Planning a wedding is one of the most joyful — and most complex — events you'll ever coordinate. With dozens of vendors, moving parts, and emotionally invested family members, a clear checklist is your best friend. This wedding planning checklist breaks the process into monthly stages, from the day you get engaged through to the morning after the reception. Follow the stages in order and you'll never wonder 'what should I be doing right now?'
In order: venue, photographer, and celebrant or priest. These three have the longest lead times and the most limited availability — especially on Saturday evenings. Everything else flows from having a locked-in venue and date.
Start with your fixed times: ceremony start, reception arrival, first dance, speeches, and cake cutting. Work backwards from the ceremony to set getting-ready times, and forward through the reception. Allow buffer time between each element. Share the final run sheet with your venue, caterer, photographer, band, and any family members who need it. Run Sheets has a free wedding run sheet template to get you started.
Allocate your budget across categories before you start booking (venue, catering, photography, flowers, entertainment, attire, stationery, misc). Set a 10% contingency buffer for unexpected costs. Track every quote and booking against your budget in a spreadsheet. The two areas where costs most commonly blow out are catering (per-head costs add up fast) and floral styling — get written quotes for both early.