Wedding planning is mostly about sequencing. Doing the right thing at the right time keeps the budget honest, the vendors available, and the day itself manageable. This checklist is the full sequence — from engagement through the week after the wedding — broken into phases so you can pick up wherever you actually are.
You don't need to do every item on this list. Skip the ones that don't apply. Focus on the ones that do. The point is having the full map, not following it perfectly.
12+ months out
- Set your overall budget — the real number, not the aspirational one. What would you genuinely be comfortable spending if a practical friend asked you directly?
- Build in a 10% contingency buffer before you allocate anything. Hidden costs, last-minute additions, and price increases are the norm, not the exception.
- Have the guest list conversation with both families early. Agree on a ceiling before anyone starts adding names — it's much harder to cut the list once expectations are set.
- Draft your guest list in two tiers. Tier 1 is everyone you'd be genuinely upset to leave out. Tier 2 is everyone you'd invite if the venue allows. Know both numbers before you start venue shopping.
- Agree on wedding priorities as a couple before you spend anything. Photography matters more than florals to some couples. Venue matters more than food to others. Get aligned before vendors start pitching you.
- Research venues and visit your top choices. Ask about what's included, what's not, preferred vendor lists, and whether you're required to use their caterer.
- Book your venue — this is the single most time-sensitive decision. Peak season Saturdays in most markets are gone 12–18 months out. Everything else follows the venue date.
- Set your wedding date once the venue is confirmed.
- Start researching photographers immediately after booking your venue. The best photographers in most markets are already booked 12+ months ahead. Don't leave this one for later.
- Decide whether you want a full wedding planner, a month-of coordinator, or a day-of coordinator. These are meaningfully different services at meaningfully different price points.
- Book your planner or coordinator if using one — good ones fill up as fast as photographers.
- Create your Eydn account and generate your personalized task timeline. It builds out the next 12 months based on your actual wedding date so you're not starting from a blank page.
9–12 months out
- Book your caterer if not included with your venue. Ask for an itemized breakdown, not just a per-head package price. Delivery fees, setup charges, cake cutting fees, and overtime rates can add 15–20% to a quote that looked reasonable on the surface.
- Book your band or DJ. Live bands book out faster than DJs in most markets. If you have a specific performer or band in mind, this is not one to delay.
- Begin dress or attire shopping. Production and alteration lead times are typically 4–6 months minimum, sometimes longer for custom or designer pieces. Starting now gives you options. Starting at month 4 doesn't.
- Create your wedding website. Get the URL locked in before you send save-the-dates — changing it later creates confusion.
- Send save-the-dates. Give guests as much runway as possible, especially if you have a lot of out-of-town attendees or if your date falls on a long weekend.
- Book room blocks at nearby hotels for out-of-town guests. Negotiate a group rate, confirm the release date, and include the details on your wedding website.
- Book your officiant. Licensed officiants with strong reputations fill up — this one surprises a lot of couples.
- Start building your florist shortlist. Floral styles vary enormously between designers. Look at full wedding galleries, not just portfolio highlights.
- Start centralizing all vendor information in one place — contact details, booking confirmation dates, payment schedules, and contract terms.
6–9 months out
- Book your florist. Bring a rough budget, your venue details, and a few reference photos. Ask explicitly what's achievable within your number before you fall in love with anything.
- Book hair and makeup artists. If you want a trial run — which is worth doing — factor that into the timeline and cost.
- Book any additional vendors — photo booth, transportation, lighting, draping, or anything else specific to your venue or vision.
- Finalize your guest list. The number needs to be real and it needs to stop growing. Set the ceiling, communicate it to both families, and hold it. Every addition has a ripple effect on catering, invitations, seating, and favors.
- Send formal invitations. Eight to ten weeks before the wedding is standard for local guests. Add another two to four weeks for destination weddings or guests traveling internationally.
- Build your gift registry. Think across price points so guests at every budget have options. Include a mix of physical items and cash funds. Don't leave the registry until the last minute — guests start buying gifts as soon as save-the-dates arrive.
- Book your honeymoon. Flight and accommodation prices go up the longer you wait, and availability in popular destinations closes out months in advance.
- Research and book your wedding cake or desserts. Schedule a tasting — most bakers offer them and they're worth doing.
- Schedule your first dress fitting. Alterations typically take 2–3 appointments over 6–8 weeks. Build that time in.
- Plan your rehearsal dinner — decide on the format, guest list, venue, and catering. It doesn't have to be elaborate, but it does need to be booked.
- Decide on and order wedding party attire. Give your wedding party enough lead time that alterations aren't a last-minute panic.
4–6 months out
- Do a full vendor audit. Confirm every booking in writing, make sure you have a signed contract for each vendor, and check that your dates and key details are correct on all of them.
- Collect all vendor contracts and store them in one place. You'll reference these more than you expect — payment schedules, cancellation policies, and what's included all become relevant.
- Map out every vendor payment due date on a single calendar. Deposits stacking up in the same month is one of the most common budget surprises couples face. Knowing it's coming is most of the solution.
- Start building your day-of timeline in earnest. Draft the full sequence — getting-ready times, first look if you're having one, ceremony start, cocktail hour, dinner service, first dance, cake cutting, last dance, send-off. Share it with your photographer and coordinator for feedback on whether the timing is realistic.
- Plan your ceremony in detail. Confirm the order of events, who's doing readings, what music plays at each moment, and exactly what you want your vows to say.
- Order wedding favors if you're using them. Production lead times vary significantly — don't assume you can order these at month 1.
- Purchase and book any remaining vendors you've been putting off.
- Finalize honeymoon bookings. Check passport expiry dates if you're traveling internationally — most countries require at least six months of validity beyond your travel dates.
- Book your wedding night accommodation if you haven't already.
- Start writing personal vows if you're exchanging them. Don't leave this one until the week before.
- Order wedding rings. Allow time for sizing and any engraving.
- Arrange wedding day transportation — for you, your wedding party, and any guests who need it.
2–4 months out
- Chase any outstanding RSVPs firmly. Most RSVP deadlines get ignored. Follow up by phone or text — email alone rarely works.
- Finalize your guest headcount and send it to your caterer and venue. Confirm their exact deadline and build a few days of buffer into your own.
- Begin your seating chart. Don't wait until you have every single RSVP — work with what you have and adjust. Starting from scratch at week two is brutal.
- Schedule your final dress fitting. This is typically the last chance for significant alterations.
- Purchase gifts for your wedding party. Personalizing them takes time if you're going that route.
- Purchase gifts for parents or anyone you want to recognize on the day.
- Confirm all rehearsal dinner details — headcount, venue, catering, timeline, and who's speaking.
- Write your ceremony program. Keep it simple — guests want to know the order of events, the names of the wedding party, and anything they need to do or say.
- Get your marriage license. Requirements vary by county — some have waiting periods, some require both partners to appear in person, and some have expiry dates. Look this up early and don't leave it to the week before.
- Arrange name change documents if applicable. The Social Security Administration, passport office, and DMV all have different processes and timelines.
- Confirm honeymoon logistics — flights, accommodation, travel insurance, and any bookings that require reconfirmation.
4–8 weeks out
- Finalize your seating chart. Do it, then stop adjusting it. Last-minute changes create errors.
- Print or order ceremony programs. Add a few days for shipping and proofing.
- Confirm arrival times, locations, and logistics with every vendor in writing. A brief email to each one — "confirming you'll arrive at X location at X time on X date" — eliminates a significant proportion of day-of surprises.
- Send your day-of timeline to all vendors. Ask them to confirm receipt and flag anything that doesn't work on their end.
- Break in your wedding shoes. Wear them around the house for a few evenings before the wedding. Blisters on your wedding day are entirely preventable.
- Confirm rehearsal dinner guest list, timing, and any logistics that involve coordination.
- Prepare vendor payment envelopes. Label each one with the vendor name, amount, and method. Hand them to whoever is distributing them well before the wedding week.
- Arrange for someone specific to handle rental returns after the wedding. This is the kind of task that falls through the cracks if no one owns it.
- Start your thank you card address list now while you still have energy for it. Source addresses from your RSVP responses.
- Confirm honeymoon check-in details. Print or save confirmation numbers, travel documents, and hotel addresses offline in case you don't have signal.
- Schedule any final beauty prep — haircut, facial, or anything else with a lead time — for the week before.
1–2 weeks out
- Send the final day-of timeline to your wedding party, immediate family, and anyone with a day-of role. Make sure each person knows their specific responsibilities — don't assume they'll figure it out.
- Do a final headcount confirmation with your caterer if they require one.
- Walk through the venue with your coordinator or a trusted person who knows the plan. Check that everything is where it should be and that the layout makes sense.
- Delegate every remaining day-of task to a specific named person. "Someone will handle it" always means no one handles it.
- Pack your wedding day emergency kit: fashion tape, stain remover pen, clear nail polish, painkillers, antacids, safety pins, a phone charger, a snack, and anything specific to your attire or venue.
- Confirm transportation pick-up times and locations with everyone involved.
- Give vendor payment envelopes to whoever is distributing them. Brief them clearly on who gets what and when.
- Steam or press your wedding attire. Don't leave this for the morning of.
- Confirm hotel check-in details for your wedding night. Some hotels will hold bags or arrange a room earlier if you ask.
- Stop adding to the to-do list. If it isn't done by now, decide whether it actually matters and either do it or let it go.
Wedding week
- Attend your rehearsal. Walk through the full ceremony — entrance, positioning, order of events, exit. Whoever is officiating should lead this.
- Attend the rehearsal dinner. This is the last chance to spend relaxed time with your closest people before everything gets busy. Be present for it.
- Confirm all vendors have the day-of timeline. A brief check-in message to each one the day before is worth doing.
- Get a full night's sleep the night before. This is the most underrated item on the entire list.
- Eat a real meal before you start getting ready. Long getting-ready sessions with no food are a reliable way to make the morning harder than it needs to be.
- Hand off your phone and every remaining task to your point person. Your only job now is to show up.
- Give yourself permission to stop planning. The decisions are made. More decisions won't make it better.
Wedding day
- Enjoy getting ready — this is part of the day, not the warm-up. The photos from this part are often the ones couples love most.
- Eat and drink water before the ceremony. It sounds obvious. Most couples forget.
- Confirm vendor payments are with the right person before things get busy.
- Let your point person handle any logistics that come up. If something goes wrong — and something small always does — you don't need to know about it in the moment.
- Take a moment alone with your partner before the ceremony if you can. Even five minutes. You'll be glad you did.
- Be present. The planning is done. This is the day itself.
After the wedding
- Send thank you notes. Start within two weeks while the details are fresh and the gratitude is real. Handwritten is worth the effort for the people who matter most.
- Return any rental items. Designate who's responsible for this before the wedding — it's easy to forget in the aftermath.
- Preserve your wedding dress if you want to keep it long-term. Most dry cleaners offer preservation services — the sooner after the wedding the better.
- Download and back up all photos as they arrive from vendors and guests. Don't leave them sitting in a cloud folder indefinitely without a local backup.
- Update your legal documents if you're changing your name. Social Security Administration first, then passport, then DMV, then bank accounts and insurance. The order matters because each subsequent update typically requires the previous one.
- Submit reviews for your vendors. It takes 10 minutes per vendor and genuinely helps other couples make better decisions. The good vendors deserve the recognition and the bad ones deserve the honest feedback.
- Cancel any free trials or vendor subscriptions you opened during planning.
- Share the Eydn budget calculator with any friends who just got engaged. It's free and it's the fastest way to start with a real plan.
Things to track throughout planning
- Budget vs. actual spend by category — check it monthly, not just when something feels expensive.
- Vendor contact details, contract dates, payment amounts, and due dates.
- Guest RSVPs, dietary requirements, and plus-one confirmations.
- Seating chart drafts and changes.
- Outstanding decisions, who owns each one, and the deadline for making it.
- Day-of timeline versions — keep one master copy and date every revision.
The couples who find planning manageable are almost always the ones who kept everything in one place — one system, updated consistently, accessible to both partners.
Eydn keeps all of this in one place. Your personalized task timeline, budget tracker, vendor contacts, guest list, seating chart, and AI planner — all built around your wedding, updated in real time. Start free at eydn.app.
