Wedding Planner

I'm around that age now where everyone around me, old friends and family are either having babies or getting married - got me thinking sometimes I'm behind in the game. So instead, I will continue to help you guys plan your big days, even if its not your own that your planning, it could be a close friend or family member that's about to plan their wedding and this is a perfect break down of the things they will need to consider before the big day!

I have seen many of these wedding timelines before, on different websites and also on a wedding course that I completed so I have adapted them all together to create the motherload of all timelines!

Okay so the countdown begins...

(In no particular order)

- Budget

Before you start planning anything the budget needs to be decided so you know how much money you have to play with. Work with a 10% guideline as underestimates tend to happen.

- Guest list

To help narrow down the choice of venues, make a guest list of all the people that you would like to invite so it gives you an idea on numbers - the sad part of this is that you may neeed to cut this list down

- Book venue for the ceremony

Venues can get booked real quick, so once you have the numbers - find the best venue that will accomodate all your guests whether its a traditional church or a homely estate.

- Book reception and catering

Once you the venue for the ceremony has been booked you then need to decide where you will hold the reception, it will be best to choose something closeby to avoid long travel journeys or have the ceremony and the reception in the same venue.

- Decide on date and time of the wedding

You will only have about a year to plan and book everything so it's best to decide on a time when a majority of the people will be available.

- Meeting of the parents

If the parents of the bride and groom have not met yet then this will probably be a good time to arrange a dinner or a small get together so that they two families can meet and get to know eachother on the big day.

- Brides and Bridesmaid gowns

It will be an idea to have a look at gowns for the bride and your bridesmaid, just to give you an idea of the style and fit and even the colour that you are looking for.

8-10 months to go

(In no particular order)

- Send out save the date cards

Once you have your date and venue booked, this is the time to send save the date cards to your guests so they are well aware of when the event will be taking place and can make any pre-plans of booking time of work etc.

- Create a mood board

To help with the theme and the planning of the wedding, you might want to create a mood board. You can do this by buying wedding magazines and interior designs that will give you ideas for colours, designs that you might like to incorporate into the wedding.

- Meet with videographer and photographers

If you have cards from videographers/photographers that people can recommend then it would be best to make an appointment so that you can go and see their work. Look online for reviews to see what people really think - collect all this information to make an overall decision.

- If catering is not provided with venue, start looking at caterers

Depending on whether food is included within your venue, you might need to start looking at different catering companies on what they provide and what will be included for what price. Or if you have a nice family member or friend that wouldn't mind contributing to the catering needs then now is the time to start sweet talking them!

- Book hotels nearby for guests

Many of your guests will most likely be travelling from far places so it would be a good idea to provisinal book some rooms in near by places at special rates (especially if you are having your hotel in the same venue).

6-8 months to go

(In no particular order)

- Consider entertainment options

Stilt walkers? Fire breathers? Or just a DJ? It's time to decide on what or who you would like at the reception for entertainment. Once again, confirm with your venue if anything is included.

- Hair and make up artists

If you've had a look through magazines on how you want your hair and makeup to turn out then it would be an idea to book a trail in a hairdresser to see how it would look on you just incase you end up changing your mind.

- Florist

Depending on the time if year that you have set the wedding date for will depend on what type of flowers you can opt for. Or you could go the other route and use fake flowers, the choice is yours really, and it comes back down to what your budget can strecth to.

- Plan honeymoon

If youre planning on going on a honeymoon straight after the wedding then now would be a good time to start looking at ideas of where you want to go? Sun and sea and relaxtion? Or maybe a more touristic one in the city? Once again it could come down to what time of year it is because you wouldn't want to go to Jamaica during hurricaine season!

4-6 months to go

(In no particular order)

- Discuss furniture options and rentals

Are there are furniture or ornaments that you want to rent for your big day. Perhaps to correlate with the theme if you have one. As rentals can get booked quickly you should decide exactly what it is that you want so you can contact the different vendors to book your items.

- Order wedding rings

Many places may not have your ring sizes or design in store so they will have to be ordered in and depending on the store that you go to there may be a long delivery wait so make sure this is clarified before booking the rings so you know you will have this in time for the ceremony. This should include if you plan to have inscriptions or any other personalisations made to the rings.

- Confirm ceremony arrangements

If its a church wedding, confirm all the arrangements so everything is set in stone and this always goes for any other venues that you will be conducted the ceremony at. If you haven't prebooked it or paid a deposit you may lose your place, and we are too close to the big day for that to happen now.

- Do wedding invitations

It's time to design and send out your invitations so you can get your RSVP's back in time. People will need advance notice to book time off work or school etc.

- Book music and entertainment

If you are having a band or a DJ or even a family/friend doing the music and entertainment at the reception you also need to book this well in advance to avoid any disappointments or double bookings.

(In no particular order)

- Seating plans

Assuming that all of your guests have RSVP'd by now and chased up any late ones, you will have a chance to finalise the seating plan to make sure that there is enough room for everyone.

- Time all journeys

Make sure that you roughly know what time it takes to travel to each of your venues so that you know what time everyone should leave or need to get the venues for. Just so thats another thing that you won't have to worry about.

- Arrange a hens night

It's time to celebrate with all your girls, the reason of having it this far our is so that if anything happens on the night you will have enough time to recover, with any cuts or bruises. Decide whether you want somethinig quite such as a spa day or a dinner or go all out with a day at a theme park or a wild night out. To be honest you may not have any chance to plan this as usually your maide of honour will have this all planned out.

- Trail make up and hair session

So you have decided what hair and make up you want but have you actaully timed it so you know how long it takes and make sure that you happy with your finally decisons.

- Contact suppliers and confirm order of the day

All of your suppliers will need to be contacted so they know the date and the time of the wedding.

(In no particular order)

- Wedding rehearsals

It is a good idea to have a quick rehearsal of the day so that everyone knows what will be happening and where they will have to stand, this will stop any confusion on the day.

- Pack for honeymoon

If you have planned to go on your honeymoon after the wedding day then you might want to start/finish packing your suitcase so that is one less thing for you to think about. Also this gives you enough chance to get anything that you may have forgotton while you are packing.

- Afternoon tea for bridesmaids

As a thank you, you could arrange a nice afternoon tea or spa day for your bridesmaids, that's if they haven't already arranged this all for you for your hen do.

- Prepare all speeches

Bride? Groom? Father of the bride/groom? Will they be making a speech at the wedding ceremony or reception? If so then make sure you have all the speeches prepared and ready to go, unless you are planning on making it up as you go along.

- Check final detail for reception

Make one last call/check with the reception venue to make sure that everything is order and to arrange any last minute changes that may be necessary, just make sure the changes arent anything too drastic otherwise they may not have enough time to sort it out for you, also don't forget to provide venue with table plan, placement cards, menus that will need to be placed and positioned on tables.

- Pick up wedding dress

It it time to pick up your dress after all of your final fittings have been made, make sure that everything is in order before you take it home otherwise there is no going back. Don't forget your shoes, veil and any other accessories that you have included.

- Pick up hired items

If you have hired any items for the day, during the week leading up to the wedding day don't forget to collect them so you can give them to the venue so that they can set up the venue.

RELAX and enjoy yourself whether its you that's planned the wedding or having the wedding. Enjoy yourself and watch all your hardwork fall into place!