The starter checklist
Twelve to nine months out
12–9 months beforeGuest count, the budget envelope and a venue shortlist
Set the guest count
Two lists and one number: thirty to sixty seats, plus the people you would never cut.
Fix the budget envelope
One figure you can spend without borrowing. The worksheet below splits it.
Shortlist three venues
Ask each one how many guests fit once the tables and a dance floor are in.
Agree who pays for what
Write the contributions down before the first deposit leaves an account.
Book the officiant
The legal part comes first: who may sign, and are they free on your date.
Eight to six months out
8–6 months beforeVenue, officiant, photographer and the outfit
Book the venue
Deposit, hire hours, and whether the chairs and the cutlery are included.
Hire the photographer
Six hours covers a small day; a second shooter only if you move between two places.
Order the outfit
Alterations take six to eight weeks, so the first fitting books now.
Choose the ceremony
Registry office, celebrant, or a friend licensed for the day.
Start the guest list
Names, parties and postal addresses, one row per household.
Five to four months out
5–4 months beforeInvitations, fittings, menu tasting and the ceremony outline
Send the invitations
One per household, plus five spares for the ones that go missing.
Book the menu tasting
Ask for a vegetarian main and a plate for anyone under twelve.
Have the first fitting
Bring the shoes you will actually stand in for six hours.
Write the ceremony
Readings, vows, who holds the rings, and the music in and out.
Book the hair and make-up trial
The same artist, at the same hour as the morning itself.
Three to two months out
3–2 months beforeFinal guest count, seating, rings and the licence
Set the final count
Call anyone who has not replied, the day before the caterer needs the number.
Draw the seating plan
Fewer, longer tables; nobody under sixteen sits on their own.
Collect the rings
Sized, engraved, and in a box that closes.
Apply for the licence
Check the waiting period where you are marrying before the date is fixed.
Settle the music
Three hours of dinner and dancing, plus a list of what must not be played.
The final month
4–1 weeks beforeVendor balances, playlists, packing and confirmations
Pay the balances
Venue, caterer, photographer — and keep one card clear for the week itself.
Send the timeline to every supplier
One page, with the phone numbers on it.
Pack the day box
Rings, licence, vows, flat shoes, spare pins, a charged phone.
Print the signage and place cards
Check every name twice, in daylight.
Confirm each supplier
One email each, all on the same afternoon.
The wedding week
The last seven daysRehearsal, the day-of timeline and who holds which job
Walk the rehearsal
The order once, with the music, in the room it happens in.
Hand out the jobs
Who holds the rings, who pays the band, who takes the flowers home.
Charge everything
Phones, camera batteries, the speaker, the back-up speaker.
Pack the overnight bag
Leave it at the venue, not at home.
Keep the evening before empty
Eat something, and put the list down.