Congratulations on your engagement! We bet you are as excited as we were on this new milestone in your life. Planning a wedding may be fun and a bit overwhelming for you at first. Worry not, with enough time to plan and sort all the needed details for your dream wedding, it will definitely come true!
Wedding Planner
Do you always hear other people referring to a certain “wedding planner” to serve as the moderator and coordinator for everything that is related to the planning of the upcoming wedding? Ever wonder what do wedding planners really do?
Wedding planners are your gateway to find the best vendor referrals and contract negotiations that can execute your vision for your upcoming wedding. The wedding planners are the ones responsible for the behind-the-scenes of the wedding, making the planning as easy as possible. The wedding planner also takes into account the couple’s theme and also the budget. They are the best at what they do. Planning is a skill they gained from years of experiences from working under different companies or from planning their own events themselves.
Aside from planning, the wedding planners, upon request, can also share their design or styling services that can help in the creative specifics of your wedding day making it as unique as possible. Making them your stylist means that you don’t need to hire a wedding stylist which can help you save a lot of money.
Wedding Planner Duties
- Spends about 80 to 250 hours in total in wedding planning.
- Looks for vendor referrals and negotiates the contract according to the requests of the client.
- Schedules and attend meetings with the vendors.
- Created a detailed timeline and floor plans for the wedding.
- Helps the client know their target budget and manage it.
- Do site visits and menu taste test.
- Shares ideas and brainstorm together with the client for the design details of the wedding.
- Coordinates with hotel or resort booking and transportation of the guests and the entourage.
- Plans a rehearsal for the wedding and manages it.
- Oversees everything on the wedding day. Making sure that all vendors are coordinated and are able to come at the designated time.
- Ensures that the couple’s vision will come true
Wedding Planner Checklist
Many people nowadays opted to hire a wedding planner just because they are busy with their jobs and don’t have time to plan every detail for their wedding. Some just want a smooth and hassle-free wedding that’s why they got a wedding planner. Whatever reasons you may have, it is your choice if you want to hire a planner or not. Still, you may need to know the timeline and checklist of a wedding planner.
12 Months
Before starting anything, the most important thing to do is determine your budget. You have to figure out who’s paying for what and how much you can shell out for your wedding. From there we can make a break down for the said budget and make your envisioned wedding possible. This breakdown will either go up or down as you go along with the planning. If you are planning your own wedding, better track your spending in excel.
I bet you and your partner plans to invite almost every person that pops in your mind. OF course, you cannot invite everyone right? When deciding your head count, always keep your budget in mind. Think of how much you are willing to spend to your guest and how many people will fit in your chosen venue. If you and your partner are going to share for the bills, always assume that you’ll get 70% of the invites, while 30% will split for both sets of parents. List down your potential guests then negotiate with each other who you both want to invite until you reach a final number of guests.
At this time, it is also recommended to think of whether or not you are planning to hire a wedding planner. Again, always think of your budget at the back of your mind.
Lastly, have an intimate talk with your partner and have a mutual decision regarding the theme of your wedding, the entourage, and the possible wedding venues that you have in mind. It is important to consider and respect each other’s vision of the wedding.
11 Months
Your wedding may be the best event that only happens once in your life. Make it even memorable by selecting the best caterer that fits your budget at the same time provides the best quality of food for you and your guest. Enjoy the menu tasting of each caterer and select the best!
Choose a color theme and slowly start thinking of the overall design of your wedding. Gather all the inspiration that you can get and draw your vision from these. Also, look for vendors who book up quickly such as photographer, band, DJ and videographer. Some vendors require almost a year of booking prior to the event as their services are wanted by many.
10 Months
Start looking for your dreamy wedding dress. You may or may not know exactly what type of wedding dress you want but going around different boutiques will help you find the best wedding dress for you. Next, start booking hotel or resort- room blocks for your guests. Some dates are popular and booking early will lessen the chances that you will have a problem with the bookings on your wedding date.
You already booked the photographer, why not schedule an engagement session since most of the photographers include this in their package. It will be memorable on your photobook. Lastly, start looking at invitations. Get inspiration from Instagram or from a movie you saw or another person’s wedding. You may even create your own design as you like.
9 Months
Buy your wedding dress. If last month it is all about looking, now you should have found “the one”. Also, this is the best time to make the wedding official by sending out “Save the date” invite which is different form a wedding invite.
8 Months
Bring your entourage and start the scheduling of fittings for your bridesmaids’ dresses. Let them tell you what they want to wear and cater to it as long as its within your budget. Make sure that their dresses are not mismatched and are in sync with your chosen theme or color.
Look for potential florists. Flowers makes everything vibrant especially on a wedding. It creates different moods using different sets of flowers. It is important to find someone who can execute your vision well but fits your budget.
7 months
Schedule the rehearsal dinner and book the venue. You can also make it a family dinner at the same time to better know each-other’s family and make it as a casual celebration for your upcoming wedding.
At this time, you should have found and ordered rental items such as sound system, draping, linens, specialty chair, dance floor etc. That you may want to add on your wedding to make it even more fun.
Lastly, don’t forget to hire an officiant for your wedding. To make it more intimate, you can hire a relative or a close friend to do officiate the wedding.
5 months
5 months before the wedding, hire a lighting technician. It is the most important detail that some couples forget. Better lighting, especially at night, can make a difference for your wedding dinner and after-party.
Book the limo or specialty car that the newlyweds will use. If it does not fit your budget, you can opt to borrow a nice car from a relative or a friend.
Lastly, book your much-awaited honeymoon! This should be a surprise by the groom but of course, you can plan it together. After-all, the two of you will be the one to enjoy this vacation.
4 months
Begin your premarital counseling. Whether you came from a religious or non-religious background you are required to talk to a counselor to provide you with healthy conflict solutions that you can use in the future. Also, the Groom’s tuxedo should have been bought already. The tuxedo should be tailor-made and flattering when worn by the groom.
You should also be done with the final menu tasting and should have chosen and ordered your wedding cake. You and your partner should agree on what flavor you want for your wedding cake.
Lastly, don’t forget to buy your wedding rings! This is the second most important during the wedding and should not be confused with the engagement ring.
3 months
Finally, Order the invitations for your upcoming wedding. Make sure to carefully check each name and details to avoid confusion and error in the invitations.
Write your vows for your wedding. This can take a lot of time so do it ahead of time while you still have 3 more months. You can ask for help when writing the vow. Make sure that it is unique as possible.
Select the bible verses that you want the readers to read during the wedding proper. Also, meet with the officiant at this time and invite him or her to the rehearsal dinner. Make sure that the officiant is aware of the specifics of the wedding and how you want the ceremony to go.
2 months
Start sending out the wedding invitations with the reservations due a month before the wedding. Also, send-out rehearsal dinner invitation to the family of the groom and bride.
This is the time for dress fitting! Last minute changes or alterations should be done two months prior to the wedding. Also, don’t forget to pick-up your marriage license. Different states have different requirements so better ask for these before going to getting your marriage license.
Give selections of your favorite songs to the band or DJ and choose the song you want for the ceremony itself.
1 month
Don’t forget to pay all of the vendors in full. Create a seating chart to balance the relationships, egos and potentials of your guests seating together. Make sure to have a final walk-through with the venue and there are no problems with it.
Final week!
Congratulations! After months of planning, your wedding will finally happen in a few days. Take a deep breath and smile because you deserve it! During the final week, focus on yourself. Pamper yourself by getting a massage, go to the salon, get your eyebrows done or go to a waxing salon.
If your honeymoon is scheduled immediately after your wedding, better prepare your bags now because you will be very busy on your wedding day. Practice your vows out loud to release all the tension and increase your confidence when saying it to your partner during the ceremony.
We hope you enjoy the whole process of planning your dream wedding! Feel free to use or follow our checklist and modify it according to your taste.