Planning a Crazy Cool Wedding without going Crazy: Step 3
Wedding Plan Step 3: One Big Picture and Some DIY
Define what you really want to focus on. Do you want to remember the day forever with exceptional photography? Do you want a particular background to your wedding? Do you want your guests to experience your particular preference for a delicatessen of food or drink? Do you want to dance the night away to a big band? We chose photography and location as our biggest priorities (other than the ceremony, of course, but this is from a straight party planning perspective). And our budget correctly corresponds, as these are the most expensive items on our list. We still lucked out with exceptional finds, which I'll post about later.
But that means if you're planning on a budget as we are, everything else shouldn't be expended over. Having real flowers wasn't super important to me, so everyone had fake flowers and I arranged them myself with rubber bands, hot glue, and ribbon. Alcohol is awesome but can add up FAST, so we stuck with beer and wine. (Our favorite brands, so the guests feel a bit more connected to us through it.) Food is nice, but who remembers what they ate at a wedding if it wasn't a legitimate delicacy or unique dish? So we went for a buffet (of still delectable food from an excellent caterer, Corky's Catering).
Categories of vendors or goods you'll need to start looking for (in order of how likely they are to be booked early, in my opinion) are:
Location
Photography
Ceremony Officiant (may be included with location)
Day-of Planner (if you feel you'll need one)
Caterer and Food Menu
Bartender and Drink Menu
Music (for both ceremony and reception)
Hair and Makeup (if you want a particular professional especially)
Dress (It's a tough call on when exactly to get this. You want to have it taken care of but you want it to fit.)
Florist
Decor
Hotel booking for travelers
Rings
Note: Research honeymoon and your state's marriage license requirements at some point in this. They're important too, and you don't want to forget about them amongst the details of the party.
Recapping Step 3:
Decide what you want to DIY and what you want vendors to take care of
Make a list of all the things you need done (a helpful thing in taking on this big job is to picture your wedding day, from beginning to end, and writing down everything you'll see/eat/hear/say/experience/etc)
Schedule out your list based on priorities and what you need time to DIY
Here's the general timeline we had (below) , and the reason we had such a long engagement was because of your priority in this planning: TO NOT STRESS.
Wedding Planning Timeline
1 year out:
Create a wedding website (optional; we didn't and just put the important stuff like maps and hotels in the invite)
Set budget, divide costs
Start guest list
Book venue
Hire officiant
Hire photographer
Select wedding party (oh yeah, those guys! Remember that you have them to help you plan all this stuff; I delegated something on the day of to every one of them)
Research license requirements
Research nearby hotels
11 months out:
Choose menu and caterer
Choose drink menu and bartender (check with reception venue on its requirements)
Plan décor (I DIYed all this so I wanted to give myself LOTS of time)
10 months out
Finalize guest list
Set up gift registries
Choose ceremony/reception music
9 months out:
Make Save-The-Dates (DIY)
Arrange hair and makeup
Finish bouquets and boutonnieres (DIY)
Finalize attire
Arrange transportation (if necessary)
Finalize food and drink menus
Start planning honeymoon
8 months out:
Order hair accessories
Order jewelry
Make signs (DIY)
Make gifts for wedding party and parents (DIY)
6 months out:
Send out Save-The-Dates
Reserve any rental items
Make invitations (DIY)
Plan rehearsal and dinner
Choose readings and readers (if applicable)
Order garter (if applicable; I made myself an anklet instead)
Test hair/makeup
5 months out:
Order rings
Arrange any additional lighting or sound equipment
Enlist non-party friends to help out with setup and teardown of specific responsibilities not taken care of by other vendors (chairs, tables, backdrop, aisle, guest greeter, logistics for décor/gifts/cards, dishes, toasting glasses)
Block hotel rooms (if applicable)
Make a day-of schedule for all vendors, parents, bridal party, and helpers
4 months out:
Groom attire and any alterations
Book honeymoon
Finalize cake/desserts
Assure bridal party and parents are on schedule with their attire and travel plans
Mail invitations
Order cake accessories (if necessary)
2 months out:
Verify hotel for traveling vendors and family
Stock alcohol
Create logistics lists for venue and where you're getting ready
6 weeks out:
Confirm vendors (décor, music, food, drinks, ceremony, venue, staff, hair, rehearsal dinner)
Pass out wedding day timelines, rehearsal info, and pertinent communication info to vendors/parents/party
Write vows and give them to officiant (make sure they have your written vows at the ceremony, especially if you want to have them memorized)
1 month out:
Hunt down missing RSVPs
Make seating plan (if applicable)
Finish any DIY projects
Obtain marriage license (state of IL says to marry within a month of getting license)
2 weeks out:
Final headcount to catering and bartender
Schedule mani-pedi (polish never sticks, so I'm doing mine the day before)
Set aside checks and any tips to vendors and staff that haven't yet received them)
1 week out:
Confirm party arrival times
Last minute items
Day Before:
Mani-Pedi
Give vendor checks (in envelopes) to trusted family member to give to vendors
Confirm that all DIY décor and accessories are at venue/prepping place that need to be
Rehearsal and Dinner
Get to bed early enough
