Making a Wedding Timeline For You

Your camera-holding fairygodmother on your wedding planning timeline

It’s something I wished couples talked about a bit more candidly and a *lot* more: the timeline for your wedding! I’m not talking about the day of - I mean the months before you even plan to say “I do.” Weddings can be so full of options and choices and moving pieces that putting everything in the right order (and giving yourself enough time!) can save you SO much stress and heartache. Your wedding should be something fun, beautiful, and undeniably and entirely you- but sometimes the planning process doesn’t quite feel that way. 

So, as a wedding photographer who’s seen couples, weddings, and plans all over the board, I wanted to give you the wedding checklist I personally recommend. 

The biggest thing with your wedding is I want you to get real clear on what your expectations are. I hope the engagement was dreamy and the idea of marrying your partner fills you with SO much joy and expectation, but it’s so easy to get caught up in dream world that we forget what’s possible. 

So, first before you do anything else, I want you to honestly ask yourself some questions:

• How far out do I want my wedding to be? 

• What’s my budget? 

• How many people do I really want to attend my wedding?

• What vendors or moments matter the most to me?

These questions can determine everything! If you really want to get married within a few months, it might be really hard to hire a super busy photographer or get into the most popular venue. If you’re wanting to strictly stick to a set number, really think about where you wanna splurge versus save. Maybe you don’t need to buy your dress at a certain time because you want to watch for sales, or you want to wait for the off-season for the venue, or you know you want a five star photographer or wedding planner so you’ll need to plan around their availability. 

Now that you got your dreams set, let’s get to that romantic checklist.

If vendors and the venue are important to you, I really recommend starting planning at least 12 months out. Here’s what I recommend doing month by month to have the dreamy, romantic wedding you’re hoping for: 

At twelve months

• Announce your engagement!!

• Choose your wedding party like your maid of honor, bridesmaids, groomsmen, etc. 

• Start looking for inspiration (Pinterest is a fave, but you can also browse on Instagram or follow some photographers!)

• Select your wedding theme

• Look for venues and book one you love

• Book your officiant

• Draft your guest list

At ten months

• Book your photographer! You can even do this earlier depending how busy we are, but this is a great window for photographers like me who get booked up quickly!

• Do an engagement shoot! This can be a genius way to see if you vibe with a photographer, and I love this as a way to get to know a couple and see if we share the same vision for their big day too

• Book your other vendors like the florist, planner, catering, designer, etc.

• Finalize the guest list and send out Save-the-Date cards!

• Start browsing for your dress!

At eight months

• Shop for your bridesmaids’ dresses (if you’re doing it!)

• Start thinking about your honeymoon!

• Look into cake vendors 

• Book your wedding dj or band and decide your music vibes

At six months

• Shop for wedding bands and rings!

• Reserve any rental equipment you’ll need for your wedding

• Design your wedding invitations

• Finalize your honeymoon plans

• Get the tuxes for the groom and groomsmen set

• Pick outfits for the ringbearer and flower girls

At four months

• Send out those invitations!

• Meet with your officiant

• This is a great time to start premarital counseling if you’d like!

• Decide and order wedding favors and centerpieces

• Purchase any accessories or smaller items you’d like for the ceremony (guestbook, decor, ring holders, etc.)

• Select and order the wedding cake

At two months

• Write your wedding vows

• Obtain a marriage license

• Design and order your wedding programs

• Book rehearsal dinner venue

• Send a shot list your photographer and videographer

At six weeks

• Gather RSVP’s and check in with people who haven’t responded

• Finalize the menu with the caterer

• Order drinks

• Create a seating plans

• Purchase gifts for your wedding party

• Schedule time off from work

At four weeks

• Have your final dress fitting and break into the shoes!

• Confirm final headcount with all vendors

• Review the music list

• Confirm reservations for the honeymoon, venues, etc.

There are a million ways to plan a wedding, so not all of this has to fall on the bride or go in this order. You can switch up steps, do things ahead, or put tasks off until later, but make sure you don’t forget the boring stuff like your marriage license or checking in with your vendors! And always, always give yourself enough time for things to ship, change, need adjustments, or whatever will come up. More than anything, I want this checklist to give you some structure and plenty of breathing room to create exactly the wedding day you want to have. 

Bringing together your dream wedding will take some work, but I want to be capturing every beloved little detail of your day- from the dress to the dishes to the cake topper- and it to feel romantic, lovely, and magical. So don’t let the long list scare you. With some work and wisdom from people who’ve seen a wedding or a hundred - your day will be magical, I’m sure of it.