A step-by-step guide to help keep the stars in your eyes,
your feet on the ground, and your wedding plans on track.
Congratulations! You're in love, you've said 'yes' and
soon you will be married. Between the romance and the ritual,
however, you must survive a potentially life-changing challenge:
planning your wedding.
Women who tackle wedding planning pragmatically, as if it were
a work-related project, tend to survive the process with greater
ease.
Think of yourself as a project manager. Establish an overall framework
for completing the work, and set specific intermediate deadlines,
schedules and goals. Taken one small step at a time, the detail-laden
job becomes less overwhelming.
Here is our suggested timetable for the steps you should take
in the months, weeks and days leading up to your wedding.
Nine months before your wedding
Choose your wedding date. If you plan
to be married in a church or temple, clear the date and
time with your clergy.
Announce your engagement in local
newspapers.
Set your budget. Take time for a heart-to-heart
talk with your fiancé about the budget and style
of your wedding, reception and wedding-related parties,
and who pays for what.
Enlist help. Consider hiring a bridal
consultant. If your budget won't stretch that far, don't
despair. Enlist relatives and close friends to assist you
in specific tasks - selecting a dress, interviewing caterers
- especially in areas where you feel you need support.
Compose your guest list. Let out-of-town
guests know your wedding is in the works so they can make
travel plans.
Reserve your reception site.
Choose your wedding attendants.
Select your wedding gown, shoes and
accessories.
Decide on bridesmaids' dresses.
Determine the theme or mood you'd
like to establish with the food, table settings, flowers
and entertainment at your reception.
Interview suppliers such as caterers,
musicians, florists, photographers, videographers and cake
makers. Get written estimates of their costs. Keep track
of your discussions and their bids in a notebook or with
wedding-planning software.
Register for gifts at one or more
bridal-gift registries.
Help both mothers to coordinate and
shop for their wedding-day attire.
Select music for your ceremony and
reception.
Choose readings for your wedding and
write your wedding vows.
Plan a rehearsal dinner for members
of your wedding party, your family and out-of-town guests.
Reserve the location.
Arrange hotel accommodations for members
of the wedding party who live out of town.
Reserve a block of rooms for other
out-of-town guests, and let them know the rooms are available.
Remember to ask for any group discounts or special packages.
Reserve your wedding-day transportation and
any other wedding-day rental needs.
Make appointments for gown fittings.
Check the requirements for a marriage
license.
Make sure contracts and arrangements are
complete with all of your service providers.
Carefully prepare directions, including simply
drawn maps, if necessary, to help guide guests to the
wedding and reception, and to hotels. For guests who
will travel a long distance to your wedding, consider
assembling an information package on fun things to do
and see in your area.
Begin addressing invitationsand
announcements. Select a special stamp at the post
office. Invitations should go in the mail six to eight
weeks before your big day.
Give the caterer or other food suppliers
a close idea of the number of guests you expect.
Make sure all reservations are in place for
honeymoon travel.
Check with bridesmaids to make sure
they have their gowns and are getting them fit.
Shop for gifts for your bridesmaids. Offer
to help your fiancé select gifts for his attendants.
Select your "going away" outfit and
special items for your trousseau.
Make a date with your photographer for
any formal portraits you desire.
Make an appointment to have your
hair done just before your portrait session and again
the day or so before your wedding. Consider including your
bridesmaids in a "day of beauty" before your wedding, with
manicures, hair styling, massages and makeup sessions.
Mail out your wedding invitations and announcements.
Have wedding portraits taken.
Send bridal portrait and wedding announcement to
newspapers.
Finalize the music selections that
will be played during your wedding ceremony.
Meet with musicians who will provide
entertainment during your reception and orchestrate precisely
what you want and when you want it played. Don't be shy
to voice your preferences, down to the volume, favorite
songs you'd like to hear, or even songs you don't want
played.
Plan your rehearsal dinner and a brunch
or fun activity for out-of-town guests to enjoy on the
day following your wedding.
Purchase special accessories for your
wedding-day attire.
Plan a luncheon for your bridesmaids.
Make appointments for a hairdresser,
makeup artist and manicurist.
Finalize honeymoon plans. If
you're traveling overseas, check again that your passports
are current and that you have any necessary visas.
Gather necessary birth or baptismal
certificates you may need for your wedding license.
Have a final fitting of your gown
and make sure your attendants have theirs.
Check that your menu selections and service
plans are locked in place with your caterer.
Purchase a special book to keep track
of wedding gifts as they arrive.
Keep writing those thank-you notes on
a daily basis!
If you plan a formal dinner for your reception,
it's time to draw up a seating plan and make up place
cards.
Check with your florist to confirm
dates and times of flower deliveries.
Review your wedding-day transportation
plans and make sure drivers are clear about addresses,
times and number of passengers.
Make name or address changes official on
documents, including driver's license, Social Security forms
and financial accounts. Fill out change-
of-address forms at the post office.
Meet with your photographer to
specify the formal shots you want taken of the bridal party,
as well as specific, candid shots you'd like taken during
the reception.
Make final checks with all your vendors: officiant,
musicians, florist, photographer, videographer, limousine
or other transportation provider, caterers and baker.
Ask a friend or family member to arrange
for wedding gifts that may be brought to your reception
to be delivered to your home or another safe spot.
Wrap gifts for bridal attendants and
have them ready for the rehearsal dinner.
Purchase travelers' checks and reconfirm
honeymoon travel and hotel plans.
See that checks are written and ready
to be handed out to vendors at the agreed-upon time.
Inform your caterer of the final number
of guests. Confirm that out-of-town guests are set
with hotel accommodations, transportation and wedding-day
directions.
