Wedding Planning Cheat Sheet

It doesn’t matter whether you’re the groom, bride, mother of the bride or even a close grandmother, wedding planning is not easy.  There are so many tasks and deadlines to keep on top of; if you’re not careful the entire process can quickly become overwhelming.

That’s why I decided to dedicate today’s blog post to providing a “wedding cheat sheet” around the various deadlines you’ll run into.  Hopefully, laying everything out in this manner will make things just a little bit easier.

Now, this cheat sheet is not comprehensive, as I did not go into any details regarding booking the church, booking the wedding venue, hiring vendors, etc.  Rather, this cheat sheet specifically focuses on the needs of your guests.  So without further adieu, here is the cheat sheet.

• 1 year beforehand: create a wedding website to keep track of the various details, including information for your guests about the registry, hotel, reception hall, etc.
• 6 months beforehand: Finalize your guest list and send out the save the date cards.  This will give your guests ample time to make the necessary arrangements to attend.  Keep in mind that you can omit this step if you’ll be having a small and local wedding.
• 5 months beforehand: Set up your registry.  This will give your guests enough time to do what they need to do.  You can always go back and add or delete items if needed.
• 2 months beforehand: Send out the wedding invitations.  This is the perfect time, as it’s not too close or too far away from the wedding date.  Remember to request that all the RSVP cards be returned by 2 weeks before the wedding.
• 2 months afterward: Get those thank you cards out the door.

Following this deadline guidance will help to maximize the odds that your guests will attend, as this makes things easy for them and provides plenty of time and information for them to make their arrangements.  Plus, it demonstrates that you are respectful of your guests’ time and schedules. 

So, make sure you follow this timetable as precisely as possible…you’ll be better off for it in the end (not to mention your guests, too!).  Good luck!