12 Months +
- Announce it
- Tell your friends and weed out the haters
- Dream about a theme and style, like taco truck vs tuxedos
- How much money do you really have? What place is good for photos?
- How many guests? Will your mother-in-law invite her squad?
- Don’t buy a magazine
- Figure out if you want to do this on your own or if you need a lot of help
- Keep a list of vendors (photographers, videographers, bands or DJs, ceremony musicians)
- Get overly excited and tell everyone you see
- Post a picture on social media
- Write down how the proposal happened because you’ll forget later
11 Months
- Do you need a consultant? If yes, get one
- Figure the theme. Plain vanilla, court ceremony, etc…
- Does the venue allow for outside food? If yes, figure out a caterer
- Book entertainment for for reception
- Wedding ceremony musicians?
- Book the photographer and videographer. The good ones are a 2 year wait
- Make a notebook so you can start scrapbooking things you like such as flower and arrangement
- Reserve your ceremony venue
- Choose reception venue
- Start yelping and asking around about where to buy the gown
- Build your squad
- Meet with your officiant to discuss the ceremony
10 Months
- Order the gown. For real, it takes a while to get it
- Discuss attendants’ duties with your #squad
9 Months
- Register for wedding gifts
- Check in with your vendors
- Figure out the menu
- Prepare a playlist of songs because you don’t want your relatives to pick for you
- Order your shoes and other things
- Bug the gown store
- Research airline, hotel and rental-car reservations for out-of-town guests
8 Months
- Try to fit the dress
- Order squad accessories
- Select florist
7 Months
- Notify squad about dress fittings
- Groom’s squad attire
- Select attire for flower girl and ring bearer
- Discuss the wedding invitations, stationery, cards, posters, maps, thank-you notes, and other printed items
- Start working on the program/events for the ceremony and reception
- Negotiate rates and book a block of hotel rooms for out-of-town guests
- Get more rings
6 Months
- Order wedding invitations and other printed items
- Honeymoon stuff if you can afford it
5 Months
- Cake and caterer tasting
- Secure reservations for the rehearsal dinner after you figure out who’s going
4 Months
- Start to write your wedding vows
- Groom and squad, figure out clothes
- Make honeymoon reservations
3 Months
- Discuss bachelorette/bachelor party plans with your squad
- Plan your bridesmaids’ lunch
- Make appointment with stylist
- Work on more of the printed items
2 Months
- Mail out invitations
- Fit into the gown and arrange for pickup or delivery
- Groom does it too
- Talk to your lawyer
- Purchase gifts
- Transportation stuff
6 Weeks
- Buy a new camera
- Tell squad about the rehearsal dinner
- Write thank you notes but don’t send just yet
- Are you doing wedding favors?
4 Weeks
- Check up with your vendors
- Follow up on squads on their roles
- Finalize the ceremony with the officiant
- Figure out seating arrangements, don’t fight
- Schedule a spa day
3 Weeks
- Finalize guests
- Give the headcount to the caterer
- Follow up again with your vendors
- Track down Guest List B and move on to Guest List C
1 Week
- Pack your bags
- Get your gown
Wedding Day
- Relax
- Eat
- Allow for time to pass
Post Wedding
- Write your thank-you notes
- Clean the gown and get it preserved
- Figure out if you’re doing a name change
