet with vendors – You should now have narrowed down vendors that you want to use for your wedding such as caterers and photographers. Once you have settled on your theme now is the time to start booking these services.
- Start searching for the dress/suit – Now is the time to start looking at wedding dresses, starting this early is desirable so you have enough time to find the perfect one. Let’s not forget the groom’s suit as well as it is just as important.
- Make a gift list – Not all couples choose to make a gift list but if you are going to have one then this is the perfect time to start to compile it.
Interval Three
This month of your time is really a continuation of the previous with more planning and getting everything in place as the date gets closer things to do this month include:
- Settle on invitation design
- Start looking at bridesmaid dresses
- Book your honeymoon
- Send Out the invitations
- Order wedding cake
- Organise reception decorations
- Finalise flower arrangements
- Arrange Music
- Choose and purchase wedding rings
The Final Interval
The last hurdle in your wedding timeline is getting all the little details into place to make sure your wedding day goes as smoothly as possible. You should meet with your photographer and make sure they know exactly how you want your wedding and reception photos handled. All last minute arrangements should be made such as your food menus with your caterer, by now all of your invitations should be back so you will be able to give more accurate guest numbers and plan accordingly. Now is also a good time to arrange a makeup and hairstylist for your wedding day make sure they know exactly what it is that you are looking for in advance. Finally you should sort out the marriage license if you haven’t done so already and also if your writing your own vows then now is the perfect time as your planning reaches a culmination. By now your wedding dress will finally be ready and all you need to do is try it on one more time to before the big day in case there needs to be any last minute minor adjustments made.
That’s it your wedding timeline is complete, don’t forget to leave yourself a little time before your wedding to relax, you certainly deserve after all the hard work and planning that you have done. As you can see a wedding timeline doesn’t have to be overly complicated but they can be a tremendous help in keeping your wedding plans on schedule so your wedding day is a stress free and fun as possible.