Free Wedding Checklist
Forty things worth doing, from a year out to the morning itself, in the order they actually come up.
Tick them off as you go: your progress is kept in this browser, nothing is sent anywhere, and there is nothing to sign up for. It prints onto a clean page you can put on the fridge or hand to whoever is helping. When the invitations come round, send a living, animated invitation.
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How the timeline works
Almost everything in wedding planning is waiting on one of three things: the date, the venue or the headcount. That is why the first stage is so short and so important — a budget, a date, a rough guest number and a venue, in that order, because each one narrows the next. Once those exist the suppliers can be booked, and the ones who only work one Saturday a week go first: photographers, caterers and the better bands are routinely booked a year ahead, which is why they sit at nine to twelve months rather than later.
The middle of the timeline is quieter than people expect. Six to nine months out is for the decisions that need the venue settled before they can be made at all — flowers, music, where guests sleep — and three to six months is when the stationery goes out, because invitations want six to eight weeks of notice and a reply deadline a month before the day.
From there the list stops being about choosing and starts being about confirming: replies come in, the seating plan falls out of them, the caterer needs a final number, and every supplier gets a call to check they have the right date and the right address. The last fortnight is almost entirely about handing the plan to other people, which is the part couples skip and then spend their own wedding answering questions.
Dates on a checklist are a guide, not a rule — a short engagement compresses the whole thing without changing the order, and the order is the useful part.
When should I start planning a wedding?
Twelve to eighteen months before is comfortable for a Saturday in summer, mostly because venues and photographers book that far out. A shorter engagement is entirely workable — you do the same things in the same order, just faster, and you accept a smaller choice of venue and a midweek or off-season date. The first four tasks on this list are the ones that unlock everything else, so start there whatever your timeline.
What should I book first for a wedding?
The venue, as soon as you have a budget and a rough guest count, because the date and the venue are usually one decision and everything else waits on them. Then the suppliers who can only work one wedding a day: the photographer, the caterer if the venue does not cater, and the music. Flowers, cake and transport can wait months without any real loss of choice.
Is this wedding checklist free?
Yes, completely free, with no sign-up and nothing to install. Your ticks are saved in your own browser, so your plans are never sent anywhere, and you can clear them at any time. Occavia makes animated digital wedding invitations; this checklist is a free tool and you are not asked for anything to use it.