Wedding Timetable Planning Template printable pdf download

Wedding Timetable

Following is a suggested timetable for planning your wedding. Even if you decide to hire a professional wedding

planner, this timetable may be useful to help determine the order in which things need to be done. Obviously, timetables will

vary depending on size of wedding and personal priorities; therefore, this is intended as a rough guideline, not as a list of

what you must do. The list also assumes that, once you start planning your wedding, you can determine any additional steps

as you go along. For example, after ordering your wedding dress, it is assumed that you and the wedding shop will coordinate

any necessary fittings together. With the need for modification in mind, we hope the following timetable will help you plan

your special day.

Time of Engagement

•

Inform your parents of the happy news.

•

Purchase or make a wedding organizer. Think about whether you will want it as a keepsake, as this may influence

what kind of organizer to have. At a bare minimum, you should have an organized way to keep track of appoint-

ments, payments, etc. and a system for tracking invitations, gifts and thank-you notes.

•

Notify close friends and relatives – unless you plan to have an engagement party.

•

Have an engagement photo taken and submit announcements to publications at the appropriate times. There may be

specific guidelines regarding how far in advance of the wedding that announcements can be published.

•

Keep up with thank-you notes as you receive gifts. The best time to write a note is immediately after opening the

gift. Unless you receive hundreds of gifts in one day or are still on your honeymoon, it should never take more than

six weeks to send thank-you notes.

9-12 Months before Wedding

•

Determine what you and your families want at your wedding. How many guests? Sit-down dinner or buffet? An

outdoor setting? Live music? Dancing? Alcohol?

•

Determine the style and time of day of the wedding. If money is an issue, you can adjust the time of day so the

reception will be more economical. For example, if you do not have the reception during a standard meal time, you

can serve hors d’oeuvres or cake rather than a meal.

•

Select a wedding date. (This may need to be done in conjunction with determining the availability of selected

ceremony/reception sites.)

•

Decide on a budget and how the wedding will be financed. If parents are helping, find out what costs they are

willing to cover and how they want to handle payment. It may be helpful to do some research about wedding costs

in your area before attempting to come up with a budget.

•

Select and reserve ceremony site. For a Garden wedding, call us a 309-686-3362 or the direct line for

weddings and events, 309-681-3507.

•

Select and reserve a reception site. The Peoria Zoo, adjacent to the Garden; has a wonderful banquet facility.

Contact the Guest Services Manager at 309-681-3519 for more information.

•

Find a wedding officiant (priest, minister, rabbi, justice, etc.) Speak with him/her to determine if there are any

requirements that must be met before marrying you and when they must be met. Set up a meeting to discuss the

ceremony.

•

Select wedding attendants (Maid of Honor, Best Man, bridesmaids, etc.)

•

Select a photographer/videographer for your chosen date.

•

If your reception site does not come with a caterer, secure catering arrangements.

•

Select a florist.

6-9 Months before Wedding

•

Select and order the bridal gown and accessories – or arrange for a seamstress.

•

Make arrangements for music at your ceremony/reception. If working with a DJ, you may need to provide a music

list or genre at some point.

•

Select and order bridesmaids’ dresses – or arrange for a seamstress to make them.

•

Start working on guest lists. Typically, there are four: the bride’s family’s list, the groom’s family’s list, the bride’s

list and the groom’s list.

4-6 Months before Wedding

•

Order invitations and any other stationery you will need (such as thank you notes). Remember that stationery

engraved with your married name cannot be used until after you are married, so you will also need stationery to use

for gifts that arrive before the wedding.) Be sure to include RSVP (by a specified date) on your invitations in order

to provide lead time and an accurate count of guests to your caterer, reception site and ceremony site.

Wedding Timetable Planning Template

Related Articles

Related forms

Related Categories