If you’ve just got engaged and have no clue as to where to start with your wedding planning - don’t panic – we’re here to help! With many years of experience in event planning, we’ll help you create a truly unforgettable experience for you and your wedding guests! We’ve put together a wedding planning timeline to get you started!
Below we’ve outlined a recommended timeline based on a typical 12-month engagement. However, we know that all couples are different and many of you have much more or much less time to plan. Generally, the biggest thing that will be on your side if you have a long engagement is choice. Many wedding suppliers do get booked up well in advance but take your time to do your research and check availability – we’ve helped couples plan weddings in less than 10 weeks!
12 Months Before Your Wedding
Book Your Venue(s) and Marquee
The first thing to do is visit venues and choose your favourite! If you’re having a religious wedding you’ll need to make sure the dates work for both the ceremony and reception venues. Similarly, if you’re having a marquee wedding and the venue doesn’t provide one, make sure you can get a structure on your preferred date. Talk to us about your size requirements and whether you prefer our romantic sailcloths or amazing tipis! Most suppliers will provisionally hold dates for you for a few days while you tie up the main elements.
3 Tipis at Holywell Estate
Get Wedding Insurance
As soon as you start paying deposits and signing contracts you should organise wedding insurance. Check out our earlier blog all about it!
Send A ‘Save The Date’
Once you’ve settled on your date, now is a good time to let your guests know. This doesn’t usually require much more detail than the date and general location and you don’t need to ask for RSVPs at this stage.
Contact Caterers
Never hosted a dinner party before? Well you’re about to put on the biggest one of your life! Think about the vibe you want to create and be as adventurous as you like with your food choices! A traditional wedding ‘breakfast’ may still be a sit down three-course meal but yours doesn’t have to be. Think BBQs, woodfired pizzas, afternoon tea, fish and chips…. With endless options you can really play around with your budget and preference. Here you’ll find some fantastic caterers that we love working with.
Book A Photographer
Fact - great wedding photographers get booked up early! They tend to be solo entities (sometimes working in pairs) so once they have a booking they won’t be able to take on another wedding on the same day. Ask for recommendations from friends and family and do your research about what’s included.
8-10 Months Before The Wedding Day
Arrange Your Entertainment
Whether you want to create an epic Ibiza style party with a DJ and saxophonist, festival vibes with a live band, or get everyone on the move with a barn dance, start thinking about bookings around now. Often bands will also be able to arrange DJ/music between sets. Make sure you check all their requirements and coordinate with your venue (such as sound limiters, power etc).
Carterello Band
Book Your Florist
Ah flowers – such a lovely part of a wedding! Think about what you want for the venue as well as your bridal party bouquets and button holes. Lots of couples are now choosing to go for hire plants for décor now too – check out Melissa Rose Design for ideas! It’s a great way to be that little bit more sustainable.
Floristry & Styling by Melissa Rose Design
Start Looking For Wedding Attire
When it comes to ‘the dress’, bridal shops often put pressure on brides to order way in advance of the big day. In truth, while some dresses can take awhile on order, you could easily walk away with a beautiful dress within weeks of your wedding. If you have a particular designer in mind then it might be worth contacting a few shops and enquiring about delivery times. More and more brides are opting for vintage, pre-loved or sample sale dresses. Just make sure you leave enough time for alterations – it’s quite incredible what a decent seamster can do!
Other things to do around now – book a registar/celebrant, research honeymoons, plan stag/hen do.
6 Months Before the Wedding Day
Send your save the dates!
It's reasonable to send out your save the date 4 to 6 months before your wedding. This will give your guests enough time to plan ahead, and have your date in mind when any other plans appear.
Wedding Attire (continued)
Wedding outfits for groomsmen don’t tend to need to be arranged quite as far in advance as the dress (although we’re still firm believers that a beautiful dress can be arranged within weeks). Whether you’re hiring or buying make sure you go and try on a few styles to check that what you have in mind suits you (no pun intended)!
If you’re having bridesmaids we’d recommend sorting these by now too. As with the bridal dress, you can easily pick up beautiful dresses from the high street or Internet, but it’s not uncommon to struggle to find a style that suits everyone so leave some time to try on options with the girls!
Plan Your Ceremony
If you’re having a non-religious ceremony you’ll likely be in touch with your registrar or celebrant around this time. They will guide you through the process of planning your ceremony to make it as personal as you wish. You might choose to write your own vowels or they can suggest some – they’ll also want to get to know you as a couple so they can tell your love story! We can highly recommend Fanfare Ceremonies and Fox and Star Ceremonies.
Transport
Start thinking about how the bridal party and key guests will get to the venue, especially if you’re moving between locations for the ceremony and reception. Don’t forget the end of the day too and how you will get to wherever you’re spending your wedding night.
Other things to think about now – order a cake, choose wedding bands, book hair and make up, order stationary, have a tasting with the caterers, book your wedding night, research/reserve accommodation for wedding guests, create a gift list.
3 Months Before The Wedding Day
Send your invites!
Typically, wedding invitations go out now as it allows you to give a decent RSVP time (around 4-5 weeks). Make sure you check you’re your suppliers need final numbers (this will mainly be the caterers) and ensure your RSVP date ties in. Three months also gives your guests plenty of time to plan travel, transport and accommodation.
Other things to think about now – wine tasting, attire alterations, décor.
Three Months Before The Wedding
The final three months of your wedding planning will be all go! If organisation and attention to detail just isn’t your thing, or you’d prefer a helping hand, we can highly recommend employing a wedding planner at this stage. Most planners offer the option to get involved as you get closer to the wedding day itself (usually 1-3 months beforehand). They will go through your plans and can then take charge of coordinating the final arrangements with all your suppliers. They will also build a detailed timeline so all the key people know how the day is to unfold. With this option your planner will usually be there on the day to manage everything for you. This is a great choice if you want to do the bulk of the planning yourselves, but would like a helping hand to tie up any loose ends for a stress-free run-up to your special day.
Happy planning!
The Coastal Tents Team
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Phone: 01929 505005
Email: info@coastaltents.co.uk