Wedding planning timeline: what to do six months, three months and one week out
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Wedding planning is less about taste than about sequence: the venue limits the date, the date limits the suppliers, the guest count limits everything. Here is the order that keeps decisions from blocking each other.
Open the wedding planning templateCount down to the weddingOpens in your browser — no install or sign-up needed.
Six months out: budget, guests, venue
Agree on a total budget and an approximate guest count before you visit a single venue. Those two numbers decide which venues are realistic, and the venue in turn decides the date. Visit, compare and book the venue first; popular dates go early.
Next, book the suppliers you can only hire once per date: photographer, dress or suit, hair and make-up. Then the honeymoon flights and accommodation if you are travelling soon after.
Three months to one month out
- Discuss rings and any family gifts or customs.
- Prepare your new home and list the furniture and appliances you still need.
- Choose and order invitations; send them about six to eight weeks before, with a reply date.
- Keep a running guest list with replies, dietary needs and seating notes.
The final two weeks
Final fittings, the order of the ceremony, the host or officiant and any music should be confirmed two weeks out. One week before, give the venue the final guest count. Two days before, brief the people helping you on the day — who holds the rings, who handles gifts, who has the supplier phone numbers.
After the wedding there is usually paperwork: registering the marriage, changing names on documents if you choose to, and thank-you notes.
Keep the budget next to the tasks
Deposits and final payments have due dates too. Log each payment as you make it so the budget stays real; a wedding budget usually drifts in small amounts, not big ones. Pladay's Money module records spending by category, and budget-and-to-do planning explains how to tie payments to tasks.
Setting it up in Pladay
- Open the wedding planning template, pick the wedding date, and its 14 steps are dated from six months before to two weeks after.
- Planning the honeymoon too? Add the travel preparation template with your departure date.
- Write extra tasks in one line: “Call florist next Tuesday 11am #wedding !!”.
Templates for this
- Wedding planningFrom six months out: venue, photo and dress, invitations and the marriage registration.14 tasks
- Trip preparationThree weeks before departure: bookings, passport, insurance and packing, nothing forgotten.10 tasks
FAQ
Is six months enough time to plan a wedding?
For many weddings, yes, if the venue is available. If your preferred venue books up a year ahead, start the template earlier: pick a date further away and every step moves with it.
Can two people plan together?
Pladay accounts are personal. Couples often share one account on both phones, or share a list as a read-only link with family.