Wedding planning checklist: from 12 months to the big day

Planning a wedding is mostly a matter of pacing. Spread the tasks across the year and nothing piles up, so you actually enjoy being engaged. Here's a clear checklist, from twelve months out to the big day. Adapt it to your reality: every wedding is different.

12 months and more before

• Set a budget range and who contributes to it.
• Draft a first guest list (the number shapes everything else).
• Choose a season and a few possible dates.
• Book the venue: it's what goes fastest.
• Create your wedding website to centralize the information.

9 to 12 months before

• Book the key vendors: caterer, photographer, videographer.
• Choose your witnesses and wedding party.
• Start shopping for attire (alteration timelines are long).
• Reserve room blocks for out-of-town guests.

6 to 9 months before

• Send invitations or save-the-dates with your website link.
• Book the music or DJ, the florist and the cake.
• Plan the ceremony and meet the officiant.
• Think through the menu and schedule a tasting.

3 to 6 months before

• Turn on online RSVP and track responses.
• Finalize décor, colours and wedding-party attire.
• Buy the wedding bands.
• Check the documents required to marry in Québec.
• Plan the day's transportation and lodging.

1 to 3 months before

• Gently follow up with guests who haven't replied.
• Confirm details with every vendor.
• Build the seating chart from your confirmations.
• Do your hair and makeup trials.
• Write your vows and the day's timeline.

The week of the wedding

• Share the final schedule with your party and vendors.
• Prepare payments and tips in labelled envelopes.
• Confirm the final guest count with the caterer.
• Pack an emergency kit (thread, pins, pain relievers).
• Delegate, breathe and enjoy: the essentials are done.

One last tip: keep all these tasks and all the information in one place. A wedding website with built-in RSVP saves you from juggling spreadsheets, messages and emails.

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