Wedding Planning Timeline | Calgary Wedding Photographers & Videographers
Congratulations! You got engaged and now the planning for the wedding festivities begins. It may be overwhelming at first when you’re thinking of all the aspects that you have to prepare for. From wedding venues, to choosing your photographer and videographer, there are a lot of steps involved in the process of planning the biggest celebration of your life.
We’ve seen weddings of all shapes and sizes come to life, all beautiful in their own unique way! Here’s an extensive guide to your wedding planning timeline that may help you determine what’s important to you and when you should be thinking of the different aspects of your special day.
12 Months Before:
Get organized: Create a binder of all important information relating to your wedding. We also recommend putting together a custom wedding email to keep all vendor information and details in one place, so that it doesn’t get lost in your personal email inbox.
Create a budget: Consider what your budget is for your wedding first and foremost. If your families are contributing funds, sit down and figure out how much you are willing to spend. This will help you break down costs across the vendors you’ll need and give you an accurate picture at the beginning of your planning stages.
Determine your style: Figure out what colours you’d like and the vibe you want for your wedding. Classic? Modern? Whimsical? We recommend creating a Pinterest board and looking through some examples that will help you determine what you like and give you some direction towards your wedding vision.
Pick your date: We suggest speaking with your most important guests, such as immediate family and close friends to make sure there aren’t any major conflicts with the date(s) that you want. Also consider any special dates that are significant to you and your fiancé that might have some sentimental value to you!
Build your guest list: Your first list will probably be long and more than you will end up inviting to your wedding, but write down everyone you’d like to invite. You can cut down the list later on based on budget, venue, and other possible restrictions.
Begin looking at ceremony and reception sites: Determine where you want to get married and start looking at what options are available in that area! This is a good time to get a sense of options that fit your vibe!
Build your wedding website: There are many helpful wedding website builders and planning tools such as The Knot which can help you get started. Begin with the “How We Met” story as a fun way for you and your partner to get excited about the planning process. You can update and add additional details such as venue and hotel information as you get further along the process.
Book any must-have vendors: If there’s a band you love, a venue that you’ve dreamed of, or a photographer that you absolutely must have at your wedding, contact them ASAP and make sure they’re available once you have a date in mind!
Consider a wedding coordinator: This may seem non-essential, but we’ve seen time and time again the value that a coordinator adds to your wedding. Whether it be helping with the entire planning process, finding good vendors, or even just a day-of coordinator to take the stress off you and your partner on your wedding day, having someone to help keep everything running smoothly can be one of the best decisions that you make!
9-11 Months Before:
Reserve your date: You want to give your guests as much notice as you can so they are available!
Book your ceremony and reception venues: Venues fill up their calendars fast, especially in the summertime, so it’s good to get this out of the way as early as possible
Choose your officiant: Whether you’re getting married at a religious venue or in a beautiful outdoor space in Banff, make sure you get a hold of your preferred officiant ASAP!
Figure out who’s in: Choose your bridesmaids and groomsmen, as well as your flower girl and ring bearer. Aside from that, you may want to consider ushers, guest book attendants, or MCs for your wedding reception at this time.
Find your wedding meal: Book a caterer and figure out an estimated cost per person. This is a good time to do some tasting menus at various venues or caterers that you would like to consider.
Start looking for your wedding fits: It might take some time to find that perfect dress or the suit that makes you feel like a million bucks. Start trying and considering options early!
Vendor search: This is a great time to start booking those photographers, videographers, bands, and DJs for your wedding day! Just like venues, these vendors generally book up to a year in advance, so you’ll make to make sure you’ve secured your preferred people at this time.
Flowers, flowers, flowers: Interview florists in your area to discuss flower options. These may vary depending on season but now that you have your style figured out, the right flowers will elevate your wedding beyond your wildest dreams!
6-8 Months Before:
Order your wedding dress: You’ll want to decide around this time to make sure you have plenty of time for alterations and fittings leading up to your special day.
Register for gifts: We recommend creating a wedding registry with at least 2-3 different stores to give your guests options.
Determine ceremony details: Talk to your officiant about how you envision your ceremony. This is a great time to consider the other details of your ceremony. Is it indoor or outdoor? Do you want a cute wedding arch or special arrangements?
Book your vendors: If you haven’t yet, book your florist, your reception music, photographer, and videographer! If you want a photo booth at your reception, this is a great time to book them as well!
Get your engagement photos done: Have some fun and go on a little photo shoot around this time. Engagement sessions are a great time to get familiar with your photographer’s style so that come wedding day, you feel comfortable and confident in front of the camera. This also gives you plenty of time to prepare if you want to use those photos on your wedding day (e.g. guest books, printed photos, table decor, etc.).
Start planning the honeymoon: You deserve a fun getaway after all this hard wedding planning work right?! Start thinking of what you might want to do for your honeymoon. We also suggest leaving a gap between your wedding day and when you leave for your honeymoon so you have time to wind down after the wedding and to avoid feeling rushed.
Make-up and hair: Time to figure out your hairdo for your wedding day! Set up meetings with local make-up artists and hairstylists to find your fit. If possible, we recommend doing trials with these vendors as well so that you can feel confident in your preferred look for the big day.
Choose bridesmaids dresses and groomsmen suits: It might take some time to find the right outfits and colours. Now is a great time to start planning and scheduling fittings for your bridal party!
Book hotel rooms: If you’re planning an out-of-town wedding or have guests flying in, reserve a block of rooms at hotel(s) nearby your reception venue. Update your website with this information as well.
Finalize your guest list: Take your initial guest list and start to figure out your final list of invites. Your venue capacity, budget, and
Order save-the-dates and invitations: Usually, save-the-dates should be mailed out at least six months before your wedding. The invites can wait until 3 months out but you want to give your guest list a heads up!
4-5 Months Before:
Finalize flowers: Make sure your floral arrangements are set with your florist.
Book that honeymoon: If you’re planning to fly somewhere, usually 3+ months before is the best time to book those flights before prices start to increase. Plan for your accommodations and make sure your passport is up to date, if needed!
Address invitations: If you’re writing anything out by hand, try not to do these all at once. Otherwise, it might not be a bad idea to take an evening or two and get them all done!
Book your wedding night hotel room: If you’re planning to stay in a hotel nearby your reception, book that room!
2-3 Months Before:
Mail invitations: These should go out at the three-month mark.
Choose shoes and outfit details: Make sure you and your bridesmaids have their footwear and any jewelry. For groomsmen, plan out any shoes and details you’d like, such as cufflinks or pocket squares.
Take care of the details: Buy or rent any additional decorations, like program baskets or garlands.
Order wedding bands.
Choose wedding favours.
Wedding day schedule: This is a good time to start planning your wedding day schedule. Certain vendors will need this in advance and may offer suggestions based on timeline to make sure everything runs smoothly!
1 Month Before:
Get your marriage license: Check in with the local bureau where you’re getting married.
Pick up wedding rings.
Go to final fittings: Bring your shoes and accessories to get the full look with your dress and wedding suit. Make sure your guys and gals are fitted and ready to go for wedding day as well!
Create and print programs: Design and prep the final programs for the day, if applicable, and triple-check for any spelling mistakes!
Track down anyone who hasn’t responded to your invite: There will always be guests that forget to respond. Give them a little reminder to finalize who will be attending!
Plan out your seating chart: Once you have your confirmed list of guests, now is the time to get your seating chart sorted out.
Prep your family photo list: Your photographer should recommend that you prepare a list of family photos that you would like. Usually they’re taken after the ceremony, but can take a lot longer than they need to. In order to save time and keep things running smoothly on wedding day, plan out your list of photos you must have and assign a coordinator to help call-out each group while family photos are being taken. This can save a lot of time that you can use towards bridal photos or hanging out with guests during your cocktail hour.
2 Weeks Before:
Choose your must-have shots: If there are specific photos you must have, give your photographer and videographer a list of shots you want to make sure they catch. Otherwise, trust in them to capture the day based on the timeline provided.
Pin down the music: Give your song list to your DJ or band. Be sure to include special song requests and any specific songs you don’t want to hear on your big day. Also make sure they’re aware of any specific songs that need to play at specific points of the day (e.g. walking down the aisle, ceremony exit, reception entrance, etc.).
Choose the seats. Design and print your seating chart for the reception and print/create place and table cards.
1 Week Before:
Know the number of guests. Make sure your caterer has the final head count. Don’t forget to include vendors like your photographer or day-of coordinator who will expect a meal.
Confirm everything. Contact all your vendors one last time and make sure everything is set.
While it may seem overwhelming at first, if you use this general guideline to help you through the process, it will help break down important tasks to focus on and make sure that you’re on track. Remember, every wedding is unique in it’s own way so this is not a one-size-fits-all guide. This timeline may not work for everyone, but hopefully it provides some insight into some of the details that may be important for you.
If you enjoyed this read and would like to see more, check out our Ten Tips for a Stress-Free Wedding Day.
We wish you all the best in planning for the wedding of your dreams! ❤️