12+ months out: The foundation
Within the first month of engagement
- Set a target date (within a season, not exact)
- Set a working budget
- Decide approximate guest count
- Discuss who's paying for what (you, partner, parents)
12-14 months out
- Book the venue (this anchors everything)
- Lock the exact date once venue confirmed
- Book the photographer (they fill at venue pace)
- Send save-the-dates to anyone needing travel notice
- Start a wedding spreadsheet — guest list, vendors, budget
9-12 months out: Core vendors
Booking
- Bridal makeup artist (Amanda Phillips Makeup — book at amandaphillipsmakeup.com)
- Hair stylist (or confirm if MUA partners with one)
- Florist
- Wedding planner if using one
- Officiant
- Live band or DJ
Other
- Start dress shopping (the dress can take 6-8 months to arrive after ordering)
- Discuss bridal party with prospective bridesmaids/groomsmen
- Book hotel block for out-of-town guests
6-9 months out: Settling details
Attire
- Order the wedding dress
- Book first fittings 8-10 weeks before wedding
- Order groom's suit/tuxedo
- Order bridal party attire
- Choose mothers'/fathers' attire
Logistics
- Engagement shoot scheduled with photographer (often included in package)
- Pre-book ceremony rentals (chairs, arch, etc.)
- Confirm whether marriage license needs early application
- Plan honeymoon (book flights/accommodation)
3-6 months out: The details
Invitations and stationery
- Order invitations
- Finalise guest list
- Mail invitations 6-8 weeks before the wedding
- Order signage, programs, menus
Vendor details
- Confirm flowers — bouquet style, centrepieces, ceremony arch
- Schedule the bridal makeup trial (6-10 weeks before)
- Confirm catering menu and tasting
- Confirm cake design and tasting
- Lock the wedding-day timeline draft with planner/coordinator
Other
- Order wedding bands
- Plan rehearsal dinner
- Begin shopping for accessories (shoes, jewellery, veil)
- Set up a wedding website if using one
2-3 months out: Locking everything in
Confirmations
- Apply for marriage license (within 3 months of wedding)
- Final dress fittings start
- Confirm RSVPs as they come in
- Bridal trial happens in this window
- Skincare prep begins (see 8-week routine)
Logistics
- Day-of timeline finalised with all vendors
- Wedding party gifts ordered
- Welcome bags for out-of-town guests prepared
- Honeymoon final details locked
1 month out
Final touches
- Final dress fitting
- Pay final balances to vendors
- Confirm all timing with vendors (sequence, arrivals, departures)
- Wedding rings picked up and inspected
- Marriage license received from Service NB
- Bridal hair and makeup confirmed with MUA
- Rehearsal dinner finalised
Personal
- Continue skincare routine — no new products
- Confirm haircut/colour 2 weeks before
- Mani-pedi 2-3 days before
Wedding week
Monday
- Confirm RSVPs final count to caterer
- Email each vendor a friendly "see you Saturday" note with timing
Tuesday/Wednesday
- Pack overnight bag for wedding night
- Pack bridal emergency kit
- Final dress check (any last-minute alteration concerns)
Thursday
- Rehearsal dinner
- Distribute wedding-party gifts
- Drop off welcome bags at hotel block
Friday (rehearsal day)
- Ceremony rehearsal
- Light meal, hydrate, early to bed
- Lay out everything for tomorrow morning
- Charge phones
Saturday (wedding day)
- Light breakfast (eggs, toast, fruit)
- Coffee fine, heavy meal no
- Hydrate but not excessively
- Clean skin, no makeup before MUA arrives
- Hair stylist and MUA arrive on schedule
- Breathe
Common things people forget
- Tipping vendors (cash, in envelopes, prepared the night before)
- An emergency contact phone list given to the day-of coordinator
- A change of shoes for the reception
- Charger for phone
- Marriage license — actually bringing it to the ceremony
- Personal vows printed (don't read off a phone)
- Snacks for the bridal suite getting ready
"A wedding planning checklist isn't a chronological worry list. It's permission to do one thing at a time and stop carrying everything at once."
The short version
Venue and photographer first (12+ months). Core vendors including MUA in the 9-12 month window. Attire and details 6-9 months. Logistics and final details 3-6 months. Marriage license in the 3-month window. Skincare and final details in the final 8 weeks. Wedding week is for being calm, not for last-minute panic.