The wedding planning checklist, month by month

12 months or more

• Agree a budget and who is contributing to it
• Draft a guest number — it drives every other decision
• Book the venue and give notice at the register office
• Book the photographer
• Book transport, especially anything there's only one of
• Take out wedding insurance

9 months

• Dress shopping — allow 6–8 months for making and alterations
• Book the band or DJ, and the florist
• Send save-the-dates
• Book accommodation blocks near the venue

6 months

• Menu tasting and final catering choices
• Order suits and bridesmaid dresses
• Book hair and make-up trials
• Plan the honeymoon and check passport expiry dates

3 months

• Send invitations with an RSVP date four weeks before the wedding
• Confirm the ceremony readings, music and order of service
• Buy rings
• Confirm timings with the venue, photographer and transport

1 month

• Final numbers and dietary requirements to the caterer
• Table plan and place cards
• Final dress fitting
• Pay supplier balances
• Share a one-page running order with every supplier — this single document prevents most wedding-day confusion

The week of

• Confirm pick-up addresses and times with your driver
• Pack an emergency kit: plasters, safety pins, tissues, painkillers, a phone charger, a snack
• Delegate: who has the rings, who pays the vicar, who returns the suits
• Check the forecast and make a wet-weather plan for photographs

The couples who enjoy their wedding aren't the ones with the biggest budget. They're the ones who handed jobs to other people by the Wednesday.

The morning itself

Eat breakfast, drink water, and put your phone in someone else's pocket after the last supplier confirms. Everything you booked twelve months ago now happens without you.