How to plan your wedding in 12 months

You & your fiance recently got engaged but now what?  The thing is that no ever taught or explained to you how to plan your wedding. Where does a soon to be bride like you figure out where to start planning your big day?  Here we will  cover things like engagement party, engagement photo session, vendor selection, wedding dress shopping, bridal shower & bachelorette party.  We have put together a mini guide on how to plan your wedding in 12 months to help you navigate through your exciting time in your life. 

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Planning your wedding in the first month

In the first month of getting engaged your going to want to announce your engagement.  Engagement parties are the perfect way to share the news with your family and friends The engagement party signifies the official start of your wedding countdown. The moment you’re engaged you begin an exciting new chapter of your relationship and it marks the beginning of the wedding planning process. 

In the first month of getting engaged and getting started on your wedding planning you want to start planning your engagement photo session.  Be mindful when choosing your photographer for your engagement shoot.  It can be a good test run to see if the photographer is a good fit for the big day. Many photographers offer a discount package if you book both events with them.  You can also use this time to schedule a test run with a great hair and makeup stylist by booking her for the morning of your engagement shoot.  Keep in mind that the photos taken on this day would be perfect for save the dates or the actual engagement announcement pictures. 

Grab your soon to be hubby and sit down and map out your wedding day.  It's a good idea to figure out what your wedding priorities are so that you both are on the same page. Grab our free wedding priorities worksheet here.  The worksheet will help you discuss your engagement details, guest list count, wedding location, time of year to get married, budget & much more.  This gives you a great starting point and gives the two of you a chance to get your wedding planning off to a great start!

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11 months before the big day - How to plan your wedding in 12 months

Once you have your budget down you can decide on the type of venue you want to choose.  When choosing a venue you also want to think about your wedding theme and color scheme.  Choosing a venue that will work well you all of your design elements. 

When the venue is chosen you can move forward with deciding on the remaining vendors.  Occasionally the venue with have a preferred vendor list that will help with the decision process. One of the first things after choosing your venue is to hire wedding day help. Arenlace Events provides a wide range of services and price points for every wedding day need. The wedding planner can help you with things like budget management & vendor contract review so that your staying on wedding planning track.  During this time you want to start narrowing down your photographer, caterer, florist, videographer & DJ.

Now that you have found the venue and lock down your wedding date you need to put together the guest list.  Make this a date night with your son to be hubby.  Pick a public location because this could be a touchy subject.  Once you have decided on the guest list you can send out your save the dates.  Grab your closest friends and have them help with addressing the mailings.  This will also give you insight on who would make your wedding party cut.   

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9 months before the big day - How to plan your wedding in 12 months

Choosing your bridal squad is one of the most important parts of the process.  These are the girls that are going to stand by your side, pick up the pieces when they fall and give you a tissue when things get overwhelming.  Picking a Maid of Honor that will be able to handle the Bridal shower and bachelorette party planning is a huge responsibility. During this time you should also ask your bridesmaids to be in your wedding.

Once you have your wedding party assembled now its time to set a date to go dress shopping for your dress and theirs. This is also the perfect time to discuss and finalize groom, flower girl and ring bearer attire. You can also get the mother of the bride and groom to start coordinating their colors with the wedding party. 

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6 Months before the big day - How to plan your wedding in 12 months

Your now at the half way mark of your wedding planning and things are starting to get real.  Plan some time so that you and your future hubby can go ring shopping.  Choosing the right ring that will be durable for him to wear while making a classy statement on his hand. 

Now that you have nailed down the guest list and sent out the save the dates for the wedding you should start looking into accommodations.  Find a hotel that will block out rooms for your family and friends.  Many hotels offer block out rooms at a discount.  You might also want to ask if they have activities or gathering places that they recommend so that family and friends can be entertained during the down time. 

This is a great time to finalize your wedding invitations and have them printed or assembled and send them out.  A great way to reduce the stress is invite your wedding party over for a wine and cheese party and have them help assemble, address and send.

Get in touch with a few bakeries that specialize in wedding cakes and schedule a tasting.  Once you nail down the bakery that you two love you can finalize things, book them and put the deposit down.  You can make a date night out of it and while you are cake tasting you can start entertaining honeymoon ideas and destinations. 

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3 months before the big day - How to plan your wedding in 12 months

Its time to party!  This is a perfect time to start planning and having your bachelorette Party & Bridal Shower.  There are a ton of different ways to  throw a Bachelorette Party from the traditional Vegas style to the low key girls weekend.  Pinterest has a ton of great ideas to choose from and will give you tons of inspiration. 

if you are D.I.Ying your wedding a Day of coordinator would be good to hire on at this point.  Locking in your bridal suite for you and your wedding party for the day of the wedding will ensure that you all have a great space to celebrate and make memories together.  Now would also be a great time to nail down the makeup and hair person for you and your wedding party if you did not get one for your engagement shoot.  Shopping for your wedding party gifts ahead of time so that they arrive by the time you have your rehearsal dinner. 

2-1 month before the big day - How to plan your wedding in 12 months

You happily ever after is just around the corner and there is a lot of last minute details that need to get done. Deciding and packing all of the bride's wedding day essentials.  Contacting the bridal shop and going in for the final fitting as well as picking up the dress if any alterations need to be made.  This is a great time to have the groom do his final fitting as well.   

What is a wedding without the guests.  Get together with your maid of honor and have her make the last minute calls and connect with the guests and have those who have not RSVP lock in their attendance.  Grab your guy and sit down and book your honeymoon.  Plan the itinerary and the travel dates.  Look into excursions, massages, romantic dinners and nightlife. 

Your big day has arrived and its you time to have your dream fairy tale wedding.  Everything that you have imagines in your head since childhood is about to take place.  Planning your wedding in 12 months has been a journey. Its now time to let your wedding planner execute all the wedding details that you have planned making your day stress free and blissful.  Try not to rush this day and soak in all the little special moments that you will have with your family and friends.

Some brides may feel like all of the wedding planning is so much to think about and is stressful.  If your a bride who is overwhelmed with wedding planning and want step by step help from a wedding pro we have the perfect Wedding planning app for you.  The Confident Bride Collective is a wedding planning app that will take you step by step, give you access to a wedding planner and be supported by a girl gang community of brides. Be the confident bride you were meant to be, Let's wedding plan together!

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