Sixteen to Nine Months Before

• Start a wedding folder or binder.
  • Begin leafing through bridal, lifestyle, fashion, gardening, design, and food magazines for inspiration.
• Work out your budget.
  • Determine how much you have to spend, based on your families’ contributions and your own.
• Pick your wedding party.
  • As soon as you’re engaged, people will start wondering who’s in.
• Start the guest list.
  • Make a head count database to use throughout your planning process, with columns for contact info, RSVPs, gifts, and any other relevant information. (Want to keep costs low? It may be brutal, but the best way to do it is to reduce your guest list.)
• Hire a planner, if desired.
  • A planner will have relationships with—and insights about—vendors.
• Book your officiant.
• Reserve your date and venues.
  • Decide whether to have separate locations for the ceremony and the reception, factoring in travel time between the two places.
• Research photographers, bands, florists, and caterers.
  • Keep their contact information in your binder.
• Throw an engagement party, if you wish.
  • But remember that your invitees should be on your wedding guest list as well. (optional)

Eight Months Before

• Hire the photographer and the videographer.
  • No need to talk specifics yet, but be sure that the people you hire are open to your wants and wishes.
• Book the entertainment.
  • Attend gigs of potential acts to see how they perform in front of audiences, then reserve your favorite.
• Meet caterers.
  • If your wedding venue doesn’t offer its own catering service, look for one now and hire the service this month or early next.
• Purchase a dress.
  • You’ll need to schedule time for at least three fittings. Veil shopping can be postponed for another two to three months.
• Reserve a block of hotel rooms for out-of-town guests.
  • Pick three hotels at different price points close to the reception venue, and inform your guests about  hotel contact information.
• Register.
  • Sign up at a minimum of three retailers.
• Launch a wedding website.
  • Create your personal page through a free provider such as weddingchannel.com. (optional)

Seven to Six Months Before

• Select and purchase invitations.
  • Hire a calligrapher, if desired. Addressing cards is time-consuming, so you need to budget accordingly.
• Start planning a honeymoon.
  • Make sure that your passports are up-to-date, and schedule doctors’ appointments for any shots you may need.
• Shop for bridesmaids’ dresses.
  • Allow at least six months for the dresses to be ordered and sized.
• Meet with the officiant.
  • Map out the ceremony and confirm that you have all the official documents for the wedding (these vary by county and religion).
• Send save-the-date cards.
• Reserve structural and electrical necessities.
  • Book New England Restrooms mobile luxury restrooms for outdoor events, Tent Company’s for extra chairs, lighting components, and so on.
• Book a florist.
  • Florists can serve multiple clients on one day, which is why you can wait a little longer to engage one. Plus, at this point, you’ll be firm on what your wedding palette will be.
• Arrange transportation.
  • Consider limos, minibuses, trolleys, and town cars. (But know that low-to-the-ground limos can make entries and exits dicey if you’re wearing a fitted gown.)
• Start composing a day-of timeline.
  • Draw up a schedule of the event and slot in each component (the cake-cutting, the first dance).

Five to Four Months Before

• Book the rehearsal and rehearsal-dinner venues.
  • Negotiate the cost and the menu. If you’re planning to host a day-after brunch for guests, book that place as well.
• Check on the wedding invitations.
  • Ask the stationer for samples of the finished invitations and revise them to suit your needs.
• Select and order the cake.
  • Some bakers require a long lead time. Attend several tastings before committing to any baker.
•  Send your guest list to the host of your shower.
  • Provided you, ahem, know about the shower.
• Purchase wedding shoes and start dress fittings.
  • Bring the shoes along to your first fitting so the tailor can choose the appropriate length for your gown.
• Schedule hair and makeup artists.
  • Make a few appointments with local experts to try them out. Snap a photo at each so you can compare.
• Choose your music.
  • What should be playing when the wedding party is announced? During dinner? To kick off the dancing? Keep a running list of what you want—and do not want—played. You should come prepared with a list.

Three Months Before

• Finalize the menu and flowers.
  • You’ll want to wait until now to see what will be available, since food and flowers are affected by season.
• Order favors, if desired.
  •  If you’re planning to have welcome baskets for out-of-town guests, plan those now too. (optional)
• Make a list of the people giving toasts.
  • Which loved ones would you like to have speak at the reception? Ask them now.
• Finalize the readings.
  • Determine what you would like to have read at the ceremony—and whom you wish to do the readings. (optional)
• Purchase your undergarments.
  • And schedule your second fitting.
• Finalize the order of the ceremony and the reception.
• Print menu cards, if you like, as well as programs.
  • No need to go to a printer, if that’s not in your budget: You can easily create these on your computer. (optional)
• Purchase the rings.
  • This will give you time for resizing and engraving.
• Send your event schedule to the vendors.
  • Giving them a first draft now allows ample time for feedback.

Two Months Before

• Touch base again with all the vendors.
  • Make sure any questions you or they had on your first draft have been answered.
• Meet with the photographer.
  • Discuss specific, and walk through the locations to note spots that appeal to you.
• Review the playlist with the band or deejay.
  • Know the music you want played and when to set the mood and atmosphere of your wedding
• Send out the invitations.
  •  Mail invitations six to eight weeks before the ceremony, setting the RSVP cutoff at three weeks after the postmark date.
• Submit a newspaper wedding announcement.
  • If you’re planning to include a photograph, check the publication’s website: for instructions for submissions.
• Enjoy a bachelorette party.
  • Arranging a night out with your girlfriends generally falls to the maid of honor.

One Month Before

• Enter RSVPs into your guest-list database.
  • Phone people who have not yet responded.
• Get your marriage license.
  • The process can take up to six days, but it’s good to give yourself some leeway. If you are changing your name, order several copies.
• Mail the rehearsal-dinner invitations.
• Visit the dressmaker for (with luck!) your last dress fitting.
  • For peace of mind, you may want to schedule a fitting the week of your wedding. You can always cancel the appointment if you try on the dress and it fits perfectly.
• Stock the bar.
  • Now that you have a firm head count you can order accordingly.
• Send out as many final payments as you can.
• Confirm times for hair and makeup and all vendors.
• E-mail and print directions for drivers of transport vehicles.
  • This gives the chauffeurs ample time to navigate a route.
• Assign seating.
  • Request a copy of the seating and function room plan. Write the names of female guests and the names of male guests so you can move people if necessary.
• Purchase bridesmaids’ gifts.
  • You’ll present them at the rehearsal dinner.
• Write vows, if necessary.
• Get your hair cut and colored, if desired.

Week of the Wedding

• Reconfirm arrival times with vendors.
• Delegate small wedding-day tasks.
  • Choose someone to help you with bustle your dress, carry your things, gifts (especially the enveloped sort), point person for each vendor.
• Send a timeline to the bridal party.
  • Include every member’s contact information, along with the point people you’ve asked to deal with the vendors, if problems arise.
• Pick up your dress.
  • Or make arrangements for a delivery.
• Check in one last time with the photographer.
  • Supply him or her with a list of moments you want capture.
• Set aside checks for the vendors.
• Book a spa treatment.
  • Make an appointment for a manicure and a pedicure and a stress-relieving massage the day before the wedding
• Send the final guest list to the caterer and all venues hosting your wedding-related events.
• Break in your shoes.
• Assemble and distribute the welcome baskets.
• Pack for your honeymoon.
• Enjoy!