The Bridal Timeline that Every Bride-to-Be Should Follow

While planning your wedding, you will quickly realize that there is a very consistent schedule to keep. You can’t order everything last minute, as your wedding will look sloppy, and it’s possible things won’t be ready in time. It’s important to keep to a very specific schedule. So, we’re here to share with you our tips on when you should schedule certain aspects of your wedding.

You should begin planning your wedding 10-12 months in advance. The very first and most important thing to do is decide on your budget, as this will affect every other aspect of your wedding. It’s important to save where you can so you can spend more on the aspects of your wedding that mean the most to you, and many don’t have extra money to spare. So, be sure to check out a savings guide first to see how you can save on your bridal purchases. Next, it is important to book your venue, as this is the other crucial element that will affect the rest of your planning. You also want to begin picking a caterer so they can block out the dates for your wedding. At this time, you don’t need the details hammered out, rather just know when and where your wedding will be and who will be providing the food for it.

When you are 7-9 months out from your wedding, this is when you want to send your “Save the Date” cards to notify your loved ones of your big day. Then, you want to begin finding all the other people you need to hire for your event in this time. Be sure to book your band, DJ, videographer, photographer, florist, officiant, and any other people you would like to hire for your day. You don’t need your orders or details hammered out yet, but you should book all the right people you want and begin the discussion of what you are thinking at this time. As you choose the officiant, you should begin crafting your ceremony and picking the songs you’d like to be played during the ceremony. This is also the time to begin dress shopping and cake shopping.

Your time period of 4-6 months out from your wedding is the key time to iron out all of your details. At this point, you want to send out your invitations, book your hair and makeup appointments, plan your rehearsal dinner, finalize all of your rentals and orders, choose your food options with your caterer, put in your order with your florist, and figure out any other details with the people that you have hired. So, this is the key time-frame for picking and choosing all of the major details.

When you are 2-3 months out, you should finalize your menu with the caterer, purchase your wedding bands, schedule a gown fitting to ensure the dress will fit perfectly, finalize and order your ceremony program, and decide on the alcohol that will be at your event. To give yourself plenty of time, you should now look into writing your vows. Any additional items needing to be ordered should be order towards the beginning of this period to ensure it arrives in time for your big day.

Finally, the month before your wedding should be used as a period of checking in. Be sure all of the vendors are paid, and double check everything while checking in with everyone. Now’s the time to send and approve your song list to your DJ, finalize your wedding day schedule, and get the final headcounts.

By following this timeline, your wedding day should flow very smoothly.