Wedding Timeline
Happy Monday! I hope you had a fabulous weekend! Today I am super excited to share with you my proven & successful wedding timeline. Ricky & I will be married for almost 3 years (in june), we also bought a house while planning this wedding & we didn’t lose our minds. I literally, have wanted to share this with you forever & I’m finally getting around to posting it! So let’s get to it shall we?!
February 2015 - We got Engaged
March 2015 -We booked our venue & wedding date June 24th, 2016 at the Canoe Club Ballroom in West Bridgewater, MA. When we booked our venue only had 2 days left in the month of June 2016. Depending on what time of year & what type of wedding you are looking to have you’ll want to do this ASAP! If you are familiar with Massachusetts you may know that the summer is one of the most popular times for weddings & beach front weddings can be extremely expensive which was our initial idea. We got our summer date but the Canoe Club is on a river it was still the best day of our lives. Anyway, let’s get to the rest of the planning. We had about 1 year & 3 months to do the rest of the planning.
One Year Out - I started looking for my wedding dress! You may be wanting to lose some pounds before this (eye roll) but you don’t need to! Generally, they can take wedding dresses in up to 2 sizes & before you start shopping know they run about 2 sizes smaller than your regular attire.
11 Months Out - We researched & booked our photographer, videographer, & DJ! These are the next major things to book as these services also book up quickly.
10 Months Out - We got our engagement pictures taken for your save-the-dates. We had our photographer booked so we were able to bang this out!
9 Months Out - Ordered & sent out save-the-dates. We sent them out this early with out of state guests in mind. Start brainstorming bridesmaids dresses & center pieces. Met with our officiant & laid out requirements leading up to the wedding.
8 Months Out - We started to look for bridesmaids dresses & most of them were ordered!
7 Months Out - All bridesmaids dresses were ordered. We attended an open house at our venue where they had all the food you could taste to establish your wedding menu.
6 Months Out - Ordered wedding invites!
5 Months Out - Booked hair & makeup! (This is one you could start researching earlier but I knew who I was going to use)
4 Months Out - Looked for & book a florist!
3 Months Out - Sent out wedding invites! We also got the groom & groomsmen all set with their suits.
2 Months Out - Booked our wedding cake! Finalized wedding & reception decor.
1 Month Out - Book any other beauty appointments ie, nails, one last hair trim, wax, tan, massage etc. Get the parents gifts!
Month Of - Make sure everything is ticked & tied. Get all outstanding balances paid! Create a list of point people in your bridal party for vendors the day of so you don’t have to worry about anything. Create & pass seating chart to your venue. And have the best time getting married!
You will have your bridal shower & bachelorette party 3-1 month out but you don’t have to worry about this! That’s up to your family & bridesmaids to plan. Just make sure you are prepared with outfits. You will also need to get thank you cards out after your bridal shower maybe like a month after.
Post wedding you will want to send out thank you cards within a year after the wedding. You may want to preserve your dress (I still need to do this one).
I think I covered everything. If you missed something or have any questions don’t hesitate to send me a message. I hope this helps a couple of you! Everyone is different too, I don’t have all the answers, this worked for us. Our wedding venue also had a preferred vendor list which was SO helpful! Having an idea before you begin is also helpful & should really be your first step.
Happy Wedding Planning!
