How To Plan Your Dream Wedding in 12 Months: The Ultimate Wedding Timeline and Checklist
Congratulations on your engagement! Planning a wedding can be overwhelming, but with a 12-month engagement, you have plenty of time to create a wedding and honeymoon that perfectly reflects your and your partner’s unique style and preferences. Don’t let the wedding industry, social media, or friends and family pressure you into feeling like you have to follow so-called wedding planning norms or averages. Instead, focus on your unique vision, your authentic budget, and what’s important to you as a couple. Whether you have 12 months, 6 months, or just 3 months, our wedding planning checklist will help you stay on track without feeling stressed. Here’s a comprehensive wedding timeline and checklist to plan your dream wedding, hassle-free.
12 Months Out:
- Determine your realistic wedding budget
- Sit down with your partner to get on the same page about your shared vision for the big day and prioritize what’s most important to you to include
- Research and apply for a credit card with great travel benefits—put wedding expenses on this card and rack up points for your honeymoon!
- Visit potential venues
- Start researching vendors
- Draft guest list
- Choose your wedding party
- Join the Honeyfund Facebook group to get wedding inspo, ask questions, and get advice from other couples planning their weddings
- Consider signing up for a travel or hotel credit card to earn rewards on wedding expenses and enjoy perks like discounted accommodations and exclusive benefits for a memorable honeymoon experience.
11 Months Out:
- Finalize date & venue
- Start booking vendors
- Start looking at wedding attire
- Discuss who you want to officiate your wedding
- Schedule tastings for wedding cake and caterers
- Create a wedding website—write your greeting, upload a photo, and include any relevant information for your guests
- Hire a wedding planner (if desired)
10 Months Out:
- Book hotel room blocks & transportation
- Finalize guest list
- Order Save the Dates , if using printed
- Have an engagement photo session (if desired)
- Book your wedding photographer
- Start collecting guests’ contact information—you can keep track of all of this in your Honeyfund account!
9 Months Out:
- Purchase wedding rings & consider purchasing ring insurance
- Schedule hair and makeup trials, if desired, or start browsing Pinterest for some easy styles to do yourself
- Book your DJ or wedding band. If you’d rather save in this area, try making your own Spotify playlist and using a Bluetooth speaker or the venue’s sound system
- Plan and book any pre-wedding festivities (engagement party, bridal shower, etc.)
- Book your officiant
8 Months Out:
- Publish your wedding website & create your Honeyfund registry
- Mail or e-mail Save the Dates
- Order your invitation samples
- Brainstorm a wedding hashtag
- Begin thinking about a honeymoon destination
- Pick out bridesmaids and groomsmen attire
6-7 Months Out:
- Finalize all vendor hires and sign vendor contracts
- Book rehearsal dinner venue
- Consider wedding guest attire for your big day
- Add more items to your Honeyfund registry to give your guests plenty of items to choose from
- Book florist and finalize flowers
- Confirm honeymoon plans and book travel
- Finalize seating chart and create place cards
- Book wedding cake baker
- Book hair and makeup
- Order wedding invitations
4-5 Months Out:
- Plan menu
- Decide on bachelorette and bachelor party details
- Book wedding transportation for your guests
- Renew your passport if you’re traveling internationally for your wedding or honeymoon and consider purchasing TSA Precheck
- Check in with yourself and treat yourself to a little self-care
- Brainstorm how you’ll include your pet on your wedding day
2-3 Months Out:
- Wedding Showers & bachelor/bachelorette parties
- Send formal wedding invitations
- Share your Honeyfund registry with your guests — consider including it with your invitations or sharing it another way.
- Schedule final fittings for you and bridal parties’ dresses/suits/attire
- Confirm details with vendors and make any final payments
- Meet with your officiant
- Confirm playlists and music with your wedding DJ or band
- Work on DIY projects for your wedding decor
- Finalize details for the rehearsal dinner and any other pre-wedding events
- Start collecting RSVPs
- Create seating chart
1 Month Out:
- Obtain marriage license
- Finalize attire & alterations
- Create a timeline for the wedding day and share it with vendors and the bridal party
- Follow up with any guests who have not RSVP’d
- Confirm final details with vendors and make any necessary changes
- Provide final headcount to the caterer and other vendors
- Write vows
- Double-check your Honeyfund registry to make sure you’ve added enough experiences and items to your registry
- Order thank you cards
- Final dress/suit fitting
- Order clothing and necessities for your honeymoon
2 Weeks Out:
- Create a shot list for your photographer
- Touch-base with all vendors
1 Week Out:
- Pack overnight bags for your wedding and/or honeymoon
Wedding Day:
- Get married
- Celebrate!
After the wedding:
- Transfer the funds from your Honeyfund Wallet to your Venmo or PayPal, completely fee-free (hello, Honeymoon funds!)
- Enjoy your honeymoon and start your new life together as a married couple!
- Send thank-you notes to guests and post reviews of any vendors who really went above and beyond
- Change your legal name, if applicable
- Use the remaining funds from your Honeyfund registry to pay off any wedding-related credit card charges
- Order wedding photos
No matter where you are in the wedding planning process, it’s always a good time to create a fee-free honeymoon registry.
