Wedding checklist by month
Enter your wedding date and every task gets a due date. Print it, save it as a PDF or add it to your calendar.
The full checklist, from twelve months out to the weeks after. Enter your date above and every task gets a due date.
12 months before
- Agree on a total budget and who is contributingSettle on one number before you visit venues. Every later decision is easier with it.
- Draft the guest list and settle on a rough guest countVenue size and catering cost both follow from this number.
- Choose a season and two or three possible dates
- Visit venues and book the ceremony and reception venue
- Book your officiant (United States, Canada)
- Book your ceremony: register office, approved venue or place of worship (United Kingdom)Popular registrars and Saturdays book up a year ahead.
- Book your solemniser: HSE registrar, religious or secular celebrant (Ireland)
- Book your marriage celebrant (Australia)
- Book the photographer, and a videographer if you want oneSought-after photographers book 12 to 18 months ahead.
- Decide whether you want a planner or a day-of coordinator
9 months before
- Book the caterer, if the venue does not provide one
- Book the band or DJ
- Find your wedding outfitMade-to-order dresses often take six months or more, plus time for alterations.
- Book the florist
- Choose your wedding party and tell them what you are hoping they will do
6 months before
- Send save-the-datesSix to eight months ahead is usual. For a destination wedding, send them as early as you can.
- Book hair and makeup, with a trial closer to the date
- Reserve a block of hotel rooms for guests
- Book transport for the day
- Plan the honeymoon and check your passportsMany countries require six months of validity beyond your travel dates.
- Start your gift registry (United States, Canada, Australia, Ireland)
- Set up your gift list (United Kingdom)
4 months before
- Order invitations and the rest of your stationery
- Order the wedding ringsResizing and engraving can take several weeks.
- Taste and order the cake
- Plan the ceremony: readings, music and who walks when
- Sort outfits for your partner and the wedding party
- Lodge your Notice of Intended Marriage with your celebrant (Australia)The law requires it at least one month and no more than 18 months before the wedding. Lodging it now leaves room for missing documents.
- Book your marriage notification appointment with the HSE civil registration office (Ireland)Irish law requires three months' notice, and appointments fill up, so book now.
3 months before
- Give notice of marriage at your local register office (United Kingdom)In England and Wales notice must be given at least 29 days before the ceremony. Appointments can be weeks out. In Scotland, send the marriage notice forms at least 29 days ahead; councils set their own lead time (Edinburgh asks for 6 to 8 weeks).
- Attend your notification appointment, at least three months before the wedding (Ireland)
- Finalize the menu and drinks with the caterer
- Draft the wedding day timeline with the venue and photographer
- Book the rehearsal dinner venue (United States, Canada)
- Choose gifts for parents and the wedding party
2 months before
- Send the invitations with an RSVP deadlineSet the deadline three to four weeks before the wedding, so you have time to chase replies and give the caterer final numbers.
- First outfit fitting
- Write your vows, if you are writing your own
- Confirm what each vendor needs from you and when
1 month before
- Apply for your marriage license (United States)States and counties set the rules. Licenses are often valid for 30 to 90 days and some states have a waiting period, so check your county clerk's website for the exact window.
- Get your marriage licence (Canada)Provinces set the rules and the validity period. In Ontario a licence is valid for 90 days.
- Chase the guests who have not replied
- Make the seating plan
- Final outfit fitting
- Send the final timeline to vendors and the wedding party
2 weeks before
- Give the final guest count to the caterer and venue
- Pay outstanding vendor balances and prepare tips (United States, Canada)
- Pay outstanding vendor balances (United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia)
- Confirm arrival times with every vendor
- Break in your wedding shoes at home
The week of the wedding
- Pack for the honeymoon
- Hand over decorations, favors and the seating chart to the venue or coordinator
- Pack an emergency kit: safety pins, bandages, painkillers, phone charger, snacks
- Get a haircut or color, if you want one
The day before
- Run the ceremony rehearsal
- Put vendor payments and tips in labeled envelopes and give them to one trusted person (United States, Canada)
- Lay out outfits, rings and documents in one place
- Go to bed at a sensible hour
Wedding day
- Eat a proper breakfast
- Give the rings to whoever carries them
- Take ten minutes alone together after the ceremony
After the wedding
- Send thank-you notesAim to send them within three months of the wedding.
- Order copies of your marriage certificateYou need them to change a name with banks, employers and passport offices.
- Return rented items and clean or store the outfits
- Review the vendors who did a good job
How the dates work
Each task belongs to a stage, from twelve months before the wedding to a month after it. The tool counts back from your date, so "4 months before" becomes a real day in your calendar.
Anything that should already be done goes into Catch up first at the top. A nine-month engagement still gets a usable list: you see what to book this week, then everything else in order.
When should you start planning?
Twelve months is enough for most weddings. Popular venues and photographers book 12 to 18 months ahead for Saturdays in summer, so start earlier if you want a specific one. Six months works if you can be flexible about the day of the week or the venue.
If you are short on time, book in this order: the venue and date, whoever marries you, the photographer, the caterer, then send invitations. Two things cannot be rushed: the legal notice period below and a made-to-order outfit.
The legal step depends on where you marry
The checklist adds the right step for the country you choose. The rules in short:
| Country | What you do | When |
|---|---|---|
| United States | Get a marriage license from the county clerk | Usually valid 30 to 90 days; some states add a waiting period |
| England and Wales | Give notice at your local register office | At least 29 days before; notice is valid for 12 months |
| Scotland | Send the marriage notice forms to the registrar | At least 29 days before; councils set their own lead time (Edinburgh asks for 6 to 8 weeks, and no earlier than 3 months) |
| Ireland | Notify the HSE civil registration service in person | At least 3 months before |
| Australia | Lodge a Notice of Intended Marriage with your celebrant | At least 1 month and no more than 18 months before |
| Canada | Get a marriage licence from your province | Ontario licences are valid for 90 days |
Check the details with your local office before you book anything. Rules change, and some depend on your situation, for example a previous marriage or a partner from another country.
Print it, or put it in your calendar
- Print or save as PDF gives you the dated list on paper, with a box next to each task.
- Add to calendar creates one all-day event per stage, with that stage's tasks in the notes. It works with Apple Calendar, Google Calendar and Outlook.
- Download CSV opens in Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets if you want to add columns of your own.
Nothing you enter is stored. The date stays in your browser and in the link, so you can bookmark the page and come back to the same list.
Planning together
A checklist on paper works until two people are planning. Then you need to know who is calling the florist and whether the deposit has been paid. In Wedding Harmony the same tasks come with a reminder before each one is due. With Premium, a one-time purchase, your partner joins the same plan on their own phone and each task can be assigned to one of you.