Your Wedding Checklist

Upon engagement

• Announce your engagement to family & close friends
• Set the wedding date!
• Decide (with fiancé) on wedding style
• Determine your wedding budget
• Choose attendants
• Begin making a guest list
• Register for wedding gifts

9 months to 1 year before

• Reserve ceremony and reception sites
• Plan an engagement party!
• Book lodging for out of town guests
• Consider dance lessons
• Experiment with hairstyles
• Select and order wedding bands
• Order a memory album and begin writing down your memories and saving mementos
• Send save-the-date cards to everyone on your guest list
• Meet with your officiant
Meet with and reserve:
• Caterer
• Wedding cake baker
• Florist
• Ceremony musicians
• Reception band or DJ
• Photographer/videographer
Shop for and order:
• Wedding gown
• Headpiece and veil
• Undergarments
• Jewelry
• Shoes

6 months before

• Have your engagement photos taken
• Submit engagement photo and announcement to your local newspaper
• Decide on a honeymoon location and make all necessary reservations
Shop for and order bridesmaids' attire:
• Dresses
• Shoes
• Accessories
• Jewelry
• Discuss wedding color scheme with mothers so they can coordinate their attire
• Purchase bridal shower invitations
• Attend parties and showers given in your honor
• Purchase a supply of thank you notes and keep up with writing them

• Make appointments for wedding-day hairstyles and beauty treatments

4 months before

• Update your wedding registry
• Arrange for and attend gown fittings
• Finalize the guest list
Select and order wedding stationery:
• Invitations
• Announcements
• Envelopes and seals
• Respond cards
• Reception cards
• Informal cards
• Thank you notes
Select and order ceremony necessities:
• Unity candle
• Aisle runner
• Pew bows
• Ring bearer pillow
• Flower girl basket
• Garter
• Guest book and pen
• Memorials
Select and order reception necessities:
• Place cards
• Napkins
• Matchbooks or notepads
• Favors
• Toasting glasses
• Serving pieces
• Cake topper
• Decorations
• Centerpieces

3 months before

• Begin addressing and assembling invitations
• Have an assembled invitation weighed to determine postage; purchase postage
• Book wedding-day transportation
• Plan rehearsal and rehearsal dinner
• Purchase rehearsal dinner invitations
• Order formal wear
• Finalize wedding night and honeymoon plans; confirm all reservations and paperwork needed

2 months before

Finalize arrangements with wedding vendors:
• Caterer
• Wedding cake baker
• Florist
• Ceremony musicians
• Reception band or DJ
• Photographer/videographer

• Mail invitations to arrive six weeks before the wedding date
• Keep track of respond cards received

• Finalize ceremony order with officiant
• Order wedding programs
• Purchase appreciation gifts for attendants
• Purchase wedding gift for fiancé
• Work on reception seating arrangement
• Prepare place cards
• Address and stamp wedding announcements to be mailed the day of the wedding
• Mail rehearsal dinner invitations
Take care of financial and legal details
• Joint bank account
• Insurance policies and beneficiaries
• Wills
• Prenuptial agreement (if desired)
• Gather forms for making name change
• Write your wedding vows
• Write your toasts and speeches

1 month before

• Get your marriage license
• "Rehearse" your wedding hairstyle
• Have final fittings for wedding gowns
• Remind bridesmaids to attend gown fittings
• Keep track of wedding gifts received and thank you notes written
Confirm duties with wedding helpers
• Personal attendant
• Setup crew and decorators
• Readers
• Flower pinners
• Guest book attendant
• Gift table attendant
• Host and hostess
• Punch, cake and coffee servers
• Cleanup crew

1 week before

• Confirm all services and reservations
• Confirm arrangements with sites
• Deliver final guest count to caterer and site
• Pack for your wedding night
• Pack items for the ceremony and reception sites
• Pack for your honeymoon
• Pick up wedding gown; check for fit
• Have groom pick up formal wear; check for fit
• Have attendants pick up attire and formal wear; check for fit
• Assemble a wedding-day emergency kit
• Get plenty of rest so you'll look your best!