Photos on thumbnail courtesy of Dark Roux Photography.
If you’ve followed along with any of our previous blog posts, you likely know that we emphasize the importance of avoiding procrastination on several different wedding planning tasks. In fact, just last week, we discussed some of the wedding vendors that you’ll want to book fairly early on. Staying on schedule throughout the planning process will not only help alleviate any unnecessary stress, but it will also ensure you’re able to design each aspect of your wedding exactly the way you had envisioned it!
With that all being said, it’s also important to understand that not everything has to be done right away. In many cases, couples have more than a few months to plan out their wedding day and as such, have plenty of time to work through their wedding planning checklist. With this time flexibility, you can truly take your time and won’t feel rushed going through the various tasks. In this week’s blog post, rather than taking a look at the to-do’s that you’ll need to do shortly after getting engaged, we’ll be discussing the tasks that you can wait on. Keep in mind that there is no specific timeline that every couple has to use. These are simply general guidelines for any couple needing some advice on creating a wedding planning checklist!
Creating Your Seating Chart
As you can likely guess, your guests are a major part of your wedding celebration! After all, you’re going to want your family and friends there to celebrate this special occasion, right? With that in mind, it’s no surprise how they’re intertwined throughout many of the wedding planning tasks. From finalizing the guest count itself to having an easy-to-use wedding website and even thinking of ideas for wedding favors, they’re a huge part of any wedding celebration! Yet another item that will involve your guests is creating the seating chart. Luckily, this is an item that you won’t have to complete right away and will have some time to finalize your official guest list first before creating the seating chart.
If you’ve recently attended a wedding, you likely know there are plenty of possibilities when it comes to creating your seating chart. So…if you or your partner are someone that is quite creative, this will be right up your alley. If not, you’ll be glad to know there are more than a few resources online that will help spark some ideas! In terms of the style of the seating chart display, you can go with something simple, possibly use a chalkboard and so on. As for deciding who sits where, that will likely be up to you and your partner to decide!
Purchasing Gifts for Wedding Party
It wouldn’t hurt to start brainstorming ideas ahead of time (especially if they’ll be customized), but purchasing gifts for your wedding party is something that you’ll have time to complete. You’ll just want to have them ready to go by the rehearsal dinner or wedding day itself (depending on when you plan on handing them out). As you can likely imagine, there are no shortage of possible options for wedding party gifts. They certainly don’t have to be anything super expensive and you also don’t have to get each groomsmen or bridesmaid that exact same thing either. Considering they’ll be standing by your side as you say your “I Do’s,” I’m going to guess that you know them pretty well! With that being the case, think of what their interests or hobbies are. Do you have someone that’s a huge golf fan? How about someone that is a frequent traveler? Thinking of something connected to their interests/hobbies is a great starting point if you’re struggling for ideas. In addition, including a customized element to it (perhaps with their initials) would be a cool component too! Nonetheless, we’ve included it on this blog post because you have time to get these purchased and don’t have to buy them right after getting engaged!
Getting Wedding Favors Ready to Go
Our next wedding planning task that you’ll have some time to complete is getting your wedding favors ready to go. Whether you plan on turning them into a DIY project or are planning on purchasing them ready to go as-is could impact the exact timeline for this, but we generally recommend starting on wedding favors roughly 2-3 months before the big day. Considering there will be a greater quantity of gifts involved with wedding favors (in comparison to your wedding party gifts), you may want to start on these first. Even though the dollar amount per gift will be smaller with the favors, the total number of them will likely be much larger! As has been a theme throughout this blog post, there are several possibilities to take into consideration with wedding favors. You could add a customization element to it (possibly with you and your partner’s initials or even the wedding date). You could think of something practical that anyone could use. You could even go with a tasty treat that they could enjoy on their drive home from the wedding celebration. All in all, it doesn’t need to be completed right away, but you also don’t want to wait until the last minute either!
Small (Yet Important) Details
Planning out a wedding will include plenty of big decisions (like booking your caterer and photographer), as well as smaller tasks that will still have a significant impact. Nonetheless, there are quite a few to-do’s that you’ll likely find yourself doing in the final month or two before your wedding. Will you be going on a honeymoon right after the wedding? If so, you’ll want to make sure you’re all packed and ready for that! If you haven’t already done so, you’ll want to order thank you cards, which will be something that you’ll work on after returning from a relaxing honeymoon. For vendors that will be present at your wedding, you’ll likely want to have a thank you card with a tip included to show your appreciation for their support. Once those are ready, you’ll also want to choose a family member or close friend who can be in charge of handing them out on the day of your wedding (it will be one less thing for you to worry about on the big day!). While we could easily include several other tasks that you’ll find yourself completing when the wedding is just around the corner, these are a few examples!
Don’t Wait to Book Your Venue!
Even though we’ve highlighted several tasks on this blog post that you can wait on and don’t have to complete right away, that’s not going to be the case with every wedding planning task! Maintaining a steady schedule throughout the entire wedding planning process is the easiest way to ensure it’s an enjoyable experience for both you and your soon-to-be spouse. For obvious reasons, one task that you’ll want to take care of during the early stages will be booking your wedding venue. The venue is obviously a big component in your wedding celebration and popular venues can also get booked up months (or over a year) in-advance for certain dates!
If you’re planning a wedding near the Houston area and still need a venue, we would be more than willing to show you around our wedding venue, Madera Estates. We’re located in Conroe, TX and have had the opportunity to work with hundreds of engaged couples as they plan their dream wedding day. To speak with a member of our team and learn more about our venue, feel free to click the link HERE.