How to Plan a Wedding in 6 Months with a Checklist

Understandably your first thought might be, ‘is it even possible to plan a wedding in 6 months?’ to which the resounding answer is, YES! Sure, there’s probably going to be a bit of compromise along the way, and you’ll have to be superbly organised, but we’ve got some great tips and tools to help you along the way. Let’s go…

First things first, you’re going to need a checklist and you’ll need to stay on top of said checklist! When you create a Say I do account you automatically gain access to our custom wedding checklist which will make planning your big day a dream to organise. Simply create an account, add your names and your wedding date, and our intuitive checklist will schedule tasks in priority order all the way up to your big day. We’ve helped many happy couples plan their wedding day this way and can confirm no detail has been missed!

The checklist is fully customisable so if you come across tasks that aren’t relevant to your event you have the option to delete them. You can also add as many new tasks as you like to your wedding checklist in order to make it truly personal to you and your bespoke wedding plans. Expect to find tasks such as ‘create a mood board’, and ‘research ceremony music’ as well as prompts to purchase items such as wedding insurance, wedding bands and transport.

If you’re concerned about where to even begin, there are a handful of top priority tasks which you can do right away, because let’s be honest, every minute counts when you’re planning a wedding on a tight timescale!

1. Confirm your budget

You can’t even begin to plan your big day without knowing how much money you have to play with. Have an open, honest chat with your partner, confirm your priorities and make budget allocations for each element of your wedding day. These don’t have to be exact, as long as you have an idea of what you’re spending where, and don’t forget to add a 20% contingency!

2. Start researching

Once the wedding budget is set, it’s time to start researching. Seek out the big ticket items first such as your venue, before moving on to other areas. The reason for this is that you might find your venue already has a recommended supplier list in place or imposes set packages / partnerships meaning that those hours of researching the best deal on your favourite wine was in fact a waste of time. Your shortlisted venue’s availability will also play a huge role in when your wedding is going to be taking place. If you’re flexible on dates, consider getting married on a weekday or splitting your day between two venues (ceremony, and reception) to make things work for you.

3. Draft your guest list

Your guest list is one of the most important factors when planning your wedding. If your wedding is fast approaching be prepared for the possibility that some guests just won’t be able to make it. Don’t forget to ask your parents if they have any guest requests and decide whether your guests will be allocated plus ones, and if children are going to be invited too. These considerations could very quickly bump your numbers (and budget) up!

4. Create a wedding website

Your wedding website is more than just a web page holding easy-access information for your guests. Wedding websites can end up being an integral wedding planning tool if used cleverly. And one which you will benefit from utilising early on in your planning journey if possible! With a Say I do wedding website you can customise your design (invitations included), get familiar with your personalised checklist and start ticking tasks off, and you can organise and manage your guest list and RSVPs here too, all in one place.

5. Hire a wedding coordinator

If you’re looking to hire some additional help for your wedding celebrations, we would recommend getting this organised sooner rather than later. The more time they have available to help you the better!

Refreshingly when planning within a tight timeframe there’s not a lot of time for second-guessing. A lot of decisions are going to have to be made fast, but that’s all part of the fun, right?! Pack in as much planning and organising as you can early on so you can revel in the excitement and savour some quality time with your fiancé as the big day approaches.