Your 12 Month Guide to Plan your Special Day
Planning for the Perfect Wedding
Most of the planning for the wedding should be shared by
both the Bride and Groom, however, the Bride's mother should also be allowed to share some
of the responsibilities, if she so desires. This planner is mainly for the Bride, but
there is plenty of info for the groom too.
Nine to Twelve Months before Your Wedding:
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Purchase a three ring binder and divide it
into appropriate sections, start making notes and use it for filling quotations from
various suppliers and stores, etc. |
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Prepare a budget for your total wedding
plans. |
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Decide upon the time and date for your
wedding. |
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Decide upon whether it is to be a formal or
informal affair. |
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Choose and reserve the location of the
ceremony and the reception. |
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Reserve a tent if you are planning an
outdoor reception. |
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Consult with your Clergy, Priest or Rabbi. |
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Choose your attendants, (the Groom chooses
best man and ushers). |
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Select a colour scheme for your wedding. |
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Select your gown and accessories, and your
attendant's dresses. |
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The groom and best man select their wedding
attire. |
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Draw up the bride and groom's guest list. |
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Plan the reception and include the M.C. in
these plans. |
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Select your caterer and discuss the menu
for the reception. |
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Select the following: Cakemakers and/or
decorators, Florist, Photographer, Videographer, Music for the reception (Live Band or
Disc Jockey). |
| Six Months
before Your Wedding:
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Order wedding invitations, announcements,
personal stationery and note paper. |
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Make honeymoon plans and reservations. Take
advantage of early reservation discounts. If necessary, arrange for passports and
inoculations. |
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Select wedding rings. |
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Choose your trousseau. |
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Mothers choose dresses, agree on colours. |
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Find a new home and shop for furnishings
that you will need. |
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Register with bridal gift registry. |
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Reserve your rehearsal dinner location,
including immediate members of both families, the wedding party, spouses and close friends
if possible. |
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Book hotel accommodations for your
attendants who may be coming from out-of-town, and reserve a block of rooms for
out-of-town guests. |
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Confirm dates, times and final arrangements
with Cakemaker, Florist, Photographer, Videographer. |
| Three Months
Before Your Wedding:
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Arrange for direction maps to all venues
(Church, reception, etc.) to be drawn and sufficient copies made to include with all
invitations. |
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Prepare invitations, ensuring all inserts
(maps, reply cards, hotel information) are included in all envelopes. |
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Meet with caterer and discuss final menus,
service charges, liquor costs, waiters and bartenders. Give her/him the approximate number
of guests. Make sure everything is confirmed in writing. |
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Arrange for the limousine service, horse
and carriage or whatever form of transportation you plan to use from the service to the
reception. Again remember to have these arrangements confirmed in writing. |
Two Months Before Your Wedding:
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Discuss and try different hairstyles with
your hairstylist. |
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Select gifts for your attendants. |
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Find all the necessary birth or Baptismal
certificates you may need for acquiring your marriage license. |
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Apply for a marriage license: for details
call your city hall. |
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Plan a brunch for out-of-town guests for
the morning after the wedding, or another activity prior to their departure. This is a
gesture of appreciation for their presence at your wedding. |
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Arrange time and place for a bridesmaid's
luncheon. |
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Send or deliver wedding announcement to
your local paper, provide photo if you wish it to be published. |
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Arrange for your attendants' gown fittings. |
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Record all gifts you receive in the
appropriate section of your three ring binder. Be sure to list all names of gift givers
and the gift they gave, as well as the date of receipt. |
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Meet with the organist and discuss the
music for the service, also with your D.J. or band leader. Be sure everyone is clear on
the type of music you wish played at the reception, as well as at the dance to follow.
Clarify the breaks in the music, when and how long, agree on additional charges for
possible overtime play. |
Two Weeks Before Your Wedding:
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Set the wedding rehearsal date and confirm
rehearsal dinner date and time with the restaurant, or with the caterer, as well as with
all attendants, family members and friends who will be attending the rehearsal. |
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Place your marriage license in a safe place
and remember, you will need it at the ceremony. |
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Be sure you have arranged transportation
for out-of-town guests who will not have their own cars, not overlooking the fact they
will need to be transported from the service to the reception. |
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Move your belongings to your new home. |
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Check all invitation responses and give
final number of guests to your caterer. At this time finalize all previously discussed
items, and have a written cost-per-person breakdown of food and drink signed by the
caterer. Make sure you have a copy for yourself. |
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Have a final fitting of your gown. |
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Buy a Wedding Guest Book. |
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Buy a gift for your Groom |
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Make name and address changes at your bank,
all credit cards, driver's licenses, insurance policies and mail change of address cards
to relatives and friends. |
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Finalize the seating arrangements for both
the rehearsal dinner and the reception, make or have made place cards. |
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Meet with your M.C. for general discussion,
determining how you wish the reception proceedings to be handled. Provide the M.C.
with names and phone numbers of relatives or friends with whom you would like him/her to
consult. |
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Start writing thank-you cards and notes for
your guests. Do a few each day. Don't leave them until after your return from your
honeymoon. |
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Decide upon the receiving line, and arrange
with one of your ushers to organize this at the correct time just prior to the reception. |
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Last minute purchases for your trousseau. |
One Week Before Your Wedding:
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You will need to make final checks with all
services and suppliers to your wedding. Remember your florist and photographer for
example, may be servicing two or three other weddings on the same day. Be sure they have
the correct times, address for your home, church, reception and photo session area, (with
directions, if necessary). |
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Go through your three-ring binder, and be
sure all suppliers and services have been checked for final arrangements. |
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Your bridal party gifts should be wrapped
and gifts for those relatives or friends who have been particularly helpful in planning
your wedding. |
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Arrange with a family member or close
friend to help the photographer and videographer to identify
those persons whom you wish to be photographed or taped for your wedding library. |
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Ask a family member or friend to transport
gifts brought to the reception, back to your or your parents' home. |
2 to 1 Day Before Your Wedding:
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Rehearse the ceremony with the bridal
party.
- If possible, the rehearsal should be held a day or two
before the wedding, and preferably at approximately the same hour as the wedding, so that
lighting conditions and the feel of it will be similar to the wedding itself.
- It is important that everyone be on time so as not to
cause conflict in schedules of pastor and organist.
- If the ceremony is traditional, your clergyman will guide
you efficiently, but if there are innovations, the burden is on the bride to know clearly
what she wants done and to teach the others their duties.
- If the flower girl can wear the formal dress at the
rehearsal, she'll have more confidence at the wedding itself.
- Put marks on the floor where each person in the group is
to stand. This can be done with large headed flower pins, tacks or chalk. Pins are
preferred because chalk rubs off and tacks pop out of the rug and get stepped on.
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Give the ushers the list of names for
reserved seating at the church. |
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Try to relax as much as possible,
culminating with a fun filled rehearsal dinner. |
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Try to get an early night and a good
night's sleep. |
The Wedding Day:
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Try to be up nice and early, to give
yourself lots of time to have hair done and get dressed, prior to the arrival of the
photographer. |
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Nearly every
wedding will have a few minor hitches, but only you or your wedding party might know about
it. Remember, one day from now, you'll look back and smile over the whole incident.
Good luck to you both. Have a wonderful and memorable day. |
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