You’re engaged! Congrats, by the way. But now you’re probably thinking, “now what?” Next steps from engaged means planning a wedding. Here is a checklist, curated by me and my decade of wedding experience, just for you. I’d like to think that my combination of being a certified wedding planner and a wedding photographer gives me a unique perspective.

The average couple will spend 12-18 months planning their wedding. I’ve broken the list down by weeks because, as a planner, we typically use weeks to break things down. So the full range is roughly 52-65 weeks.

There is some extra info where pertinent, but most importantly, I highlighted the tasks that we, as designers, planners, and coordinators, would help you with (or do for you!)

64-65 Weeks Before Your Wedding

• Throw an engagement party – YOU ARE GETTING MARRIED!!!
  • Take the time to appreciate this season of engagement. 🙂
• Hire a planner/designer
• Insure engagement ring

58-62 Weeks Before Your Wedding

• Decide on a budget (Planner)
• Narrow down to 3-5 dates
• Work on wedding mood board (Designer)
• Create wedding email
• Pick a venue (Planner)
  • I also offer this service as an add-on to any package, but also as a standalone a la carte item

54-58 Weeks Before Your Wedding

• Draft guest list
• Narrow down themes and color scheme (Designer)
• Research vendors (Planner)
• Research photography styles (Planner)

52-54 Weeks Before Your Wedding

• Order save-the-dates
  • If you want to use some engagement photos for save-the-dates, then wait until you have your engagement photos done.
• Finalize color and theme (Designer)
• Pick a photographer (Planner)
• Choose wedding party
• Create wedding website

48-52 Weeks Before Your Wedding

• Book florist (Designer)
• Book caterer (Designer)
• Book event rentals (Planner)
• Book hair stylist (Planner)
• Book makeup artist (Planner)
• If needed, taste food to pick caterer
  • *Some planners may offer this service, but not typically

44-48 Weeks Before Your Wedding

• Pick officiant (Planner)
• Try on wedding attire
  • *Some planners may offer a concierge this service, but not typically
• Do a hair & makeup trial for photos
  • I HIGHLY recommend doing this sooner rather than later. I always recommend to my photography clients to do the trial the same day as the engagement photos so that you get to test out how your makeup looks on camera.
• Take engagement photos
• Select caterer (Design)

40-44 Weeks Before Your Wedding

• Send save-the-dates
  • The latest you should send save-the-dates is 36 weeks, especially if a lot of your guests are flying or you’re having a destination wedding.
• Purchase wedding dress
• Book band/DJ (Planner)
• Select wedding cake (Designer)
• Book videographer (Planner)

36-40 Weeks Before Your Wedding

• Do cake/dessert tasting
• Research invitations (Designer)
• Make a wedding registry
• Start planning ceremony/reception decor (Designer)

32-36 Weeks Before Your Wedding

• Reserve hotel room blocks (Planner)
• Research honeymoon plans
• Order any final rental items (Planner)

28-32 Weeks Before Your Wedding

• Gather mailing addresses
• Order wedding bands
• Book reception lighting (Designer)

24-28 Weeks Before Your Wedding

• Book your honeymoon accommodation and flight
• Draft guest list for wedding shower(s)
  • Some people have separate smaller showers to accommodate guests in different locations

20-24 Weeks Before Your Wedding

• Do a cake tasting
• Get a good skin care routine going
• Reserve hotel room blocks (Planner)
• Order invitations (Designer)

16-20 Weeks Before Your Wedding

• Send guest list for wedding shower to hosts
• Reserve rental attire for everyone
• Order wedding favors
• Order welcome bags
• Purchase wedding insurance
  • Planners can help you with this 😉
• Arrange transportation (Planner)
• Order gifts for wedding party & family
• Decide on guest dress code (Designer)
• Book room for night of wedding (Planner)

12-16 Weeks Before Your Wedding

• Order other stationery (menus, signs, etc.)
• Floor plan drafting (Planner/Coordinator)
• Schedule week-of beauty appointments (Planner/Coordinator)
• Plan reception order (Planner/Coordinator)
• Plan ceremony order (Planner/Coordinator)
• Create reception & ceremony song list
• Schedule alterations/fittings
• Discuss shot list with photo & video

8-12 Weeks Before Your Wedding

• SEND THOSE INVITES!!!
  • Send them at the LATEST in 10 weeks to your wedding date. This allows them to have plenty of time to travel through the mail to your guests and back to you by 4 weeks out for the last head count. 10-12 Weeks for invite send out, or three months is the ideal time frame.
  • Draft seating plan (Planner/Coordinator)
  • Order rehearsal dinner invitations
  • Finalize wedding cake details (Designer)
  • Finalize decor details (Designer)
  • Purchase wedding day accessories
  • Apply for marriage license
    • Planners can help you figure out exactly what forms and documents you need 🙂
  • Have your wedding shower

4-8 Weeks Before Your Wedding

• Have your bach parties
• Assemble gift bags/favors
• Finalize food menu (Designer)
• Review ceremony with officiant (Planner/Coordinator)
• Finalize florist details (Designer)
• Publish wedding announcement in paper
• Update seating plan (Planner/Coordinator)
• Have final wedding attire fitting
• Order thank-you cards
• Purchase cake-cutting knife set
• Send rehearsal dinner invites

3-4 Weeks Before Your Wedding

• Final wardrobe fitting
• Final meeting with photographer (Planner/Coordinator)
• Final meeting with videographer (Planner/Coordinator)
• Pick up wedding rings
  • Make sure they fit!
• Finalize the number of tables and centerpieces (Planner/Coordinator)
• Break in wedding day shoes
  • Seriously, break in those shoes. Heels, flats, loafers, all wedding day dress shoes need a little love if you’re gonna spend all day in them
• Write vows
• Review song list with entertainment
• Get a guest book
  • I’ve got an audio guest book add on 🙂
• Schedule walkthrough (Planner/Coordinator)
• Confirm hair & makeup times (Planner/Coordinator)

2 Weeks Before Your Wedding

• Follow up with guests who haven’t RSVP’d
• Get your hair cut & colored
  • You can style your hair day of, but if you’re doing anything major like a cut or color, you need those two weeks for your hair to settle
• Confirm rental details
• Clean engagement rings
• Designate end-of-night-person
  • Just because your wedding day is over, doesn’t mean it’s “over.” While you and your spouse enjoy your the rest of your wedding evening, partying, a romantic evening, or probably just sleeping because it has been a long day, someone needs to be responsible for “striking the set.” When a theatre or film production ends, the props and equipment don’t just magically disappear. Those heirloom decor details that your grandmother left you in her will need to make it back home to you, so having some wedding party members be designated to oversee cleanup is vital.
• Confirm floral times
• Give the final headcount to caterer/venues
  • For those stragglers who forgot to mail their invites that you or your planner had to track down, or those guests who had to cancel last-minute, your headcount should be as accurate as it’s going to be. And depending on your catering/reception set up, that may mean ordering more food or reconfiguring the seating.
• Send final payments to vendors
• Pick up wedding attire
  • Do not wait until the morning of to get your wedding attire. Make sure it is accurate, make sure it fits, and make sure it is clean. At a previous wedding of mine, a groomsman didn’t get his suit that morning because something went wrong when they ordered and they got 4 suits when they should have received 5.
• Assign wedding party tasks
  • Your wedding party is there to help you, so give them tasks to do throughout the wedding day. Whether that is making sure they have your inhaler nearby or they are on snack duty, they are there to help you and support you.
• Final meeting with planner/coordinator

1 Week Before Your Wedding

• Finalize seating chart (Planner/Coordinator)
• Send out wedding schedule (Planner/Coordinator)
• Confirm last details with vendors (Planner/Coordinator)
• Confirm rehearsal information (Planner/Coordinator)
• Gather travel docs
  • Passports, licenses, birth certificates, etc
• Pack for honeymoon
• Confirm reservations for out-of-town guests
• Prepare cash tips for vendors

WEDDING WEEK!

• Finalize wedding vows
• Get your nails done
• Pack wedding day emergency kit
• Prep your wedding day essentials bag
• Do a final venue walkthrough (Planner/Coordinator & You)
• Get welcome bags to hotel
• Practice vows out loud

The Day Before Your Wedding

• Steam bach party outfits
  • The wrinkles will show up in photos, I promise.
• Finish packing for honeymoon
• Drop items off to reception venue
• Attend rehearsal + rehearsal dinner (Planner/Coordinator)
  • Have that rehearsal the day before if possible. Or even the week of if that is not an option. All productions from film, to theatre, to milestone ceremonies like weddings have rehearsals. I come from a film and lite theatre background. A final dress rehearsal is how you get the kinks out, so the production- or ceremony, goes as planned. You’re in your costumes (wedding attire), your audience (family and friends) are waiting, your tech crew (vendors) are ready to go, and your stage manager (planner) is giving you the final cues so when it’s go-time, it’s done in one take. Okay, that last one was a film reference, not a theatre reference, but theatre productions do typically have several shows. Point being, do the rehearsal.
• Print documents for day-of (Planner/Coordinator)
• Drink water – lots of water.
• Prep your details for the photographer
  • The quicker your photographer can get to those details, the quicker everyone can get ready. This includes, but is not limited too:
    • Invitation suite
    • All the rings
    • Perfume/cologne
    • Wedding dresses
    • Handkerchiefs
    • Shoes
    • Cuff links
    • Earrings, necklaces, bracelets, broaches, etc.
    • Loose florals/blooms for the detail shots

PHEW! It was a long, extensive list, but as a certified New Jersey wedding planner, I believe in being as prepared as possible. Preparation gets us as close to perfect as possible. Of course, this isn’t everything. And it’s a pretty average list. Depending on your vision, your budget, who you hire, or a multitude of other factors, your personal engagement season to-do list may vary. That’s where planners like me come in.

We can help you every step of the way so that you know exactly what your next move is. In fact, planners, coordinators, and designers can help you stay 12 moves ahead, kind of like chess. Hopefully, this list gives you less stress, and puts you on a path towards your dream wedding.

Wrapping Up

Thank you for joining us on this journey through the enchanting world of wedding planning with TM Grey Events! We hope you found inspiration and valuable insights to help you create the wedding of your dreams. If you loved this post, don’t forget to pin it using the pre-made pins below for easy reference later.

While you’re here, why not explore some of our other popular posts? You might enjoy:

• “Understanding the Key Differences: Wedding Coordinator vs. Venue“: Exploring the essential distinctions between a wedding coordinator and a venue coordinator, highlighting their unique roles in the planning and execution of a wedding.
• “The Art of Perfectly Crafted Wedding Invitations: Spelling and Grammar Tips”: Make sure your wedding invitations impress from the moment your guests open the envelope.
• “Why You Should Hire a Wedding Planner”: Hiring a wedding planner is your passport to peace of mind. It allows you to soak in the joy of your engagement and wedding day while a professional handles the finer points.

Remember, at TM Grey Events, we’re here to turn your wedding fantasies into reality. Until next time, happy planning!