Best Wedding Checklist (2023) with a Free PDF
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12 Months Before the Big Day
- Find and secure the venue: Once you have a size and budget, start shopping for venues. If you are getting married at a popular time of year (June, August, September, and October), one full year is really the minimum amount of time you’ll want to book in advance. Not sure where to start? Check out some of my favourite venues in Ireland.
- Book a celebrant: This needs to be done now.
- Start gathering guests addresses: There is a lot to do here and you will need all guests addresses to send the invitations later on.
- Research photographers and videographers: As a wedding photographer in Dublin, summer and autumn are incredibly busy for me. Book early!
- Plan your wedding party: If you’re going to have bridesmaids and groomsmen, pop the question to them now.
11 Months Before the Wedding
- Book your Photographer and Videographer: Good professionals always have the date booked in advance, secure your favourite one now.
- Research potential suppliers (cake, hair, flowers, makeup, etc.)
8-10 Months Before the Wedding
- Make a calendar: Create a shared calendar with everyone helping you to plan your wedding so that communication is easy and you never forget a step.
- Book your band: DJs and musicians tend to be very busy during the wedding season too so start planning as soon as you can.
- Find accommodation: If you have guests coming in from out of town, book hotel rooms as early as possible.
- Plan your décor: At this stage, you don’t need to worry about having every detail in place but you will want to have an idea of the aesthetic.
- Hire a florist: Once you have decided on your venue and have a general look in mind, it’s time to book the florist.
- Start a venue checklist: Yep, you are probably going to need a couple of checklists! Start early with a venue checklist so you can create one master list of absolutely everything that you want to have for the big day. Pinterest can be useful here. Save pictures of candles, signs, and other details, then start adding them to the list as you narrow it down to what you will have at your big day.
- Contact rental companies: With a venue and basic layout in mind, start hiring essentials like tables and chairs.
- Order wedding cake: This is the fun part! The two of you will have some very sweet taste-testing dates in your future.
- Organise transport: Book whatever planes, trains, or automobiles that you and your wedding party need for the big day.
- Book the honeymoon: After all the planning and excitement, you’re going to need some time to just unwind and get in some quality time together.
- Start dress shopping: You’ll want to have plenty of time to search and weigh your options so start early!
6-8 Months Before the Wedding
- Find your stationery: As a general rule, you’ll want to send out the “save the date” about four months before the wedding. If you’re having a destination wedding, plan to send these out at least eight months in advance. Your formal invites should go out two months before the ceremony.
- Order the dress: Guys get a little bit more time (order your tux around six months), while ladies will want to order their dress at the six- to the eight-month point.
- Live it up: Hen and stag parties, anybody? Start putting your groomsmen and bridesmaids to work if you want a fiesta.
4-6 Months Before the Wedding
- Order the wedding gear: Now is the time to get all of the wedding party apparel ordered as well as the groom’s tux.
- Hire a stylist: If you want someone for hair and makeup, make that beautiful connection three to four months before the big day.
- Get your paperwork in order: In Ireland, you need to give three months' notification before you tie the knot. Read up on the requirements so you’ve got everything in order.
- Talk to the church: If you’re getting married in a church, they’ll give you a checklist too. Be sure to plan ample time for counselling, as well as prepping prayers, readings, and music.
2-3 Months Before the Wedding
- Send invitations to guests: Now is the time to send out the final reminders!
- Attend dress fittings: Ditch the diet! Make sure everything fits perfectly now and do any alternations. Your tailor will recommend a final fitting day so be sure to stick on their timeline.
- Put a ring on it: You’ve probably already had your eye on a few rings. Make a final decision on your new lifelong bling a couple months before your wedding.
- Order gifts: To say thanks to your parents, wedding party, and everyone else who has worked so hard to make your wedding dreams come true, find the perfect little trinket.
4 Weeks Before the Wedding
- Confirm with vendors: In the world of weddings, one month is last minute. One month before the big day is the time to do a final check on everything to make sure there are no surprises as you are getting ready to walk down the aisle.
- Check for any missing RSVPs: If there are any guests that you haven’t heard back from, follow up.
- Create a seating chart: With a clear list of who is coming, you’re ready to set the atmosphere by creating a thoughtful seating chart.
- Write your vows: Don’t forget what your wedding day is all about! You might be feeling frazzled, but it’s time to try to pull out your inner poet.
2 Weeks Before the Wedding
- Confirm your guest count with your vendor: Let your caterer know the final guest count to make sure there are no hungry mouths at your wedding!
- Chat with your photographer: You’ve had time to get inspired by wedding photography online, now chat with your photographer (and videographer, if you have one) to talk about must-have pics that you want from your wedding.
- Do a final wedding dressing fitting: Make sure everything is still 100 per cent flawless with the dress.
- Review the venue checklist: Remember that list you made way back at the start of the year? Go back over everything to make sure that nothing has been forgotten along the way and update your list to include details on each item.
2-3 Days Before the Wedding
- Confirm pick-up times: Make sure you know exactly when you’re being picked up to go to the venue.
- Print a master list: Give your best man and maid of honour a copy of all of the essential wedding details if you haven’t already. Double check that they have all of the suppliers' contact info and a full schedule for the day.
- Make sure payments are ready: Figure out any final amounts due and make sure you have cash or whatever form of payment will be excepted on the big day.
1 Week Before the Wedding
- Create a timetable: Check with all of your suppliers to see when each item is arriving so that you can create an exact timetable for the day. Pull out your venue checklist again to make sure that you’ve got a delivery time for each item.
- Update the venue: Give your venue a copy of the day’s schedule so they know exactly what to expect. Be sure to include contact phone numbers as well so that the venue and vendors can reach each other.
- Confirm with the suppliers: Do a final double check with each of the vendors and supplies to make sure that everything is in order and there are no last minute substitutions for anything.
- Provide every vendor with an emergency contact person too! You’ll be too busy on the big day so make sure they can talk to someone else if they need anything.
- Time for a makeover: Make those final plans for manicures, massages, waxing, and whatever else you need to feel like you’re at the top of your game.
- Try it all on: Put on your full head to toe look for the big day. From socks to underwear to the veil, make sure that everything is perfect and there are no cufflinks, nylons, or other little extras missing.
- Pack your bag: If you are staying overnight after the wedding or leaving straight for your honeymoon, pack your bags now. Again, a checklist is handy! Put together everything you’ll want to pack now because you’ll be too scatter-brained on the final few days of the countdown.
The Day Before the Wedding
- Drop it all off: Look through everything from the venue checklist and drop it off with the venue coordinator.
- Get a good night sleep!
The Wedding Day!
- Treat your friends: Give out your bridal party gifts!
- Have a go-to man: Give the best man the wedding rings and any cash payments that need to be made on the big day.
- Put the wedding party to work: Introduce your reception coordinator to your maid of honour or best man so they can work together for any issues.
- Give a number two: Connect someone in your family or a member of the wedding party with the photographer so there’s a secondary contact point.
- Enjoy every secont: Time will fly, so don't get stressed with anything at all and if something goes wrong it happens weddings are very unpredictable, just pass it to the Bridesmaides and let them get sorted for you.
After the Wedding
- Return the rentals: Be sure that you have arranged for someone to return any of the rentals that you had for the wedding.
- Be grateful: Get on those thank-you notes!
- Make it official: Collect your marriage certificate.
Last, but certainly not least, breathe.
Now let’s do it! It’s easy to start with good intentions and get disorganised as things get crazy. That’s why you NEED a printed list. ''Grab my Free PDF HERE'' and hang this bad boy right on the front of the fridge.
Your Wedding Dress Checklist
It’s never too early to start searching for your wedding dress! Of course, many blushing brides confess to flipping through dress pics long before they even get a ring on their finger. It’s not all fun and fashion blogs though. Finding the perfect wedding dress can be hard work!
Here’s everything that you need to know to find the look of your dreams with my wedding dress checklist.
Step One: Find Inspiration
- This is the fun part! Start searching through pictures to see what catches your eye. Pinterest is good here, of course. Save looks that inspire you. Start with a vast array, then keep narrowing it down. It can actually be handy to make some notes here of what you don’t like too.
- Deciding on your venue will help you narrow down your dress options. Knowing if you’ll have an informal outdoor gathering or a traditional church wedding will go a long way in helping you pick out the perfect look.
- DOWNLOAD YOUR (FREE) WEDDING DRESS CHECKLIST NOW -
Step Two: Start Trying on Dresses
- Ideally, you’ll want to start trying on dresses about ten months before your wedding day. You need ample time to get through the fittings and, of course, you don’t want to feel rushed in the shopping process.
- Take your time looking around and keep an open mind. Things that you loved online might fall flat in person, while dresses that you didn’t like online might look gorgeous on you in person. Enlist some brutally honest friends and ask them to take shots of the dress so you can look at the pictures later and compare them all in one big line-up.
- When you need to book appointments, go by the “rule of three” for wedding dresses. Book three appointments and see how it goes. If you aren’t already in love, book three more.
Step Three: Buy that Dress!
- As soon as you’ve found “The One” you’ll want to have a detailed chat with the shop. Figure out exactly what the fitting schedule is and make a plan so you know that you’ll have ample time to get everything done.
- Generally speaking, bridal shops with made to order dresses expect you to order six months in advance so don’t put it off too long!
Step Four: Start Looking at Accessories
- You’ll want to have your full look put together for your first fitting so come prepared. This means picking out the shapewear, underwear, and shoes that you are going to wear on the big day.
- This is one of the easiest steps, but just make sure that you don’t forget anything! Checklists are priceless every step of the way, so as put together your full look, write it all down to make sure that you don’t forget anything on the big day.
Step Five: Get Fit!
- Six to eight weeks before the big day is generally when you’ll want to go in for your first fitting. Of course, this is something that your tailor or dress shop will help you plan more exactly.
- If you haven’t already created a master calendar for wedding planning, do it now! Write down all of your fitting dates and every other essential item on your to-do list.
Step Six: Get Those Details
- Need something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue? Find ‘em now! While you need your undergarments and shoes early on, you can pick out your jewellery and other little details six weeks or so before the big day (just make sure you allow ample time for online orders).
Step Seven: Make Time for All of Those Fittings
- Generally speaking, you’ll want to plan on doing the second fitting about a month before you say “I do” and have your final fitting two weeks before the big day.
Step Eight: Bring Her Home!
- Make sure that your gorgeous new dress is ready to come home for about a week before the wedding. Store your dress in a breathable opaque garment bag and, of course, keep it somewhere dry, cool, and safe!
Step Nine: Create an Emergency Kit
- In the days leading up to the big day, start prepping a wedding-day emergency kit. Grab fashion tape, safety pins, as well as a needle and thread so that you can deal with any last minute surprises.
- DOWNLOAD YOUR (FREE) WEDDING DRESS CHECKLIST NOW -
Your Beauty Checklist
Who doesn’t want to look flawless on their wedding day? From styling the perfect ‘do to getting a manicure worthy of your new bling, you have got to start planning early if you want to have a fairy tale look for your fairy tale day.Ready to
