Discover your ultimate wedding planning checklist to make sure you have everything you need for the perfect day with Beaconside House.Planning a wedding can be exciting, but it can also be overwhelming. There are so many elements to wedding planning from the reception, to the venue, to the flowers and so much more, so it can often seem overbearing. But fear not, venue experts at Beaconside House are here to help! Giving yourself a structured checklist to follow with detailed tasks and deadlines to complete wedding planning becomes less stressful and instead genuinely fun and exciting when planning your perfect day.
So, how do you plan a wedding? There is no right or wrong way to plan a wedding. It is, after all, unique to the couple and what they want from their special day. However, to make the planning process as stress-free as possible it's best to follow a wedding planning checklist as these ensure that you complete everything in a stress-free manner.
Read on to learn more about wedding planning and how to organise your perfect day with minimal stress.
How to Plan a Wedding - Your Ultimate Wedding Planning Checklist
Each wedding is unique and tailored to the specific couple, so there is no right or wrong way to plan a wedding. It's important, however, no matter what type of wedding you are choosing to have, whether that be elopement or a grand wedding, that you keep the planning process as fun and stress-free as possible. Weddings are one of the happiest days of your life so treat it as such don't overcomplicate the process for yourself.
To help, our wedding venue experts at Beaconside have created a wedding planning checklist laying out a simple structure of the basic tasks and timelines that you can adapt to whatever your needs or timeline may be. We’ve outlined a checklist set below with a traditional 12-month wedding planning timeline, as this is often the most common time between engagement and the big day, but feel free to follow this as an outline open to adaptation.
First Month of Wedding Planning
Congratulations, you're engaged! The best way to start your planning journey is to sit and talk to your partner and discuss what you both want from your big day before you go ahead and start booking anything. Having a laid-out plan of what your ideal day looks like can be really helpful further down the line for helping to stick to themes and budgets. This could include elements such as:
- Deciding your budget to avoid overspending
- Choose a date to hold your wedding as certain times of the year are often busy and harder to book
- Begin planning your guest lists to help narrow down potential locations and venues
- Book viewings for potential location venues online
- Decide on potential themes and colour schemes
Months 2-6 of Wedding Planning
Months 2-6 of wedding planning are crucial for getting any big tasks completed, especially if your ideal date is during popular wedding times such as summer. By completing bigger tasks earlier you give yourself the best chance to have everything you want for your special day, while also reducing panic and stress closer to the time. We’ve listed some of the main tasks you should focus on during this period of your wedding planning:
- View and book your wedding reception and venue
- Book your photographer and videographer
- Send your wedding invitations out (sending these early gives your guests more chance to reserve time for the event and confirm their attendance, and gives you a better idea for planning your food, seating, etc)
- Choose and inform your chosen wedding party (bridesmaids and groomsmen)
- Start researching what you want for your wedding food, theme and colour scheme, outfit options, travel, and music
Month 6-10 of Wedding Planning
By now, you should have completed all of your big tasks, such as booking a venue to host your wedding and inviting your guest list, but now you need to start planning the finer details that are unique to you and your partner. This is where those months of research come in handy; you have a clear idea of what you want now you just have to book it. Some of these elements you may look at are:
- Order your wedding outfits, you may require alterations so it's best to give you and your seamstress plenty of time to choose and adapt
- Book your chosen music for the wedding whether this is a band, DJ or both!
- Book any venue decorations from a hire company or, if you're doing DIY, get started making those elements early. We don't want any glue gun-related injuries on the big day!
- Choose your wedding party outfits (bridesmaids' dresses and groomsmen's tuxedos)
- Book flower arrangements, corsages, and bouquets ready for the big day.
- Book your food vendors. Most venues will traditionally provide a delicious food menu at an additional cost, this can help reduce the unnecessary stress of having to sort an extra booking element
- Order a wedding cake or dessert
- Start planning your hen do and stag does, because everyone deserves a well-deserved break from wedding planning
- Book your honeymoon, quality romantic time is much needed to celebrate the new happy couple
Month 10-12 of Wedding Planning
You’ve finally made it to the last stretch until your big day! During these final two months, you want to keep planning as stress-free as possible; this period is less about booking things and more about checking everything is ready for your perfect wedding day. This is the ideal time to go over your wedding checklist again and make sure that you have everything booked and ready to go. Some tasks you may complete in these last two months are:
- Review RSVPs and alert the venue of your final guest list
- Decide the final table plan
- Call for confirmation to any vendors you have hired (DJ, food, decoration hire)
- Complete any final decoration DIYs
- Give your DJ or band any must-play songs
- Have pre-wedding pampering booked before the wedding
How to Plan the Perfect Wedding
The perfect wedding is completely down to you and your needs so there's no right or wrong way to plan it. Following a checklist such as the one we’ve created is a great starting point to help keep your planning process as stress-free and fun as possible and ensure you complete all necessary tasks in plenty of time. Or if you're looking to take all the stress out of wedding planning why not try booking a wedding planner? These are dedicated experts who are the perfect people to help plan your perfect day,
When you book a wedding at Beaconside House, you will receive a year-round wedding planner dedicated to helping to plan your perfect day at Beaconside House. Contact us today and speak to one of our team members to find out more about our facilities and what we have to offer to make your wedding day one to remember.
Weddings at Beaconside House
At Beaconside House we are experts in providing the perfect stress-free wedding. We offer exclusive wedding venues and accommodation across 25 acres of the picturesque Devon countryside, so you have everything you need all in one place. We even offer you and your guests the opportunity to have the entire estate for the whole of your wedding weekend so you can sit back and relax and enjoy the time you have together.
FAQs
What is the Most Important Part of Planning a Wedding?
Arguably the most important part of planning a wedding is deciding the budget. This is the most important element as it influences the rest of the other tasks that need completing dictating elements such as the venue, food, guest list and more
What is the Hardest Part of Planning a Wedding?
Wedding planning can be very overwhelming so there are a lot of elements that can be tricky to deal with as you go along. The two hardest parts of planning a wedding can be sticking to the budget, as holding a wedding in the modern age can be very expensive. Also, the legal elements needed for a wedding can be very hard and tenuous to acquire, lots of paperwork is needed to be legally married and this can take a long time to sort.
How Long Before a Wedding Should You Start Planning?
A timeline for planning a wedding can be dependent on the couple as well as the scale of the wedding. The average time advised for planning a wedding is 12-18 months, this gives the couple plenty of time to arrange all the elements and gives them more of a chance to maintain a fun, stress-free planning process.
