The Wedding Planning Checklist, Month by Month

A wedding is a project with a fixed deadline, a few dozen suppliers and a guest list of people who all want to know where to park. The order in which you do things matters more than how fast you do them. Book the venue before the photographer, set the budget before the venue, and almost everything else falls into place.

This checklist assumes about a year of planning, which is typical. If you have less, do the first two sections in the first month and compress the rest; nothing on the list is skipped, only accelerated. Keep everything in one place, whether that’s a binder with pockets for contracts or a shared document and spreadsheet both of you can edit, and give every vendor’s contract, deposit date and final payment date its own line. For the bigger picture, our guide on how to plan a wedding explains the reasoning behind each step.

Three habits that make the list easier

Decide who owns what. Split the list between the two of you by interest, not by tradition: one person takes food and music, the other takes stationery and travel, and both of you sign every contract. If a parent or friend is helping, give them whole tasks, such as the rehearsal dinner or the welcome bags, rather than pieces of many.

Keep a payment calendar. Deposits are due at booking, and final balances usually fall due in the last few weeks, exactly when everything else does. Put every payment date in a shared calendar with a reminder a week ahead, and note which vendors expect cash tips on the day.

Set one planning evening a week. An hour on the same night each week, with the list open, keeps decisions from piling up and keeps wedding talk out of the rest of your week. Most tasks below take one sitting once the information is in front of you.

If you have less than a year

Six months is plenty for most weddings; three is possible, especially for a small one. Book the venue and the officiant in the first week, then the photographer and caterer in the second, because those are the bookings that run out. Choose a dress or suit that can be bought off the rack or altered quickly. Send save-the-dates and invitations together, or skip save-the-dates and send invitations as early as ten to twelve weeks out. A weekday or off-season date makes every booking easier. Everything else on this list still happens; it simply happens closer together.

12 months or more before

• Tell your families, together if you can, before you post the news anywhere.
• Decide what matters most to each of you: the food, the music, the photographs, the size, the place. Rank it. This list is your budget.
• Set a total budget and agree who is contributing what. Our wedding budget guide shows how the money usually divides.
• Draft a rough guest count. You can’t choose a venue without it; the guest list guide helps you draw the lines.
• Choose a season and two or three possible dates. Friday, Sunday and off-season dates are often cheaper and easier to book.
• Decide on the overall feel: formal or relaxed, city or country, large or small, religious or civil.
• Talk to your officiant or house of worship about dates, requirements and any premarital preparation.
• Tour venues and book the ceremony and reception sites. Popular venues can book a year or more ahead.
• Hire a planner or day-of coordinator if you’re using one.
• Start a shared document, spreadsheet or planning app for budget, guests and vendors.

9 to 11 months before

• Book the photographer and, if you want one, the videographer or content creator.
• Book the caterer if your venue doesn’t provide one, and arrange a tasting.
• Book the band or DJ.
• Interview florists and book one; see our guide to choosing a florist.
• Ask your attendants, and tell them plainly what you’re asking of them in time and money.
• Start shopping for wedding attire. Made-to-order gowns can take many months to arrive, before alterations.
• Book a hotel room block for out-of-town guests.
• Set up your wedding website with the date, location and travel information.
• Start thinking about the honeymoon, and check that both passports are valid well beyond your travel dates.

6 to 8 months before

• Send save-the-dates, about eight to twelve months out for a destination wedding.
• Order the wedding dress or outfit, and schedule alterations.
• Choose attendants’ attire and tell them where and when to order.
• Book hair and makeup artists.
• Book transportation if guests or the wedding party need it.
• Start a gift registry.
• Book rentals: tables, chairs, linens, lighting, tent and restrooms for outdoor sites.
• Book the honeymoon.
• If you’re considering a prenuptial agreement, begin now, so neither of you signs anything in a rush.

4 to 5 months before

• Order invitations and stationery: invitations, reply cards, details cards, programs, menus and place cards.
• Choose the cake or dessert and book the baker.
• Finalize the menu with the caterer.
• Book the officiant, if not already done, and start planning the ceremony’s structure.
• Plan the rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner, and book the restaurant.
• Order or rent suits and tuxedos.
• Buy or order the wedding rings, allowing time for sizing and engraving.
• Decide on favors, if any, and welcome bags for hotel guests.

3 months before

• Finalize the guest list and collect every mailing address.
• Address invitations, or hand them to a calligrapher.
• Meet the florist to confirm the final design and quantities.
• Schedule hair and makeup trials.
• Choose music for the ceremony, the first dance and the parent dances.
• Buy gifts for attendants and parents.
• Start writing your vows, if you’re writing your own.
• Research your marriage license rules: where to apply, what documents both of you need, whether there’s a waiting period and how long the license is valid.

2 months before

• Mail invitations six to eight weeks before the wedding, earlier for a destination wedding. Our guide to sending invitations covers timing and postage.
• Have the first dress fitting.
• Confirm the order of the ceremony with your officiant.
• Draft the day-of timeline with your planner, photographer and venue.
• Buy or gather accessories, shoes, the guest book, the cake knife and toasting glasses.
• Send the photographer a list of must-have group photos, with names.
• Write thank-you notes for any shower or early gifts as they arrive.

1 month before

• Apply for the marriage license, timed so that it’s valid on the wedding day.
• Chase missing RSVPs by phone or message once the deadline passes.
• Start the seating plan.
• Have the final dress fitting, wearing the shoes and undergarments you’ll wear on the day.
• Print the programs, menus, signs and place cards.
• Confirm every vendor’s arrival time, location and final balance.
• Give the DJ or band the do-play and do-not-play lists and the names to announce.
• Break in your shoes at home.
• If you’re changing your name, gather the documents now and start after the wedding; our name change list has the order.

2 weeks before

• Give the final guest count to the caterer and venue.
• Finish the seating plan and send it to the venue and stationer.
• Confirm delivery times and addresses with the florist, baker and rental company.
• Share the final timeline with every vendor and the wedding party.
• Get haircuts and color, if you’re having them, at least a week ahead.
• Prepare tip and final-payment envelopes, labeled by vendor.

The week of the wedding

• Pick up the dress, suits and attendants’ clothing.
• Pack for the honeymoon, so the night after the wedding is free.
• Pack the wedding-day emergency kit.
• Reconfirm transportation and hair and makeup times.
• Give the planner or a trusted friend the vendor contact list and the payment envelopes.
• Deliver decorations, the guest book, signs and favors to the venue if allowed.
• Assign someone to take gifts and cards home at the end of the night.

The day before

• Attend the rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner.
• Give attendants their gifts.
• Lay out everything for the morning: rings, license, vows, clothes, shoes, accessories and identification.
• Eat a proper dinner, drink water and go to bed early.

The wedding day

• Eat breakfast, even if you aren’t hungry.
• Give the rings to whoever is carrying them, and the license to the officiant.
• Hand your phone to someone else.
• Take a quiet minute together, or alone, before it all begins.

The week after

• Make sure the marriage license was signed and returned or filed within your state’s deadline, and order certified copies.
• Return rented suits, decor and anything borrowed.
• Take the dress to a cleaner for preservation, if you’re keeping it.
• Pay any final balances and leave reviews for vendors you’d recommend.
• Start the thank-you notes. Aim to send them within three months; the sooner, the easier.
• Begin the name change, if you’re making one.