Wedding planning
A realistic wedding planning timeline
Wedding planning timelines tend to read like project management for people who love spreadsheets. This one's written for the rest of us — what actually needs doing, when, and what you can safely ignore.
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12 months out
- Agree the budget and who's paying for what. Write it down.
- Rough guest count (within 10). Not the spreadsheet — just a number.
- Book the venue. Everything else flows from this.
9 months out
- Photographer, caterer (if separate), band/DJ. These book up first.
- Ask the wedding party. Send the digital reveal, the card, whatever — just ask.
6 months out
- Send save-the-dates. Email is fine. Nobody cares about the paper anymore.
- Buy or hire the suits/dresses. Suit hire books up by month 4.
- Sort the rings.
3 months out
- Invitations out. RSVP deadline 6 weeks before, not 2.
- Final menu, final numbers, final seating draft.
- Start the speeches. Yes, all of them.
6 weeks out
- Final fittings, final venue walkthrough, final supplier check-in.
- Wedding party gifts ordered.
2 weeks out
- Send the final logistics email to the wedding party. Times, addresses, dress code.
- Confirm transport.
- Stop adding things. Anything new from here is a 'no'.
The week of
- Delegate one trusted person to be the 'don't bother the couple' filter.
- Pack the night before. Phone chargers, painkillers, plasters, the rings.
- Eat dinner. Sleep. Stop refreshing the weather forecast.
Things that genuinely don't matter
- Favours. Nobody takes them home. Skip them.
- Matching everything. Nobody notices. Honestly.
- The colour of the napkins.
While you're here
Be My Best Man builds the digital reveal — a private link with a countdown, your photos and the ask. Five minutes to make, less than a round at the pub.