Updated 19 Jan 2026:Kudos to the fearless ones among you who are determined to plan your own weddings! If you are getting married and want to plan the perfect wedding without hiring a professional planner, be aware that it’s likely going to take at between 250-350 hours to organise. You are certainly going to have to devote countless weekends between now and the Big Day to designing, sourcing, planning and organising the celebration. At the very least you’ll need a comprehensive wedding planning checklist to get you started. So, here for your convenience is our very own ultimate wedding to do list. It’s a detailed wedding checklist and includes an extensive professional timeline outlining all the tasks you need to complete plus a wedding list to tick after completing each task.
Sure, there’s a lot to do. If you need help, just give us a call on 0208 404 2525!
Wedding To Do List
For the purpose of this wedding planning list we’ve allowed a 12 month lead time between getting engaged and getting married but you can modify it according to how much time you yourself have to plan the wedding. For example, although 12-18 months is common we often work to a 9 month lead time and have been known to plan a wedding for 120 guests in as little as 10 weeks! So if you are getting married in less than 12 months, just work through the itinerary below in order until you find yourself up-to-date on the wedding timeline. Best of luck!
7-12+ Months to Go…
Let’s Get Started!
Announce engagement.
Decide religious or civil wedding.
Decide style & level of formality.
Start considering colour schemes.
Select the date or date range.
Determine budget.
Create a Wedding Folder and start maintaining a mood board of images you love.
Check our our list of Top Wedding Blogs for lots of useful ideas.
Select Wedding Party members.
Draw up guest list.
Decide child policy.
Contact celebrant and/or registrar to discuss ceremony and steps to take.
Visit General Register Office website via Gov.uk/browse/births-deaths-marriages
Consider a wedding bank account and start a saving plan
Hire Absolute Perfection Wedding Consultancy!
Source, organise, book/purchase…
Engagement party.
Ceremony & Reception venue(s).
Caterer.
Stationery – Save The Dates, + Invites if intending to maintain uniformity
Transportation.
Photographer.
Florist.
Dress.
Cake.
Cinematographer.
Musicians for ceremony and reception.
Entertainment.
First night hotel
Wedding Party & guest accommodation.
Guest travel options.
Hen/Stag events.
Guest full names and addresses.
Gift list.
Wedding insurance.
Dress fitting 1
Send…
Save the date cards.
4-6+ Months to Go…
OMG, So Much To Do, So Little Time To Do It!
Finalise any outstanding elements above. Then…
Final dress fitting/alteration.
Collect wedding rings and clean engagement ring.
Recheck schedule for the day.
Drawing up your seating plan.
Buy the guest book.
Buy partners a gift to give on the day.
Name changed? Advise banks etc.
Finalise music list for DJ/ band.
Wear in wedding shoes.
Confirm Wedding Party duties.
Chase outstanding RSVPs.
Finalise guest number and advise caterer
Reconfirm arrangements with all suppliers, in writing.
Final brief for Best man and Chief bridesmaid on duties, esp. payments to be made.
Our wedding planning checklist is extremely thorough and will tick lots of boxes for most weddings. Obviously, we haven’t included every single conceivable task that you might need to undertake during the wedding planning process. That is after all one of the reasons why we are paid for our services.
You know where we are if you need help!
AP’s Definitive Wedding Planning Checklist: A Professional Wedding Planning Timeline & Extensive To-Do List.
Final brief for Best man and Chief bridesmaid on duties, esp. payments to be made.
Our wedding planning checklist is extremely thorough and will tick lots of boxes for most weddings. Obviously, we haven’t included every single conceivable task that you might need to undertake during the wedding planning process. That is after all one of the reasons why we are paid for our services.
You know where we are if you need help!
AP’s Definitive Wedding Planning Checklist: A Professional Wedding Planning Timeline & Extensive To-Do List.
Final brief for Best man and Chief bridesmaid on duties, esp. payments to be made.
Our wedding planning checklist is extremely thorough and will tick lots of boxes for most weddings. Obviously, we haven’t included every single conceivable task that you might need to undertake during the wedding planning process. That is after all one of the reasons why we are paid for our services.
You know where we are if you need help!
AP’s Definitive Wedding Planning Checklist: A Professional Wedding Planning Timeline & Extensive To-Do List.
Final brief for Best man and Chief bridesmaid on duties, esp. payments to be made.
Our wedding planning checklist is extremely thorough and will tick lots of boxes for most weddings. Obviously, we haven’t included every single conceivable task that you might need to undertake during the wedding planning process. That is after all one of the reasons why we are paid for our services.
You know where we are if you need help!
AP’s Definitive Wedding Planning Checklist: A Professional Wedding Planning Timeline & Extensive To-Do List.
Final brief for Best man and Chief bridesmaid on duties, esp. payments to be made.
Our wedding planning checklist is extremely thorough and will tick lots of boxes for most weddings. Obviously, we haven’t included every single conceivable task that you might need to undertake during the wedding planning process. That is after all one of the reasons why we are paid for our services.
You know where we are if you need help!
AP’s Definitive Wedding Planning Checklist: A Professional Wedding Planning Timeline & Extensive To-Do List.
Final brief for Best man and Chief bridesmaid on duties, esp. payments to be made.
Our wedding planning checklist is extremely thorough and will tick lots of boxes for most weddings. Obviously, we haven’t included every single conceivable task that you might need to undertake during the wedding planning process. That is after all one of the reasons why we are paid for our services.
You know where we are if you need help!
AP’s Definitive Wedding Planning Checklist: A Professional Wedding Planning Timeline & Extensive To-Do List.
Final brief for Best man and Chief bridesmaid on duties, esp. payments to be made.
Our wedding planning checklist is extremely thorough and will tick lots of boxes for most weddings. Obviously, we haven’t included every single conceivable task that you might need to undertake during the wedding planning process. That is after all one of the reasons why we are paid for our services.
You know where we are if you need help!
AP’s Definitive Wedding Planning Checklist: A Professional Wedding Planning Timeline & Extensive To-Do List.
