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 appreciate from the off that you won't be sticking to all of the traditional wedding planning timelines out there. But by being superbly organised, it is absolutely achievable. So stick with us because 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! Organisation is KEY when planning a wedding on a short lead time. Did you know that 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 both of your names and your wedding date and our intuitive checklist will schedule tasks in priority order all the way up to your big day. It’s simple, effective and incredibly easy to use! In fact, 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 too, so if you come across tasks that aren’t relevant to your event, you have the option to simply 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 arrange some of the important elements such as your marriage license, find a rehearsal dinner venue, and buy your wedding rings.

If you’re concerned about where even to begin, keep reading for five top-priority tasks which you can do right away because let’s be honest, every minute counts when you’re wedding planning 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! There WILL be last-minute costs you didn't budget for and cannot avoid, such as alterations to your wedding dress, supplier travel costs, or wedding party gifts.

If you're choosing to host a destination wedding, which, in all honesty, may need a little more time than 6 months but can still be done, your wedding budget will also look a little bit different as you'll have to consider travel and accommodation costs on top of everything else. It's also important to keep in mind that the later you leave inviting your loved ones, the higher the risk of some of them not being able to attend if you're planning your celebration in a far-flung destination. Guests need ample notice to arrange time off work, potentially sort child care out, and save some money.

2. Start researching

Once the wedding budget is set, it’s time to start researching - the fun bit! We would always recommend seeking out the big ticket items first, such as your wedding venue, before moving on to other areas. The reason for this is that you might find your venue already has a recommended wedding vendors list in place or impose set packages/partnerships, meaning that those hours of researching the best deal on your favourite wine were, in fact, a waste of time! Your shortlisted venue’s availability will also play a huge role in when your wedding will take place. If you’re flexible on dates, consider getting married on a weekday or splitting your day between two venues (wedding 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, decide whether your guests will be allocated plus ones, and consider whether children are going to be invited too. The answers to these could very quickly bump your numbers (and budget) up!

Your guest list may be a slightly different story if you're hosting a destination wedding, but the key is to get your save the dates out as promptly as possible to give your guests time to get organised. As soon as you've agreed on a date and secured the location, you can send out your save the dates. You can share your wedding website URL at this time, too and add to it when you have more details set. Wedding websites are an essential part of wedding planning anyway, but they become even more essential when it comes to planning destination weddings, as you can share information such as accommodation options, travel arrangements, and the itinerary to everyone with ease.

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 greatly from if you utilise it early on in your planning journey! With a Say I do wedding website, you can customise your design (save the dates and 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 planner or 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 wedding 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 of the wedding planning process 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.