Wedding Planning Timeline: A Step-by-Step Guide

Congratulations, you’re engaged! After that initial rush of blissful happiness wears off, every newly engaged couple is smacked with the overwhelming reality: We actually have to plan this massively expensive party now. Take a deep breath and follow this wedding planning timeline to navigate the terrifying waters of vendor hunting, familial opinions, and big decision-making without completely losing your minds.

12+ Months Out: Daydream & Decide

In those first few deliriously happy months of being engaged, the biggest priorities are daydreaming about your vision and setting the budget and guest list. Spend some quality time scrolling through endless wedding inspo pics and videos to lock down your vibe – will it be classically romantic Filipino vibes with all the traditions? A laidback bohemian beachfront escape? Or maybe you’ll go full millennial with a color-popped maximalist wonderland?

Whatever you two envision, the next vital step is to set a realistic budget. This may require some tough love financial talks with your respective families about who is contributing what. Don’t forget to factor in often-overlooked costs like your wedding bands, vendor tips/fees, and dress alterations. Guest list size is likewise crucial to hash out now before your titas try to invite their entire villages.

10 Months Out: Venue & Vendor Hustle

With a clearer vision and budget in mind, you can start maniacally stalking venues and vendors. Secure your venue and wedding date first, as the best ones book up over a year in advance. Don’t think of a venue as simply a space though – its team will heavily influence your entire wedding day experience.

Next, hit the pavement (or DMs) hard to book your dream team of photographers, videographers, coordinators, caterers, and any other vendors essential to your big day vision. Read reviews and vet them thoroughly, because firing a vendor puts you back at karmic square one. This process is more of a marathon than a sprint, so take your time to find the right talented team players.

6-8 Months Out: Attire, Rings, & Room Blocks

Once venue and team are secured, the next priorities are attire, rings, and hotel room blocks. For your outfit, allocate plenty of time for wedding dress shopping, fittings, and any potential design customizations. Your wedding ringz should be sorted around now too. Most jewelers need at least 2 months for custom orders.

Hunting for hotel room blocks? Prepare to channel your inner Karen, aggressively calling around to compare group rates and amenities closest to your venue. If you’ve got a lot of out-of-towners attending, you may want to reserve reasonably-priced shuttle services as well.

4 Months Out: All the Smaller Deets

With major pieces like venue, vendors, and attire complete, you can finally start sweating all those smaller yet crucial details like:

• Wedding party attire & accessories
• Cake, dessert, and menu tastings
• Hiring musicians, DJs, MCs, etc.
• Designing your wedding website
• Ordering personalized favors & decor

This is the major crunch period, so take it step-by-step and don’t overcommit! Lean on your wedding planner heavily, because this is exactly what you’re paying them the big bucks to manage. Speaking of which…

2 Months Out: Final Payments & Pampering

Roughly two months out is when those final vendor payment installments will come due, so you may need to tighten the purse strings elsewhere. Use this window to breathe, get plenty of rest, and treat yourselves to some pampering from massages to spa treatments. It’ll help calm those pre-wedding jitters and keep you both glowing!

From this point on, you’ll focus on finalizing smaller tasks like printing programs, prepping playlists and vows, and confirming timeline details with your vendors. By following this step-by-step planning timeline, you’ll be able to relax and actually enjoy those priceless moments on the big day you’ve spent over a year crafting!