Wedding Planning To Do List

Wedding planning involves a lot of moving parts and small details and decisions. To stay organized, to do lists are the way to go. Here is a wedding planning list to give you a starting point. Not all of these might apply to your big day, but reviewing them and creating your own master list will help you keep sanity during this stressful and overwhelming process.

1. Wedding Date. Set a date with your fiancé. I know it might be too soon, but this decision will affect the rest of the wedding planning process.

2. Guest List. Who do you want to invite? Who do your parents and future in-laws want to invite? Once the list is compiled and you have a more clear perspective of the wedding size, start collecting mail addresses and emails. [Tips: Excel spreadsheets are key. Ask a recently married friend for this list, and save time.]

3. Venue. Where to you want to get married? Do you want an outdoor or indoor wedding? Do you want a destination wedding? Make a decision and book it!

4. Budget. When you get an idea of the number of guests and location of the wedding, start thinking about the budget. Here you will find a wedding calculator that might help. The budget will help you set limits on what you can afford before you go crazy with the rest of this list. It will also provide clarity of how much help ($) you need from your parents.

5. Wedding Party. Who’s your maid of honor? Who’s your best man? Who are your bridesmaids and groomsmen? Will you have flower girls?

6. Inspiration. I personally love Pinterest for this one, but you can also use magazines, or search for images on Google. The most important part of this research is to find what you are looking for, get inspiration for your wedding colors and details, and help others involved understand your vision through images.

7. Vendor Quotes. Now that you have a better idea of what you want your wedding to look like, get quotes from the other main expenses of the event: flowers, food, drinks, reception music, invitations, photographer, and videographer.

8. Wedding Dress. By now you should have realistic expectations of all the money that is going into this event (and we are not even counting the little details yet), so go dress shopping (8-6 months in advance is recommended) but be cognizant of the budget and keep in mind alterations are not included. [Tip: If you don’t know where to start go to http://www.theknot.com or ask your married friends.]

9. Decisions, decisions, and more decisions. Now that you have done the research and figured out the main wedding planning items, it’s time to look into all the other details: