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Planning a Wedding in 12 Months - The Complete Broken Down Timeline - Including Your Wedding Planning Checklist

Writer's picture: Precious Randall-GreenePrecious Randall-Greene


Before You Start:


  1. Write your ideal guest list. You can’t determine your wedding budget or book your wedding venue until you know how many people you want at your wedding or how much money you’d be prepared to spend per head. Don’t feel the pressure to invite everybody to celebrate with you - really think about who you want to spend your day with.

  2. Decide your budget. You can’t plan a wedding without knowing how much you can afford to spend on your wedding, or how much you’re willing to spend. 

  3. Discuss the vision. Get pinterest ready. It’s time to decide your wedding theme and colour scheme. This is such a fun task and it really allows you to get creative with your partner, your theme should be a representation of you both as a couple - and because of this, your theme can be literally anything you want. The sky's the limit. 

  4. Start sending venue enquiries. Even if you aren’t at the booking stage yet, start making enquiries at wedding venues that pique your interest. Look at some venues online or in person, and getting quotes from different places will give you a good idea of what it is you like and what styles of wedding venues work with your wedding budget.





12 Months Before:


  1. Book a wedding venue. This is probably the most important and most expensive decision you will make in all of your wedding planning. Because this will set the tone for your whole day and will be the background for ALLLLLL your wedding photos. So make sure to choose somewhere you love.

  2. Finalise your guest list. Once your venue is booked, the next thing to tick off your to-do list is finalising your guest list. This way you will know for certain what your numbers are, and can confirm them with the venue. 

  3. Register your intention to marry. Next on your list is to sort out the legalities. Once you’ve booked your venue, you should schedule a meeting with your registrar, this doesn’t have to be booked immediately - but it should be booking in between 12 months and 3 months before your wedding, the sooner the better.

  4. Buy wedding insurance. Although you shouldn’t spend too much time worrying about worse case scenarios - you should consider taking out wedding insurance before spending too much money. 



10-11 Months Before The Wedding:


  1. Book your photographer + videographer. You can book SOME suppliers at a closer time to the wedding, but the ones that get booked up fast should be booked further in advance - maybe even as soon as your venue is confirmed. Wedding Photographers and Videographers should be booked as far in advance as possible so you definitely secure your date.

  2. Book your DJ or Wedding Band. Your DJ and wedding band is another supplier that should be booked as soon as you possibly can. This way you can avoid any disappointment you might feel if you leave it too late.

  3. Book your caterer’s and bar staff. This is more for if your chosen venue doesn’t provide catering. So if they do - don’t worry about this step. But if they don’t, you’ll have to consider what type of Wedding Breakfast you want. And what style you want it. Then you need to use what style you want to find the best caterer for your wedding - it would also be now that you consider whether you want a personalised wedding cocktail for your bar.



8-9 Months Before Your Wedding:


  1. Book your florist. If you aren’t planning on DIYing your flowers, then you should look at booking your florist as soon as you know your venue. Lots of florists will work on more than one wedding per day, so if you’ve got big plans for flower arches and hanging floral decor, there’s nothing to lose from booking them early. 

  2. Order your save the dates + invitations. As soon as all your details have been decided and you have a few months to go before your big day. It’s a good idea to order your save the dates.

  3. Assign your wedding roles. This is one of the more fun tasks on your wedding planning list - choosing and proposing to your wedding party. Depending on who you choose to be in your wedding party, there are lots of roles to be assigned. It is important to remember that if you feel like traditional wedding roles don’t align with you on your big day - then you do not have to have them. 

  4. Go wedding dress or suit shopping. When it comes to wedding attire shopping, it’s worth noting that wedding dresses need more lead-time than wedding suits, so the urgency of this task very much depends on what you wear. Wedding dresses should be ordered between 6 and 12 months before your wedding. This gives plenty of time for the dress to arrive and get any alterations before your big day. Wedding suits can be ordered and made much quicker - with a lot of them being off the rack or rented. But there is nothing wrong with shopping for these 8 to 6 months before the wedding. 

  5. Book your accommodation. If you haven’t exclusively booked accommodation with your venue, you should make sure you have booked in with a hotel nearby well in advance. At the same time as doing this, you should block out a chunk of rooms for anybody in your wedding party who may need somewhere to stay the night of your wedding. 





6-7 Months Before The Wedding:


  1. Send out your save the dates. This is where it gets really exciting. It’s time to send out your save the dates to your chosen wedding guests. This can be done anytime between 12 and 5 months before the wedding, but if you’re marrying at a busy time during peak wedding season - like a Saturday during the summer holidays, it’s best to send them out as soon as you can. Just remember, you only send these out to guests who are invited to the whole day - not just the evening. 

  2. Book your wedding cake supplier. If you haven’t already done so, make sure your cake design is finalised by the fourth month mark at the very latest and get it ordered. Wedding cake makers can book up far in advance, so I would recommend to do this sooner if a particular design or maker is important to you. Make sure you confirm whether your cake will be delivered to the venue, or whether you will collect yourself, and at what point you need to pay.

  3. Book your transport. If your wedding ceremony isn’t being held at the same place as your reception, you’ll need to arrange for wedding cars and travel to get your guests from one venue to the other. You may even want to arrange special transport for you and your wedding party so you can arrive in style. At the same time as booking transport for your guests, you should book transport which will get anyone in your wedding party (who's NOT staying the night before) to your ceremony.

  4. Shop for wedding party outfits. If you’re having bridesmaids, it’s a good idea to go shopping for bridesmaid dresses and wedding party suits after you’ve chosen your own outfits as you’ll know your style by then. 

  5. Have your menu tasting. A fun part of the wedding check off list is getting to try the dishes you and your guests will be eating on your big day. Your wedding venue should invite you to a menu tasting when you make your booking, but it’s usually around this time. This is also the time to check your venue or caterers options for anyone with food intolerances or special dietary requirements. Even though you don’t have a final list of attendees yet, your vendors should be able to talk you through all your options as standard. 

  6. Book hair and makeup artists for the big day. If you or your wedding party are having makeup, collect inspiration from instagram and pinterest, and take it with you to your trials (which should be booked any time between now and 3 months before).

  7. Book your honeymoon. Your honeymoon is a chance to visit a bucket-list destination and have yourself the holiday of a lifetime. At the same time as booking, you should check whether you need any vaccinations or a new passport. Some destinations won’t let you visit unless you have at least 6 months left on your passport, so if you don’t, it’s worth renewing. 



4-5 Months Before The Wedding:


  1. Decide on & Create your gift list. If you’ve decided to have a wedding gift list, now is the time to fill it. This needs to be ready by the time you’ve posted your wedding invitations so keep this in mind. There are lots of gifts that might be a huge help to you in married life, but if you don’t want to ask for gifts in the traditional sense, you can ask for money instead or set up a honeymoon fund, so your loved ones could help you fund your dream honeymoon. 

  2. Recommend hotels and transport for guests. Another thing you should consider doing is setting up a list of recommended hotels and transport options for guests who aren’t in your wedding party. It’s also a good idea to cover a range of budgets with this. As well as creating a list of details for local taxi companies your guests can use on the night - including booking them in advance. You also might want to speak to the hotels and see if you can get a discount in exchange for booking a substantial amount of rooms for your guests. 

  3. Send your wedding invitations. If you aren’t sending save the dates - wedding invites should be sent around 6 months before your wedding. But if you have sent save the dates, you can leave sending your invites until a few months before the wedding. 

  4. Buy your wedding rings. With a few months left to go - I’d recommend buying your wedding rings at this time. Take your time to make that decision because you’ll be wearing your wedding ring forever. So you’ll want to like it! It’s also a good idea to choose a wedding band that compliments your engagement ring (if you have one) and something that fits your budget (set a firm budget before you start looking). 

  5. Purchase your outfit accessories. Since you’ll have your outfit sorted by now, you can start purchasing your accessories like shoes, bags and lingerie. Grooms can buy shoes to start wearing them in, and pick things like their tie, and cufflinks and suit accessories. You want to make sure you have your accessories sorted by your final fittings so you can see your final look ahead of the wedding day. 

  6. Finalise decor and smaller details. At this point in your wedding planning timeline, you will want to be buying any finishing touches and extra pieces to decorate your wedding venue with. You’ll also want to order your wedding guest book, buy all of your on the day wedding stationary - such as orders of service, place cards, wedding signs and menus, as well as your wedding favours. 





2-3 Months Before The Wedding:


  1. Host your Hen & Stag parties. After all that wedding planning, you deserve to FINALLY let your hair down, so the 2 to 3 month mark is the perfect time to host your pre-wedding celebrations. 

  2. Decide on timings for your big day. It might seem like a last minute detail, but now is actually the perfect time to start thinking about the timings for your day. From when you should actually start getting ready, to the time of your ceremony, reception drinks, wedding breakfast and cake cutting. Everything needs to be laid out ready to inform your wedding day suppliers and create orders of service (if you haven’t already).

  3. Sort the finer details:


Two months before you should start planning the finer details, think about some of the things listed below:


  • Decide on your table names

  • Purchase welcome signs and wedding signs for your dessert table, unplugged wedding announcement or outdoor area

  • Think about whether you’ll be leaving any gifts in the rooms overnight for your guests (hangover kits always do really well!)

  • Do you need any final decor items? Wedding cake knives, ring bearer pillows, cake toppers and the guest book can’t be forgotten!

  • Print your menu cards, your programmes and your place names. 

  • How should your suppliers + guests address you? Consider your name change options well in advance, if you’re planning a twist on the traditional you should let them know how you want to be formally addressed after you say I do. 

  • Finalise speech and reading allocations. At this point, you should have decided who in your wedding party will be making speeches and carrying out wedding readings. You need to ensure that all of these people are aware of any wedding speeches or readings they need to make, as well as finalising the order of wedding speeches and wedding reading timelines.

  • Pay suppliers in full. With everything set in stone, now is a good time to make sure all your wedding suppliers and vendors have been paid or there is a payment schedule in place to ensure payment. The last thing you want are outstanding invoices and unhappy vendors. 

  • Create a vendor schedule. With all of your suppliers paid, it’s a good idea to create a wedding day schedule to send to your vendors. Send your final wedding playlist to your DJ with details of your first dance and the song you want to end your wedding too. Florists and caterers will need to know what time to arrive and drop things off, and entertainment will need to know when they can set up. 





1 Month Before The Wedding:


  1. Contact any guests who have not yet RSVP’d. You’re soon going to be sending your venue and suppliers your final numbers, making place settings and creating your seating plan. If you sent your invitations at the six month mark, the one month mark is when you would chase those who haven’t responded for an answer. 

  2. Do you seating plan. With all your RSVP’s rounded up (finally), you can write and order your seating plan. This is best left to the very last minute in case of any cancellations. Once you’ve created your seating plan, give your caterer a copy as well as the final headcount and details of any dietary requirements (and where they will be sitting). 

  3. Check in with your venue or coordinator. This is really important as it will ease any nerves or last minute worries you have because you’ll be able to catch up with your venue and on the day coordinator about every last detail. You’ll go through the schedule of the ceremony and everything you need to know about the legal aspects of the day are going to work. You can choose to attend as a couple, come alone or attend with a family member or a friend, and the meetings usually won’t last much longer than half an hour. You can also take them through any special requests you have ahead of the day and ensure everyone is clear about timings. 

  4. Attend your first outfit fittings. The month before your wedding is the time to try on your custom and finalised dress, or your tailor made suit. This is an exciting appointment where any major changes are finalised and decided. Your final fitting will be the time to make smaller changes to the fit and should take place between one and three weeks before the wedding. 

  5. Buy your wedding party gifts. Start thinking about gifts for your wedding party and immediate family to say thankyou. 

  6. Speak with your photographer. A month before you wedding you should call or meet with your wedding photographer and videographer to inform them of any particular moments or shots, or even people you’d like captured. If you want group shots, you should let them know which ones, where and who will be involved. 

  7. Write your vows. It’s time to think about your wedding vows, with a month to go until the big day. Though you may write them closer to the time, starting them the month before allows you to revisit and make sure you’ve said everything you want to.





1 Week Before The Wedding:


  1. Have your final fitting. You should have your final dress and suit fitting the week before your wedding. This gives you enough time for small alterations to be made, but this is not the time to ask for anything dramatic. That should have been done in your first fitting. If there are no alterations to be made, you’ll take it home with you at this fitting. If there are, you’ll go back and collect it ahead of your wedding. 

  2. Break in your wedding shoes. The last thing you need is blistered feet on your wedding day, so wear your wedding shoes around your house to break them in and make them feel comfortable. 

  3. Have final beauty and grooming appointments. With one week left to go, there will be lots of beauty appointments to attend to ensure you look and feel your best on your wedding day. From your eyebrow shaping to your final haircut. Consider if you’d like to book in for a facial, spray tan, haircut, waxing, beard trim and more. 

  4. Do you last minute tasks. There are a lot of vital last minute tasks you should do the week before your wedding which shouldn’t be forgotten about. Here are some things to think about:

  5. Go perfume or cologne shopping

  6. Plan a wedding day surprise for your other half

  7. Pack a wedding day emergency kit

  8. Collect your wedding dress/suit if you didn’t take it on your final fitting

  9. Brief your wedding party on their roles on your big day

  10. RELAX 


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6 Comments


Saving this to refer to later!

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Ellie
Ellie
Oct 03, 2024

This is such a helpful wedding budget breakdown! I'm so glad I found it!

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Eleanor Wilder
Eleanor Wilder
Oct 03, 2024

Printing this out!

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izzie.lock
izzie.lock
Oct 02, 2024

This breakdown is amazing, so helpful to have a guide that has got everything covered

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c.greene19
Oct 02, 2024

Great check list for wedding planning!

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