A wedding planning timeline, from eighteen months to the final week
Written by Carón
A wedding is built in stages, and each stage has its season. This is the order Carón follows with every couple, from the first decisions to the last quiet week.
Take it as a guide. Some bookings cannot wait, so check with Carón before moving any of them. For couples marrying from abroad, bring the early stages forward, because guests need longer notice.
The order of your bookings
Venue first, then your coordinator, because the rest follow your date. Photography and video, catering, music and your marriage officer come next. Flowers, hair and make-up, the cake and transport follow in the months after, with invitations and final details last.
Eighteen months and earlier, the first decisions
These choices carry everything that follows, and they are the ones most easily lost to time.
Choose the season before the date, and hold the date lightly.
Set your wedding budget.
Draw up a first guest list, in broad terms.
Reserve your venue. The most sought-after properties are booked eighteen months to two years ahead, though some may have dates at twelve months.
Ask about midweek. A venue reserved every weekend is often free on a Wednesday.
Choose your coordinator, and engage them early.
Decide whether the celebration will begin with a welcome evening and close with a farewell brunch the day after.
Twelve months, the foundation
With the venue held, the shape of the day can be drawn.
Refine your guest list, now that the venue is held.
Revisit your budget as the first quotations arrive.
Confirm your date with your venue and with the guests on whom the day depends.
Send the date as soon as it is held to guests who must fly in, from overseas or from another city, so that they can arrange flights and leave.
Invite your bridesmaids and groomsmen, and choose your maid of honour and best man.
Define your vision and style. Agree between the two of you the few things that matter most.
Eleven months, gathering your team
The finest makers are spoken for early, so this is the month to secure them.
Photographer and videographer.
A caterer, if your venue does not provide one.
Music, whether a DJ or a band.
Your marriage officer, who will explain what is required.
Begin to look at wedding dresses. A dress made for you takes many months.
Ten months, the wedding look
The look of the day takes shape now.
Start shopping for your dress.
Settle flowers and design.
Choose your colour palette.
Look at décor and hired pieces for the venue.
Reserve rooms for your guests, beginning with those travelling furthest.
Create a wedding website, if you would like one.
Nine months, the details
Order your dress.
Book your hair and make-up artists.
Schedule your engagement photographs, if you would like them. They can be taken at any point before the invitations go out.
Begin to plan your honeymoon.
Research transport for the day: between the ceremony and the reception, and home at the end of the evening.
Eight months, the guest experience
Send save-the-dates to everyone else on the guest list.
Choose your invitations. Digital invitations gather each guest's reply, dietary needs and travel plans in one place, and printed cards can be couriered to guests who would like one. Decide who will manage the replies.
Arrange guest transport. For a Garden Route wedding, guests travelling from abroad will connect through Johannesburg or Cape Town to George, and will need a transfer to the venue.
Create a gift list.
Reserve any further hired pieces.
Begin to plan the ceremony, with your marriage officer's guidance.
Seven months, style and personalisation
Choose the bridesmaids' dresses.
Select your stationery.
Plan the floral arrangements.
Begin to look at wedding rings.
Schedule your cake tasting.
Six months, the menu and the bar
Set up your digital invitations, and order printed cards only for guests who will receive them by courier.
Book your honeymoon.
Choose your cake.
Plan the welcome evening: the venue or caterer, the menu and who is invited.
Decide your menu and how the bar will run.
An open bar is hosted for the whole evening.
A partial bar is hosted for a set time, or for a chosen list of drinks, and guests pay for anything beyond it.
At a cash bar, guests pay for their own drinks.
Ask your venue who runs the bar, whether you may bring your own wine, and whether a charge applies if you do.
Plan non-alcoholic drinks for every guest, and water throughout the evening.
Settle how your guests will travel home, so that no one has to drive.
Buy your wedding rings.
Five months, the finishing touches
Choose the groom's attire, whether hired or bought. A made-to-measure suit needs more time, so begin earlier.
Book alterations for the dress with your chosen maker.
Begin a music wish list.
Plan the ceremony timeline.
Select your accessories.
Discuss photography and video priorities with your photographer.
Plan the farewell brunch.
Plan how the bridal party will travel: from where you dress to the ceremony, and from the ceremony to the reception.
Decide how the two of you will arrive and leave.
Four months, the day is set
Send your invitations. For a wedding guests must travel to, four months gives them time.
State the dress code on your invitations.
If you are hiring your dress, choose it now, and agree a hire period that allows for your journey.
Schedule hair and make-up trials.
Choose your ceremony readings.
Confirm every transfer and pick-up time, for your guests and for the bridal party, and share the plan with each of them.
Plan the wedding day timeline.
Settle the paperwork with your marriage officer.
Three months, final decisions
Finalise the menu.
Choose favours, if you would like them.
Choose who will speak, and begin the speeches.
Book your final dress fittings.
Confirm flowers and décor.
Prepare a wedding day emergency kit.
Review every supplier's contract.
Settle a wet-weather plan for every outdoor moment, whatever the season.
Two months, confirm everything
Follow up with guests who have not replied. Digital invitations show at a glance who has answered.
Draft the seating plan.
Confirm details with every supplier.
Finalise the playlist.
Review the photography shot list.
Write your vows.
Book nails, brows and any other beauty appointments for the final week. The best are reserved well in advance.
Choose gifts for your parents and your wedding party.
One month, the countdown begins
Finalise your guest list with your caterer, together with every guest's dietary requirements.
Share the same requirements with whoever caters the welcome evening and the farewell brunch.
Complete the seating plan.
Attend your final dress fitting.
Confirm the paperwork with your marriage officer.
Confirm the timeline for the day, and share it with every supplier.
The final week, enjoy the moment
Pack for the wedding and the honeymoon.
Press your outfits.
Attend the rehearsal.
Give the rings to the person who will carry them on the day.
Settle final details and tips, and confirm arrival times with each supplier.
