The Best Wedding Planning Timeline

Yayyyy! Look who just got proposed to! You, baby, you! Okay, okay, okay, I am gonna try to calm down but really, I’m so excited for you, honey, because one of the biggest days of your life is coming!

How did I know that? Of course, I know! Why else would you be looking for how best to plan that wedding you have been dreaming of? Yes, I know how you feel right now. This is every woman’s dream. Gosh, it was my dream too and I got it. And really, I am happy you are so happy. And I wish I could fill this entire article with ‘awwn.’

Okay, I am finally calm now and I must tell you this: it is time to plan. Let’s push back the excitement just a bit and turn on your logical side because it is time to make sure that everything goes right with the wedding that will finally make you a wife!

The foremost thing to do to make sure that you have that wedding you desire is that you have the best wedding planning timeline. Yes, a proper wedding planning timeline is the first thing you should consider because you don’t want to rush too many things in very little time and then make so many mistakes. I see so many women make the error of making a poor wedding planning timeline and that’s a big mistake.

There are so many details to consider when planning a wedding. So many! And we are only humans— we can only do so much at a time. A distant relative happened to make this error— she was planning her wedding when it was just two months away! — and man, even with a professional wedding planner, she saw hell.

It was so rough for her that she had to even enlist my help because of course, I am so good at planning weddings that I should add it to my CV already. The stress and worry were too much for us that my distant relative regretted that she didn’t allocate enough time to planning the wedding.

To tell you how worse it was, she broke down thrice in the span of two months and did not really enjoy her wedding thanks to the stress and disappointments that occurred because of hurried preparations and the short notice given to vendors for the wedding.

This wedding happened two months ago and since I got a first-hand experience of the horrible things a poor wedding planning timeline could cause, I wrote this article to prevent that from happening to you. Trust me, you don’t want stress, frantic planning, and numerous disappointments coming your way just because you didn’t plan properly for your big day.

 

What Is The Proper Timeline To Plan A Wedding?

To avoid the consequences that come with poor planning, there is a standard for a proper wedding planning timeline that you can follow. The right timeline to plan a wedding is eighteen months before the wedding if the wedding is quite elaborate—that is including a pre-wedding dinner, wedding breakfast, dinner party, and all.

If the wedding is not that elaborate, then twelve months before the wedding is quite okay to plan to finish everything you want for the wedding and at the same time avoid unnecessary stress and pressure.

 

Is It Possible To Plan A Wedding In 4 Months?

Hmm, this question is a bit tricky. Yes, it is possible to plan a wedding in four months but I must tell you that many odds will be against you. If you want to pull it off, you have to focus on planning the most important facets of the wedding like budgeting, wedding guest list, and reception venue, and eliminate the extras that would only cause undue stress.

 

How Do I Create A Wedding Timeline?

A lot of factors affect how you should create a wedding timeline. The two foremost factors are your wedding date and budget. Your wedding date would give you how much time to plan your wedding while your budget would determine how many details you are to include on your wedding day. Once those are resolved, you then give a suitable timeline for each detail. That’s how to create a wedding timeline.

 

The Perfect Wedding Planning Timeline

I know that without a clear roadmap to follow, the chances that that big day of yours would turn into an arduous day are super high and that is why I am here to give you a proper wedding timeline that includes almost every detail that you would want on that big day of yours.

I will be breaking down the entire process into small, manageable phases helping you stay organized, reduce stress, and ensure every moment of your big day is as perfect as you’ve wanted. It will be as if I am planning with you for that beautiful day of yours. So if you are newly engaged or you are already well into your wedding preparations and need some help, then let’s embark on exploring the perfect wedding planning timeline together!

 

Phase 1: Setting The Foundation

After the engagement, you go through this phase before doing anything else. It is in this phase that you set a wedding date so that you will know for how long you will create a wedding planning timeline and when to start planning.

To do this, factors like the season and availability of your preferred venue and vendors should be considered. It is also in this phase that you determine your budget so you won’t run into a financial mess later.

You can also envision the theme of your wedding — for instance, do you want it to be an outdoor celebration or an elegant ballroom affair? This is the best time to decide that.

 

Phase 2: 12-18 Months Before The Wedding

Now this is when the action actually starts! A quick piece of advice: get a simple wedding planning checklist that you would keep close— you would certainly need it again and again along the ride. If you don’t know how to make one, go on Pinterest and you will find a suitable free wedding planning checklist on there that would inspire you.

This phase begins eighteen months before the wedding because then, the chances of you securing your favorite vendors and venue would be very high.

Vendors like photographers, videographers, caterers, makeup artists, and entertainers are frequently booked especially when they are popular and any chance of having them at your wedding would be only there because you booked them early. Now you see why you have to begin early?

Also, it is in this phase you pick people who are going to be in your bridal party so you can inform them long beforehand. And because creating a guestlist can be challenging, I recommend you start preparing them now and then make changes along the line if you want to.

 

Phase 3: 9-12 Months Before The Wedding

Okay, now that you have started the ball rolling in the last three months and have covered some of the essentials, it is now time for you to start picking the wedding dress!

Yes, the dress! Because I know how incredibly indecisive we ladies are, especially when it comes to choosing the dress that we will wear on our big day, that is why I recommend this task should be done months before the wedding. While doing this, you can also start planning the design for your wedding invitations and save-the-date cards.

Planning for your honeymoon like researching destinations, booking flights, and accommodation at this time wouldn’t be a bad idea to avoid last-minute planning and the disappointment associated with it. And if you are looking for help with that, I am sure 10 Best Vacation Spots For Couples In North America would be a great starting point.

 

Phase 4: 6-9 Months Before The Wedding

Yayyyyyyy, we are getting somewhere. At this point of planning, I guess you would be thanking your luck that you had a proper wedding timeline to guide you because man, you can now see the kind of bloody mess that you had avoided.

So this phase is for more intricate details like wedding decor. Now that you have your theme planned out already, it is time to refine it and plan the decorative elements.

These decorative elements include flowers, table setting, lighting, and other decorations that align with the theme that you have in mind. While at it, you should plan for logistics because ticking that on the wedding planning checklist early on leads to less disappointment. So if you are going for a Benz, limousine, or even a yacht, it is best to have that covered now.

 

Phase 5: 3-6 Months Before The Wedding

Yayyy! We are getting closer to the big day! And oh man, I know how things could be getting a bit heated especially now that almost everyone knows and they are wishing you congratulations and asking you where they can help. The whole drama could cause you to feel overwhelmed and get pre-wedding jitters. Nothing new.

Whether you start preparations early or not, every lady goes through this nervousness before their wedding day. To handle it, you have got to take care of yourself so you will be in form physically, emotionally, and mentally on your big day.

Indulge in self-care routines like relaxation time and spa days to help you feel refreshed, calm and focused. And while you are taking care of yourself, you should also make sure no vendor is knocking the sail out of your wind by giving you a last-minute cancellation, therefore causing you the stress you were running from in the first place.

This happened to my distant relative and honestly, it sucked big time. So you’ve got to confirm your orders with vendors, ensuring they still got you. And you can finalize key details like music selection and catering menu.

Little things like that not done well could ruin the big day, you know. So it is best to get it sorted out now and not days before the wedding. This is also the time to check what you need to do to obtain a marriage license in your area and then complete the necessary legal paperwork.

 

Phase 6: 1-3 Months Before The Wedding

As the wedding rapidly approaches, it is time to go back to your list and make sure you are not missing out on anything. Confirm again your orders with your vendors— Sweetie, I know why I am saying this again and again! Humans can be unpredictable at times and you don’t want them messing things up.

The constant reminders will keep them on their toes and if there is any adjustment you want to make to the orders, this is the time to do so. This is also the time to plan for your wedding rehearsals. Remember that at this point, it is going to get a bit fuzzy so it is important you continue to remain focused and organized.

 

Phase 7: 2 Weeks To The Wedding

Is that the wedding bells I hear? Oh my, the big day is almost here! This is the time to finalize details like wedding arrangements and — you already know I am going to say it— confirm orders with vendors!

It is also time to host your rehearsal dinner which allows your close family and bridal party to be familiar with their roles so they would be at ease on the big day. And if you also want to host a welcome party for your guests who traveled down from far away places, this is the time to do it. Don’t forget to indulge in self-care routines as well because at this time pre-wedding jitters will flutter more intensely.

 

Phase 8: The Final Countdown!

And this is the week of one of the biggest days of your life! And if you are expecting me to mention a lot of tasks in this last phase, I am not sorry to disappoint you at all. That kind of stress will only be for those who did not have a proper wedding planning timeline.

All these months, you have been doing a lot of planning and so this is the week that you should really, really relax. Spend most of this time with the love of yourself — it will remind you why you are doing all of these in the first place.

The only tasks you will be doing are to confirm orders again with vendors— did you just laugh and say ‘Of course, I would mention that?— and have backup plans just in case any unforeseen event happens, despite careful planning.

 

Final Thoughts On Wedding Planning Timeline

So you see, planning your dream wedding doesn’t have to be overwhelming to the point you feel like dropping everything and running away. If you have the proper wedding planning timeline, you can remain calm and reduce stress and undue pressure on yourself while minimizing disappointments.

You don’t want worry lines marring your beautiful forehead on that big day, do you? And hey, you don’t need to follow this wedding planning timeline to the letter. We all have different tastes so feel free to customize it to yours. I am so sure you are going to have the wedding you have always wanted. I can feel it. Don’t just thank me…please, give me beautiful wedding pictures for my eyes to feast on. See my goofy eyes?

Happy wedding planning, sweetie, and best wishes on your big day!

Xoxo, Loverstoolbox

 

Please save this for later!