Planning a wedding? Congratulations! You're in just the right place. We've got a comprehensive checklist here for you, to help you have the perfect wedding. Let's check it out!
Wedding Planning Checklist
____ Decide where to get married:
– Consider getting married at your honeymoon location – although it might be hard for many guests to attend
– A barn or outdoor wedding
– Church
– Rentable event hall
____ Ask people to fill roles for the wedding, e.g.,
– Maid of Honor:
– Bridesmaids:
– Best Man:
– Groomsmen/ushers:
– Guest book:
– Cut cake (after bride and groom cut first piece(s):
– Clean up:
– Take gifts:
____ Determine which family members should be included – to help determine how long it will take and so you can notify family members when you'd like for them to be in place for pictures
____ Decide on a schedule of events including:
– Pictures of family members
– Who will do what
– What time the event should end
____ Type up schedule of events, such as:
– Earliest to drop off kids with babysitter
– Earliest to drop off items for wedding and/or reception
– Attendees seated for ceremony
– Pictures, including who should be in pictures
– Food served (will bride and groom be served first?)
– Champagne provided
– Toast by best man
– Cake cut
– Bride and groom's first dance
– Bride and groom dance with parents
– Money dance
– Groom removes garter from bride
– Groom throws garter to bachelors
– Bride throws flower bouquet to bachelorettes
– Bride and groom depart
____ Provide copies of schedule of events to appropriate people, including:
____ Wedding coordinator
____ Photographer
____ Videographer
____ Those you would like included in family pictures
____ Buy gifts for each other
____ Collect items to take to wedding:
____ Safety pins (to fix clothing problems)
____ Tissue for bride to put in cuff
____ Ring (Don't tie rings on ring pillow too tight)
After reception:
____ Bride and groom exchange gifts
____ Bride and groom leave for their honeymoon
____ Bride and groom send out thank-you notes, ideally within two weeks of returning from their honeymoon
____ Test out any electrical gifts to ensure they work
____ Exchange unwanted wedding gifts
Other Things to Keep in Mind
Planning a wedding can be overwhelming. To help keep the stress down, check out some of these tips for planning your wedding:
Decide whether you want the wedding to have an age restriction. Many people do not want young children at their wedding, unless they're extremely close (i.e. a child or sibling). Young children can be disruptive, and may not be able to handle a long wedding and reception. A typical age requirement for a wedding is 12 years and older.
Set a budget. Weddings can be very expensive. It's important to keep a healthy budget in mind that doesn't allow for too many impulse buys. Impulsive purchases will hurt your wallet in more ways than one! Carefully think over everything you need, and set a reasonable budget for acquiring these items.
Request RSVPs from all guests. RSVPs can help you determine how much food you need to get, how much space you'll need, and how many people you need to account for in regards to planned activities. If someone hasn't RSVP'd two weeks from when you sent the invitation, reach out to them to inquire if they're coming or not.
Start planning ahead of time. Don't wait until the last minute to plan details for your wedding. You'll only end up rushing, and that won't be fun for anyone. Begin planning as much as you can as early as you can. If anything can't be planned until further down the line, prioritize other items on the checklist. Set your budget as early as possible.