With a wedding-planning checklist and wedding timeline, the job becomes more fun and less stressful.

Image: Shutterstock Congratulations on your engagement! After all, this is one of the most exciting times in your life, and you deserve to enjoy every minute of it. But now the real work begins. It's natural to feel overwhelmed, but we can help you organise your special day with these smart checklist ideas.

In This Article

Budget Guest List Overall Theme Select the Venue Caterer Hire Vendors Wedding Dress Send Save The Dates Register For Gifts Book The Rehearsal Dinner Venue Book The Honeymoon Buy Or Rent The Groom’s Tuxedo Choose your cake Hair and Makeup Trial Plan Your Menu Guest Favours And Invites Wedding Shoes A Week Before Night Before And Day Of The Wedding FAQs:

Budget

Image: Shutterstock There are way too many things that take place at a wedding, some planned and some impromptu. Crunching the numbers and setting a budget beforehand helps a lot. It helps you decide on what kind of wedding you want, a big extravagant one or a small intimate one. Adding on the contributing factors and items is necessary. Planning on every minute detail and coming up with ideas to save on them makes for a more hassle-free wedding.

Pro Tip: Once you have your budget set, you can work on the plan ahead easily.

Guest List

Image: Shutterstock Make a guest list (And stick to it). Making a guest list helps you plan better for caterers, seating and gift registry, invitations, and more. Planning for what kind of food to get and what kind of first aid or amenities to have handy also becomes clear.

Pro Tip: You have a budget to stick to so try and stick to the guest list too.

Overall Theme

Image: Shutterstock Plan on a theme and this would make the wedding look and become more beautiful and organized. Themes also help you choose your décor better. You don’t have to get confused between thousands of options available. Choose something personal and easy to identify so that everyone can enjoy it with you. Do your research well and make it distinctive. You can also keep a more interactive and fun theme for your reception so that your guests can participate too. It’s your day, so make it memorable.

Pro Tip: Your themes will help you plan your wedding outfits better.

Select the Venue

Image: Shutterstock The venue that you are looking at should have the capacity to house all your guests. But first and foremost it should be beautiful. It doesn’t matter if you are having a destination wedding or a home wedding, make sure you do not compromise on the location. The vibe of the place usually makes up for everything. Do you remember how Jim and Pam from The office wed at the Niagara falls? Find your Niagara falls and book it before you lose it. Of course, stick to your budget!

Pro Tip: The wedding venue should cater to the theme.

Caterer

Image: Shutterstock The most lucrative thing for most people attending weddings is the food. And you surely can’t miss planning on that. Make sure you know your guests and plan your food accordingly. Order in planned quantities so you don’t waste much and plan your vegetarian, non-vegetarian and vegan items according to your guests too. Pro Tip: Appoint enough waiters and cooks so that the flow is smooth throughout.

Hire Vendors

Image: Shutterstock Don’t forget the people who will make your wedding happen. The decorators, the planners, the photographers, videographers, bands, and DJs. Research and plan way beforehand to get your booking on the best people you can hire. Don’t go over the top, just enough to make you special.

Pro Tip: Make sure you keep them in the loop at all times so that everything is perfect.

Wedding Dress

Image: Shutterstock The wedding dress is every girl’s dream outfit. We all agree it should be perfect. Don’t set your heart on the first dress you see. Hop from place to place and discuss the designs, customize it if you want, and match it with your theme. You can also opt to rent a wedding dress since wedding dresses usually end up stashed away in a cupboard. If you want to keep your wedding dress but in a sustainable way, you can opt for a simpler dress that you can use time and again on special occasions.

Pro Tip: Traditional or western – keep your style sheet and go according to the plan.

Send Save The Dates

Image: Shutterstock Send save the dates a couple of months before the wedding so that your guests can arrange leaves and make preparations to join you on your big day. You can send out E-vites if you’re being sustainable or invites made with recycled paper.

Pro Tip: If you are planning on a destination wedding, send out the Save-the-dates even earlier.

Register For Gifts

Image: Shutterstock Registering for gifts saves the hassle for both the couple and their guests. The gift registry is essentially a wish list curated by the bride and groom about what gifts they want. This prevents repeated gifts, panic over last buys, and confusion.

Pro Tip: Register for your gifts beforehand so that your guests can find the time to decide and shop what they want to get you.

Book The Rehearsal Dinner Venue

Image: Shutterstock Rehearsal Dinners help you understand the seating and flow of events better. So book a venue for the rehearsal dinner where you can practice what is to happen.

Pro Tip: You can make changes or additions accordingly.

Book The Honeymoon

Image: Shutterstock Now, good advice is spending less on the wedding and more on the honeymoon is the key to a happy couple. A wedding ceremony with just your close ones can give you a longer honeymoon inside your budget. But that’s just advice, so listen to your heart and do as you please. However, book the Honeymoon way in advance. Some places where it is both beautiful and peaceful. Somewhere you both can celebrate yourselves freely.

Pro Tip: Booking in advance will also help you grab the best places and great prices easily.

Buy Or Rent The Groom’s Tuxedo

Image: Shutterstock Now that the theme and the wedding dress are all set you can plan the Groom’s tuxedo to match that. If you are renting it, hop shops to find the perfect fit and color. If you are planning to buy it you can get it tailored to your body shape or you can even get it stitched and customized from scratch.

Pro Tip: Matching the colour of the outfit with the theme and the bride’s outfit works well.

Choose your cake

Image: Shutterstock Choose your cake wisely. Extravagant cakes can be beautiful but wasteful. Keeping that in mind order the quantity of cake according to the number of guests. Go to the cake vendor and taste the flavors yourself for a better idea and go through catalogs and talk with chefs to land on a design.

Pro Tip: Find something that matches your theme and has your heart.

Hair and Makeup Trial

Image: Shutterstock Try out different hairstyles and looks that match your wedding dress and make you look the best.

Pro Tip: Talk to different make-up artists and hair stylists to hire the best one for you.

Plan Your Menu

Image: Shutterstock Now that the quantity discussion with your caterers is done earlier, it’s time to plan the menu. Plan a variety of food items that range from simple to exotic according to your taste. This ensures everyone despite their age, health, and food preferences can have a bite. The Menu can be planned according to your theme or guests or both. Sit down and go through various ideas, and taste samples of the food yourself before coming to decision.

Pro Tip: Have variety and avoid too much greasy food on the menu for dinner.

Guest Favours And Invites

Image: Shutterstock Guest favors and gift bags are tokens of gratitude given to the guests for coming to the wedding. Plan your Gift bags and gift favors according to the number of people that RSVP’d. Order in calculated quantities so that even if some bags get left over it can be used in the house or regifted. Send your wedding invites a few weeks before the wedding so that people can make arrangements. Make sure that your cards are also cute and match your vibe. If you want to save a little on posts you can always send E-vites to people who live far away.

Pro Tip: Gift something sweet and useful for the guests and something that matches your theme.

Wedding Shoes

Image: Shutterstock You’re going to be in these for the whole day. So, make sure along with matching the dress and making you look beautiful, they also are comfortable. Take your wedding dress along if you want to compare the color combination better. Walk around in them, run in them (Just in case you feel like running away at the last moment ;) and check if they fit you perfectly. We all want our Cinderella moment, but the moment she lost her shoe is not exactly nice in real life.

Pro Tip: Always carry an extra pair of sandals to avoid last-minute glitches.

A Week Before

Image: Shutterstock It's now the last countdown to your wedding and how excited are you? Make your final guest list for the venue and finalise any rituals or presents that must be exchanged. Carry out a final dress rehearsal for the bride, groom, friends, and family. Call your providers to confirm the deliverables, and make sure they have the venue and time details as per record. Don't forget to tell them whether you'll have a planner or coordinator on the day and provide them the contact information for them or the person in charge on the big day.

Pro Tip: Make sure your photographer and videographer have your shot list, and that your band or DJ has your music list.

Night Before And Day Of The Wedding

Image: Shutterstock It's the night before your big day, you're nervous, you can't sit still, and your heart is bouncing at a million miles per hour!!! But that does mean you have to ignore your checklist. This is critical, so make sure you've checked everything off your list. If you have any early morning rituals, hang your clothes. Get a good night's sleep and eat a well-balanced dinner that won't make your tummy bloated. You should also not skip meals.

Pro Tip: Keep a bag with all of your personal belongings, such as sanitary pads, wipes, and your phone. Have additional slippers handy.

FAQs:

Image: Shutterstock

Q. What 5 Things Does A Bride Need?

A. The essential bag can hold a water bottle, a fast snack, a mist spray, perfume, and lip balm.

Q. What Are The Most Important Parts Of A Wedding?

A. The homily or message from the person officiating your wedding is the most important part of the service. It will bless not just your marriage but also provide guidance through any difficulties that may arise on your new path together.

Q. Do You Wear Engagement Ring On Wedding Day?

A. According to custom, a wedding band should be worn on the inside of her ring finger. In other words, the wedding band is worn first, followed by the engagement ring.

Q. What Should You Not Forget On Your Wedding Day?

A. Ensure that the necessities are ready. Keep your close pals close by so they can respond to any emergencies that may arise. Ensure that you greet your guests with warmth and that they have their food and may collect their gifts before they depart the venue. Also Read: A Wedding Planner's Guide To A Pandemic Wedding – What You Need To Know