- Week one is the four bookings: ceremony, venue, photographer, caterer. Take the first good option; do not tour six venues.
- Drop the tasks that only exist because there is time: save-the-dates, tastings you cannot schedule, made-to-measure outfits.
- Invitations go out at ten weeks, replies close at four, the final count goes to the caterer at ten days. Those three dates do not move.
- Decide the guest list, children and plus-ones in the first fortnight; the money and the room depend on them.
- Keep one running list with dates and owners, and check it on the same evening every week.
What cannot be compressed
Four things have one date per day and are booked by other couples a year ahead: the ceremony slot, the venue, the photographer and the caterer. In six months you will not have the pick of them; you will have the ones that are free, and in most cities that is still plenty. The rule is to book what is free and good in the first two weeks, not to spend a month looking for what is perfect and gone.
Two more things have lead times you cannot argue with: the legal notice period at the civil office, which in several European countries is measured in weeks and needs documents you may have to request from another country, and anything made-to-measure, which needs months. Check the first in week one; give up the second in week one.
What to drop
A long engagement invents tasks. With six months, these can go without anyone noticing.
- Save-the-dates. The invitation itself goes out at ten weeks and carries the date; send it digitally so it lands the same day.
- Made-to-measure outfits. Buy off-the-peg and book the alteration in the same week.
- Multiple venue tours, multiple tastings, multiple trials. One of each, decided on the spot.
- Printed stationery beyond the essentials. A digital invitation, a guest page with the details, and printed place cards are enough.
- Favours, a second outfit, a choreographed first dance, a custom cake design: keep any that matter to you, drop the rest without guilt.
Weeks 1 to 2: book the day
Everything in the first fortnight is a decision that other things wait on. Make them in this order, in this fortnight.
- Agree size, season, budget ceiling and who contributes. Two evenings, not two months.
- Draft the guest list to the nearest ten and decide about children and plus-ones now.
- Check the civil office: free dates, notice period, documents. Book the slot.
- Book the venue that is free on that date and fits the number. Confirm capacity, finish time, sound limit, catering rule, deposit.
- Book the photographer and the caterer who are free. Ask the caterer for the final-numbers deadline and put it in the calendar.
- Create the event in the app with the date, the venue and the guest list; add this checklist as tasks with dates.
Weeks 3 to 6: the suppliers and the look
The second month is one round of bookings with no second opinions. Each supplier gets one call, one quote and a deposit.
- Book the band or DJ, the florist, hair and make-up, and transport, each with one conversation and a deposit.
- Ask the wedding party, and agree their outfits as off-the-peg with alterations.
- Buy the dress or suit and book the alteration and the final fitting.
- Choose the invitation design and write the wording: names, date, time, venues, dress code, reply-by date, children and plus-one rules.
- Finalise the guest list to the person with e-mail addresses or phone numbers.
- Hold hotel rooms for travelling guests and note the release date.
- Review the budget against the real deposits paid so far.
Weeks 7 to 10: invitations and the guest side
Invitations go out at ten weeks before the day, not eight, because the reply window is short and guests need to arrange travel.
- Send the invitations with the online reply form; set the reply-by date at four weeks before the day.
- Publish the guest page: schedule, directions, parking, hotels, dress code, FAQ.
- Order the rings; choose the menu at the one tasting; choose the cake or the caterer's dessert.
- Agree the ceremony order, readings, readers and the three ceremony music moments.
- Draft the playlist and the do-not-play list for the band or DJ.
- Book the accommodation for the two of you for the night before and the night of.
Weeks 11 to 18: replies and the plan
With the invitations out, the middle stretch is about watching the replies come in and building the plan they feed.
- Check replies weekly; message the quiet ones once after the reply-by date.
- Plan the seating on paper by group while replies arrive; finish it from the final list.
- Write the running order of the day with a name against every handover.
- Buy gifts for the wedding party and the parents if you give them; write the vows.
- Confirm the civil office appointment and the documents; book the rehearsal if there is one.
- Final fitting; collect the outfits; break in the shoes.
Weeks 19 to 24: numbers, confirmations, the day
The last six weeks are the same for every wedding, long engagement or short: the final count, the confirmations and the day itself. The last-minute page has the full list.
- Close the guest list at the reply-by date; send the final headcount, menu counts and dietary list to the caterer by their deadline.
- Finish the seating plan and order the place cards and the table plan board.
- Pay the balances due before the day; note which are paid on the day and how.
- Confirm every supplier with the running order in the final fortnight.
- Send guests the final details with the guest page link.
- Pack the kit, hand over the rings and the paperwork, and eat breakfast on the morning.
The three dates that do not move
Everything else on this page can shift by a week without harm. These three cannot, because they chain into each other and the last one is in a contract.
| Date | What happens | Why it cannot slip |
|---|---|---|
| 10 weeks before | Invitations go out | Guests need time to travel and to reply |
| 4 weeks before | Reply-by date | Leaves a week to chase before the caterer's count |
| 10 days before | Final numbers to the caterer | Their deadline, in the contract; after it you pay for no-shows |
FAQ
- Can you plan a wedding in 6 months?
- Yes, a full one. Book the ceremony, venue, photographer and caterer in the first two weeks, take the good option that is free rather than the perfect one that is not, and drop the tasks that only exist because there is time.
- What should I skip with a short engagement?
- Save-the-dates, made-to-measure outfits, multiple venue tours and tastings, elaborate printed stationery, and any extra that does not matter to you. The invitation, the guest page and the reply form carry what the skipped items used to.
- When should invitations go out for a 6-month wedding?
- Ten weeks before the day, with a reply-by date four weeks before it. That leaves a week to chase quiet guests before the caterer's final count at ten days.
- Is 3 months enough to plan a wedding?
- For a small wedding, yes: the same first-fortnight bookings, invitations out immediately with a three-week reply window, and a guest page instead of printed stationery. For a large one, it depends entirely on what is free on the date.