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Wedding Checklist
A wedding checklist is recommended to organise your special day
With so many different things to think about, there’s always a risk you’ll forget
to do something or leave it too late. A wedding checklist is the perfect way to
organise and manage your wedding planning.
To make sure you don’t forget anything, take a look at our month by month checklist
below to help you with your wedding planning. This is just a guide as every bride
has a different way of doing things.
Our wedding checklist assumes you only have six months to organise your wedding
– so if you’ve got more time you can spread tasks out. The best advice is if you
can do something earlier – you should!
Wedding checklist
> as soon as possible
- Book church or approved venue for ceremony
- Book ceremony time and date with minister or registrar
- Give notice at your local register office
- Book reception venue
- Start a wedding scrapbook – with notes, ideas and pictures
- Prepare draft guest list
- Start looking for your wedding dress – try on lots of different styles
- Choose
your bridesmaids
- Choose
your best man and ushers
- Discuss what needs to be done and assign tasks
- Check passport will still be valid for your honeymoon. If the passport
expires –
arrange for a passport in your new name (will only be valid from date of
marriage)
- Arrange your travel vaccinations and/or visa
- Start looking for wedding suppliers – visit, ask questions, get quotes.
See wedding guides for more advice
- Make a provisional booking for time off work for your honeymoon
- Check out accommodation nearby for guests
> five months before
- Start to compile a wedding gift
list
- Book honeymoon (and travel insurance)
- Confirm holiday leave with work
- Start looking for wedding accessories – shoes, veil, tiara, jewellery
etc
- Book first night accommodation
- Finalise guest list
- Order wedding cake
- Order stationery/make your own
> four months before
- Finalise gift list
- Buy bridal lingerie- wear for all dress fittings
- Start thinking about favours, table decorations,
table names and place cards
- Start comparing prices for drink (if buying your own)
> three months before
- Arrange suit fittings for the groomsmen
- Attend initial dress fitting (if not had already)
- Choose and buy wedding rings
- Send out invitations to all your guests
- Arrange for banns to be read in church (if church wedding)
- Agree and finalise all the wedding flowers required for your wedding
day
- Start thinking about what
vows and readings to have
- Start thinking about ceremony music
- Start looking at
first dance ideas
- Create song list requests (including songs not to play!)
- Order favours and table decorations if not making your own
- Buy wedding shoes
- Buy wedding veil and tiara (or other hair accessories)
- Collect ‘authority to marry’ from local register office and give to
the superintendant registrar of the district where you will be getting married
> two months before
- Buy thank you gifts for attendants
- Decide what vows
and readings to have and confirm with minister/registrar
- Suit fittings
- Decide what music to have for the wedding ceremony
- Attend church to hear banns (if church wedding)
- Confirm ceremony details with minister/registrar (including order
of service)
- Arrange for order of service to be printed (if church wedding)
- Have a haircut if required (bride)
- Have trial run with
hairdresser and/or
make-up artist
- Buy guest book
- Arrange pet/house sitting for wedding day and honeymoon (if applicable)
> one month before
- Start writing your
wedding speech (if you haven’t already done so)
- Arrange final wedding dress fittings
- Practise make-up ideas (if doing your own)
- Arrange final fittings for bridesmaids, page boy and flower girl
- Choose your wedding day perfume
- Confirm all bookings with your wedding suppliers
- Confirm honeymoon booking, timings etc
- Confirm timings with the venue – including deliveries and wedding
day schedule
- Buy clothes for honeymoon (and going away outfit – should you wish)
- Have your stag do
- Have your hen do
- Collect banns certificate and give to minister
- Decide who to have as your two witnesses
- Arrange date for wedding rehearsal (if church wedding)
- Contact any guests who have not yet responded to the invitations
- Buy drinks (if buying your own)
- Agree and confirm any reception formalities and timings – to include
receiving line, speeches and cake cutting
> two weeks before
- Finalise seating
plan and provide venue and caterers with a copy
- Create place cards and table plan (if making your own)
- Make favours and any other table decorations (if making your own)
- Provide caterers with final numbers including details of special dietary
requirements
- Provide the photographer with a list of essential shots
- Collect wedding rings (if not already done)
- Arrange to make any outstanding payments required in advance
- Start to wear your wedding shoes around the house
- Start packing for your honeymoon
> one week before
- Get a haircut (groom)
- Final check for all outfits – everyone to try on complete outfit to
make sure everything is ok
- Put together a schedule of wedding day timings and distribute to the
wedding party. Give a copy of contact details for the wedding suppliers to the best
man.
- Collect foreign currency
- Buy any last minute items for honeymoon
- Wedding rehearsal (if church wedding)
- Write thank you cards for your helpers and wrap any thank you gifts
- Ensure all wedding
speeches have been written
- Finalise arrangements with hairdresser/make-up artist re timings
> the day before
- Drop off decorations, table plan, place cards, favours and guest book
(and two pens) at the venue
- Drop off orders of service with the ushers (if church wedding)
- Collect any hired outfits
- Take out cash for any cash payments to be made on the day
- Give rings and monies for fees and suppliers to the best man
- Ensure your overnight bag is packed and delivered to your hotel
- Ensure your honeymoon luggage is packed and left ready to be collected
or taken with you in the car. Don’t forget to pack the tickets, passports and currency!
- Lay out your wedding outfit, accessories, make-up and perfume so everything
is ready for the morning (or pack everything up if you’re getting ready elsewhere)
- Ensure you have an emergency kit packed for your wedding day – to
include plasters, mints, safety pins, pain-killers, make-up, mini hairspray and
deodorant.
- Speak to your attendants – check everyone knows what they need to
do and when
- Get pampered – have a manicure, pedicure and beauty treatment (but
not a facial!). A massage is a great way for both the bride and groom to relax.
- Make time to relax – have a nice bath, chill out and get to bed early
- Don’t forget to set your alarm – although you’ll probably wake up
early anyway
> your wedding day
- Eat breakfast!
- Check that the wedding bouquet, buttonholes and corsages have arrived
- Check best man has rings, money for suppliers and fees, copies of
speeches, vows, readings and any messages
> after the wedding day
- Return hired clothing
- Collect decorations, gifts, cake and flowers from the venue (unless
you have to do that on the day)
- Preserve wedding bouquet
- Send wedding cake to anyone who couldn’t make the wedding
- Write thank
you letters
- Change
your name (bride)
- Clean
your wedding dress
- Order your wedding photos
- Enjoy married life!
Download the nofreetime wedding checklist to start planning your wedding
now.
nofreetime tips
- Assign your tasks to specific dates so you can see at a glance what
you have to do and when.
- When you get closer to the day –create a calendar and list the actions
required on each day. This is a great tip to ensure you maximise your weekends.
