Congratulations! You’ve decided to finally tie the knot with the love of your life.
But now what? As big of a milestone as getting engaged is — the journey to your happy ever after is not over quite yet! There’s still a wedding to plan!
There’s so much to do, so many things to work out…
What do you even do first? Is there supposed to be an order to these things?
The answer to these questions, and more! Are answered below in the ULTIMATE wedding planning checklist — brought to you by the Canadian wedding planner, Imtazur Rahman.
Wedding Planning | THE TIMELINE
Imtazur Rahman: I get clients with timelines ranging from an average of a year or a couple of weeks of prep time! As a professional wedding planner, the closer timeframes are just part of the job. But, whenever I do have the option to recommend a time frame to one of my clients, rather than to tell my clients to go for the more immediate option. I usually recommend that they set their wedding date a year from the moment that they contact me.
To some, that might seem like it’s a bit too long — too far away. But there’s a couple of benefits to planning earlier. Key examples being: having more time to save money, earlier notice for guests, early booking discounts from vendors and venues, etc.
In any case, that’s why the checklist I have below is based on a 12-month timeframe!
1. Tackling the BIG Picture Stuff | 12 Months Away!
Imtazur Rahman: The wedding probably seems very distant at this point, but that’s exactly why it needs to happen now. This is when you tackle the BIG stuff:
- Budget: Every event needs to have a set budget, and this should be one of the first things you tackle so that you can be realistic about your wedding plans.
- Hire a Wedding Planner: Do you want to plan your own wedding? Yes, no, or maybe? If it’s a maybe, consider how much time you’ll be able to devote to your wedding plans — if you and your partner have demanding work hours, hiring a wedding planner should ease some of the burdens off your shoulders so that you can focus on more important things.
- Decide on a Style: Weddings come in all shapes and sizes these days! You can go for the traditional type of wedding if that’s what you fancy. Or you can do something fun or wacky if that suits you more. Whatever you want, brainstorm, and decide now!
2. Start Hashing Out the Details! | 11 Months Away!
Imtazur Rahman: Immediately after getting the big picture stuff out of the way, it’s time to start hashing out the details. Again, the earlier the better on these items:
- Decide on a Venue: After deciding on what style of wedding you’d like to have; you need to choose a venue that suits your taste. Your wedding planner can help you out with this if you have one. If they’re like me, then they’ll be able to provide you with a list of potential venues (for cheap!) ASAP!
- Start Talking to Vendors: Caterers, photographers, entertainers, florists, etc. These are the people that will ensure that everything in your wedding goes smoothly. Again, your wedding planner should be able to point you in the right direction for the best deals!
On the more ‘personal’ side of things, this is around the time that you should choose your bridesmaid, best man, etc. That way, they can help you with the details!
3. Work Out the Personal Details | 9 Months Away!
Imtazur Rahman: A bit of a time skip, but an important one! Now that you have some of the more ‘business-oriented’ details worked out, it’s time to work out the more personal details:
- Invites: Who do you want to attend your wedding? Plan who to send invites to now so that you can be sure that they’ll be there during your special day.
- Wedding Dress/Suit: Again, more of a personal touch. Bring your family and friends along so that they can point you in the right direction.
Other examples of personal details that should be tackled at this stage are your honeymoon plans ;), the outfits of your attendees, your wedding cake, etc.
4. Ensure A Successful Wedding | 3 Months Away!
Imtazur Rahman: Most of the work should have been done long before now. And you need to take this time to make sure that everything and everyone is buttoned up and ready to go. That includes checking, and re-checking, everything — from getting the bride’s wedding dress re-altered to checking back in with venues and vendors.
5. Crunch Time | 1 Month Away!
Imtazur Rahman: The month before a wedding is the busiest time for an expectant bride and groom! It deserves its own specific checklist if I’m being honest. But to keep things simple, if the past couple of months were making sure everything was in order, this is the time to put everything in place for the special day!