Most wedding checklists are exhausting before you've done anything — two hundred items, half of which don't apply to you. Planning a wedding really comes down to a handful of decisions made in roughly the right order, with the small stuff slotting in around them. Here's the calm version: what to do when, grouped by how far out you are.
12+ months out: the big rocks
Get these settled and everything else has something to hang off:
- Set a rough budget and who's contributing. Every later decision flows from this number.
- Draft a guest count. Not names yet — just roughly how many. Venues are priced by headcount, so this shapes everything.
- Book the venue and a date. The date is usually set by venue availability, so these happen together.
- Book the photographer if you want a specific one — the good ones go early.
9 months out: the suppliers
- Book catering, music (band or DJ), and any other key suppliers.
- Start the outfits — wedding dresses and suits often have long lead times.
- Decide on your wedding party and ask them.
6 months out: the shape of the day
- Send save-the-dates so guests can plan travel.
- Sort accommodation blocks if guests are travelling.
- Plan the ceremony details and any cultural or religious requirements.
- Book the smaller suppliers — flowers, cake, transport.
3 months out: invitations and numbers
- Send the invitations and start collecting RSVPs. Doing this digitally saves a lot of chasing — you can send the invite and track replies in one place, meal choices and all.
- Finalise the menu once you have dietary info from RSVPs.
- Buy or finalise rings.
- Draft the seating plan as RSVPs come in.
1 month out: lock it down
- Chase the last RSVPs and finalise the headcount for the caterer.
- Confirm timings with every supplier — build one running order and share it.
- Finalise the seating chart.
- Sort the small day-of things: vows, speeches, readings, who's holding the rings.
1–2 weeks out: the photo gallery and final checks
This is the moment for the easy win most couples leave to chance — set up the way you'll collect everyone's photos.
- Create your photo gallery and print the QR code for the tables and the welcome sign. It takes about two minutes, and it's the difference between getting every guest's view of the day and getting none of it.
- Do a final supplier confirmation call.
- Pack an emergency kit (safety pins, plasters, a phone charger).
- Delegate day-of jobs so you're not the one fielding questions in your dress.
The day, and after
- On the day: hand off the running order, point guests at the gallery QR code, and then — genuinely — stop managing and be present.
- The week after: leave the gallery open to catch late uploads, download everything to keep, and send your thank-yous (pulling a few favourite shots from the gallery is an easy touch).
The honest shortlist
If a full timeline feels like too much, the decisions that actually matter are: budget, guest count, venue/date, the suppliers you care about, invitations, and a way to collect the photos. Get those right and the rest is detail. Planning a wedding is mostly a few big calls made calmly, in order — not a heroic feat of spreadsheet management.
For the tech and tools side specifically, there's a separate short checklist.
