Wedding planning checklist: what to do, month by month
A wedding planning checklist from a year out to the week after: what to book first, what can wait, and why each task sits where it does in the timeline.
The Eventadore team11 min readUpdated 26 October 2026
A good wedding planning checklist follows scarcity: book first what exists only once on your date — the venue, then the photographer, the DJ or band and anyone else who can work only one wedding a day — and leave for later what can be made, ordered or printed, such as stationery, rings and the hair trial. As a rough timeline: settle the budget, the guest count and the season 12 months or more ahead, book the venue 10 to 12 months before, the one-date suppliers 7 to 9 months before, and everything else from six months on.
Below is the whole wedding checklist timeline, from the first conversation to the week after, one line per task with the reason it sits where it does. Less than a year to go? The order matters more than the months.
12 months or more before: the decisions that shape everything
Before you visit a single venue, agree on these together.
Set the budget. The total you can pay without borrowing, with about 10 % kept aside for what nobody saw coming; our guide to setting a wedding budget shows how to split it.
Draft the guest list. Even a rough count decides the size of the venue, and the catering, drinks and chairs scale with it — here is how to make your guest list.
Pick a season and two or three possible dates. Saturdays from May to September go first; a Friday, a Sunday or a month outside the peak widens your choice and often lowers the price.
Decide the kind of ceremony. Civil, religious or symbolic: each has its own paperwork and lead time.
Decide whether you want a wedding planner. If yes, book them now, because they help with everything else on this list.
If you plan on Eventadore, the Checklist in your Planning is ready the first time you open it: about twenty tasks dated back from your wedding day, anything already past shown as overdue rather than hidden, and on many a Find suppliers button that opens the search with your date and guests filled in.
12 to 10 months before: book the venue and fix the date
In practice the venue sets the date, not the other way round: you choose from the days it still has free.
Shortlist venues by seated capacity. A room that holds 120 standing may seat far fewer for dinner.
Visit two or three. Ask about the kitchen rule (own kitchen only, a partner list or free choice), the curfew, the rain plan and what the price includes — see choosing a wedding venue for the full list.
Book the venue. Everything below depends on it.
Book the caterer straight after, if the venue does not cook itself — and check in writing that your caterer is allowed in.
Reserve the registry office, the church or the celebrant. Popular slots go as fast as venues.
Hold rooms for guests if the venue is remote or abroad; rooms nearby go early in peak season.
In the Eventadore search for venues, enter your date and your number of guests and each card shows what that day costs, all in; without them, you see a price range. The price is locked the moment you add a venue to your Planning — nobody renegotiates it later; the venue only says whether it is free.
9 to 7 months before: the suppliers who sell one date
A photographer, a videographer, a DJ or a band can work one wedding a day, so on a June Saturday they are gone long before the florist. Book them as soon as the venue and date are fixed.
Videographer. The same scarcity; ask whether they have worked with your photographer.
DJ or band. Ask what the price covers: hours, sound and light, travel and overtime.
Officiant or celebrant. For a symbolic ceremony they need several meetings with you to write it, so book early.
The dress. A made-to-order dress can take four to eight months to arrive, with alterations on top, so start looking now.
Save-the-dates. Send them six to eight months ahead, or nine to twelve for a wedding abroad, so guests can book time off and travel.
A wedding website. One link that answers where, when, where to stay and what to wear saves a hundred messages — here is how to make a free wedding website.
Before you sign, run through the questions to ask wedding suppliers: what is included, who comes on the day, the deposit, cancellation and who the contract is with.
6 to 4 months before: everything that is not one-per-date
These matter just as much, but most can serve more than one couple a day or make what you need to order.
Florist. Flowers follow the venue, the season and your colours, so they come after all three.
Decoration and hire. Chairs, linen, lighting — book only what the venue does not already include.
Hair and makeup artist. Book the artist now, because most do one wedding a morning; the trial comes later.
Cake. Taste and book once the menu and the guest count are clear.
Suits. Made-to-measure takes several weeks; hire needs a fitting and a return date.
Transport. For the two of you and, if the venue is far from the hotels, a shuttle for guests.
Extras. A photo booth, dance-floor lighting, late-night food — once you know what is left in the budget.
Invitations. Choose the design and order them, so printing is done in time.
Honeymoon. Book it, and check your passports: many countries require one that is valid for some months beyond your trip.
3 to 2 months before: invitations, rings and the paperwork
Send the invitations. About three months before, earlier for a wedding abroad, with a reply date four to six weeks before the day — more on when to send save-the-dates and invitations.
Order the rings. Made-to-order rings and engraving can take several weeks; have your fingers sized on an ordinary day, not a hot one.
Hair and makeup trial. Bring photos of the dress, the neckline and any headpiece.
First dress fitting. Usually around two months before, with one or two more to follow.
Menu and drinks. Settle them with the caterer and collect dietary needs with the replies.
The running order. Draft the day hour by hour and share it early — this sample wedding day timeline is a good start.
Ceremony details. Readings, vows, the music in and out, the first dance.
Two wedding rings resting on a bouquet of pale pink flowers
The legal paperwork: check the window early
Rules depend on the country where you marry and they change; your registry office or consulate confirms what applies to you. Two examples:
England and Wales: you give notice at least 29 days before the ceremony, after living in that registration district for the past 7 days, and the ceremony must then take place within 12 months (GOV.UK).
Germany: the marriage is registered at the Standesamt (registry office) at the earliest six months before the date (Berlin registry office); many offices let you reserve a ceremony date earlier, some up to a year ahead, and documents not in German usually need a sworn translation.
If either of you is a foreign national where you marry, gathering documents can take months, so ask what is needed as soon as you have a date. A church wedding has its own preparation; speak to the parish early too.
The last month: numbers, timings and who does what
Four to two weeks before
Chase the missing replies the day after your reply date, so the numbers you hand over are real.
Give the final headcount to the caterer and the venue by the date in their contract — often one to two weeks before.
Make the seating plan once the replies are in, not before.
Confirm every supplier: arrival time, address, parking, a contact on the day and what is still to pay, when and how.
Send the running order to the venue, the photographer, the DJ or band and whoever is helping you.
Final fitting, and wear your shoes at home for an evening or two.
The last week
Hand over the jobs. One person answers the suppliers' questions, one keeps the rings, one collects the cards and gifts.
Prepare the payments due on the day, labelled by supplier, so nobody has to find you mid-dance.
Pack a bag: rings, vows, phone charger, plasters, safety pins, painkillers, a change of shoes.
Rest. Nothing you add this week will be noticed; sleep will.
The week after the wedding
Return what you hired — suits, decoration, tableware — by the agreed date, so deposits come back.
Collect your guests' photos before they scatter across a hundred phones.
Write your reviews while the details are fresh; the next couple choosing those suppliers will read them.
Start the thank-you cards. Aim to have them out within three months — sooner is kinder.
Change your name on documents, if one of you is changing it: passport, bank, employer.
The wedding checklist in short: what to book first, what can wait
Book early — one date, one wedding:
The venue, because it fixes the date and the number of guests.
The caterer, if the venue does not cook itself.
The photographer and the videographer.
The DJ or the band.
The officiant or celebrant.
The hair and makeup artist.
Can wait — made, ordered or printed:
Florist and decoration: four to six months before.
Cake: about four months before.
Invitations: ordered at four months, sent at about three.
Rings: two to three months before.
Hair and makeup trial: about two months before.
Table cards, signs and favours: the last month.
Planning a wedding in less than a year
Short timelines work; they run in parallel rather than one step after another. Say Lena and Jonas decide in October to marry next June, eight months away, with 80 guests:
Week 1: budget, a first guest list and three possible dates, one of them a Friday.
Weeks 2–3: three venue visits; they book the one with a free Friday.
Week 4: photographer and DJ in the same week, because both sell only one date.
Month 2: caterer, celebrant, a dress that can arrive in time, save-the-dates out.
Months 3–4: florist, cake, hair and makeup, suits, honeymoon.
Month 5: invitations, rings, the registry office.
The last month: exactly as above.
Speed also depends on how fast suppliers answer. When you reserve on Eventadore, a booking fee is held on your card and charged only when the supplier says yes — and it is inside the price, never on top. Suppliers answer within 72 hours when your day is more than two weeks away, 24 hours inside two weeks and 6 hours inside three days; some accept at once.
Frequently asked questions
How far in advance should you start planning a wedding?
Twelve to eighteen months is comfortable for a summer Saturday, because popular venues and photographers book that far ahead. Nine months is enough for most weddings, and less works if you are flexible on the day or the season.
What should you book first for a wedding?
The venue, because it fixes the date and the guest count. Then the suppliers who can work only one wedding a day: the photographer, the videographer, the DJ or band, the officiant and the caterer if the venue does not cook.
When should you send save-the-dates and invitations?
Save-the-dates six to eight months before, or nine to twelve for a wedding abroad. Invitations about three months before, with a reply date four to six weeks before the day so you can give the caterer a final number.
What is easy to forget on a wedding checklist?
The registry office's time window, rooms for guests, the final headcount date in the caterer's contract, a rain plan and the payments due on the day. And someone who answers the suppliers' questions on the day, so you do not have to.
Can you plan a wedding in six months?
Yes, if you book in parallel: be flexible on the day of the week, choose a venue that includes catering and furniture, book the photographer and the music in the same week as the venue, and send one invitation instead of a save-the-date first.
Is there a free wedding planning checklist?
The Checklist in your Eventadore Planning is free with an account. It dates about twenty tasks back from your wedding day, lets you add your own, and opens the search for your date from many of them.
