Wedding planning in 15 steps – Part 2: The finer details

In Part 2 we will look at sending your invitations, stationery, attire for the groom and your bridal party as well as any final details you may need to organise. If you haven’t already read part 1, we highly recommend that you do to learn about where to begin and steps one through eight. Wedding planning in 15 steps – Part 1: Where to begin

Let’s dive in!

Step 9: Inviting your guests

Inviting your guests to your wedding is somewhat of a two part process. There’s the save the date card and of course, your wedding invitations. Let’s begin with your save the date cards.

Save the date (6-12 months before)
Whether it’s digital or via snail mail, a good rule of thumb to remember is a save the date card is just that! A little notice to let your guests know, well in advance, that you’re getting married and to save the date in their calendar. This is why many couples send these out anywhere from 6-12 months prior to their wedding day. A few factors to keep in mind is if your guests have to travel/book flights or accommodation, then the sooner the better. For this reason people often include the city/town on their save the dates so guests can quickly see if they need to make such plans.

Wedding invitations (3-6 months before)
Wedding invitations can require a little more preparation. You will need to collate all the important details for your wedding from your ceremony start time and venue locations to your wedding website (if having one) and registry/wishing well details. Since your guests have already saved the date and know the location of your wedding, your wedding invitations are not quite as urgent. Three months before your wedding is an ideal time to remind people it’s coming up, provide them with the intimate details and give them plenty of time to respond.

Six decisions to make when it comes to your wedding invitations:‍

1. Digital or print?
   Will you be going digital or print for your save the dates and wedding invitations? This is also a good time to consider if you will have a wedding website.
2. Save the dates and wedding invitations or just the invitations?
   Some couples will have already told most of their friends and family to save the date by now and may find sending an official one redundant. As a result some choose to only send a wedding invitation and often do so a little earlier than usual at approximately six months prior to their wedding day.
3. How will we receive our RSVPs?
   Before you put together your wedding invitations, you will need to decide how you would like to receive your RSVPs from your guests. Will you include a pre-stamped envelope for them to post back to you or will you send guests instructions to digitally respond?
4. DIY/template or hire a professional?
   It’s worth doing a bit of research as wedding invitations can really add up not just in costs, but in the time it may take you to design and plan each element (keep this in mind when it comes to your stationery and signage as well, as if you go through a professional, you may want them to do your entire wedding suite from invitations to signage).
5. Will we have a gift registry, registry service or wishing well?
   If you’re planning on one of these this information will most likely need to be included with your invitations or on your wedding website. You will need to know now which option you would like to include and now may even be the time to book and get started if you are going with a service.
6. What style do we want?
   You should have a good feel for your wedding aesthetic by now and once you’ve decided on how you will be creating your invitations and stationery, you will need to think about the style you want (this is another great time for Pinterest)!

Remember, there are no hard rules for when to send your save the dates/wedding invitations. Ultimately you and your fiancé will be the ones to decide when is a good time to send them for your particular guests, we are simply offering a guideline. Once you have settled on a time, pop them in the mail or hit send, sit back and wait for your RSVPs to come in!

Step 10: Organising your stationery and signage

First things first, you will want to take some time to create a list of all the stationery and signage you may need from your ceremony/reception signage to your thank you cards. A good way to do this is to think through the entire proceedings for your wedding day and where you may need signage or stationery. You will find a few of the decisions you made for your wedding invitations will apply here as well.

Three decisions to make when it comes to your wedding stationery and signage:

1. DIY/template or hire a professional?
   As we mentioned in step 9, it’s worth doing a bit of research as wedding stationery can add up not just in costs, but in the time it takes to design and plan each element.
2. ‍What style do we want?
   This will most likely be dictated by your wedding invitation styling, especially if you want to keep a cohesive aesthetic throughout your wedding.
3. ‍Will we have a guest book or photobook?
   Not that there are any rules you can’t have both, but it’s good to know in advance as you will need to order or create your relevant book and organise pens/a camera/tape/glue etc. If you’re opting for an audio/video guest book it’s worth deciding now as this will also determine what signage you may need for this element of your wedding.

Step 11: Shopping for the groom & your bridal party

Whether you are planning on having dresses or suits custom made, ordered from overseas or purchased at a local boutique store, it’s always a good idea to get this process started at least six months before your big day. Once you begin shopping with your bridal party you may find not everyone is comfortable in the same thing or what you are after isn’t readily available. This should leave you plenty of time to deal with any unexpected encounters or postage delays.

Five things to keep in mind before you start shopping for your bridal party:‍

1. A little forethought and research goes a long way: Finding out what timeframes look like at certain stores for custom orders and if they stock what you’re after will save you time, especially when shopping in large groups. This will also help you get an idea of the price range and if it’s in you/your bridal parties budget.
2. Don’t forget about the little ones: This is also a good time to consider attire for any of the younger members of your bridal party such as page boy/flower girl/ring bearer (if you’re going to bridal party specific stores they may cater for this and a bit of planning could save you an extra trip).
3. Don’t forget about accessories: From pocket squares for the groomsmen to clutches for your bridesmaids, now is a good time to start thinking about and organising any accessories your groom and bridal party may require.
4. Consider alteration costs: Whether it’s for the groom or your bridesmaids, if any of their attire needs alterations these costs can add up quickly, so it’s good to be prepared for this potential additional expense in advance.
5. Save time by grouping outings together: A good example of this is the groom and his groomsmen. Every groom will have a different idea of what they want to wear on their wedding day. Whether it’s a formal custom tuxedo or a more casual look with chinos and suspenders, they will probably have some crossover between their look and what their groomsmen wear. If this is the case and you’re planning to organise their outfits from the same place you may as well tackle it all in one hit and bring the groomsmen along.

Now that you and your entire bridal party are dressed and ready to impress, you can start to breathe easier as you approach the finishing touches for your wedding day.

Step 12: Wedding rings

Whether you’re going custom or buying in store on the day, wedding rings are good to get organised at least a few months before you walk down the aisle. It may take you a few visits to decide on what you want or to come up with the right design… and if you need diamonds ordered in, that can take anywhere from 2-12 weeks.

‍Four questions to ask yourselves when choosing your wedding rings:‍

1. Will it fit with my engagement ring?
2. Is it practical to wear everyday?
3. What material/colour will suit my style and existing jewellery?
4. Will we get insurance (if you haven’t already, now is a good time to get your engagement ring insured as well)?

This is an exciting part of your wedding planning journey and quite a lovely way to spend some time together amidst all the chaos of planning. Your rings are a symbol of your eternal love for one another and a way to show the world you are committed to each other. It can be easy to forget the romance of weddings in all the planning so we suggest you make an afternoon of shopping for wedding rings if you can. Have lunch first or dinner after and discuss which options you liked or are leaning towards. You may even find some stores will offer you champagne so it might not be a bad idea to leave the car at home!

Step 13: Booking your remaining vendors

Now it’s down to those last few vendors that will round out your wedding day plans. Everyone will have a different list of what vendors remain to be booked but we’ve listed some of the more common ones you may want to consider below.

Remaining vendors to consider booking:‍

• First dance: A choreographer or lessons for your first dance if you are planning on having one.
• Entertainment: Some people like to add a little something extra such as a saxophonist who joins the dancefloor, fireworks, dry ice for your first dance and so on.
• Cultural aspects: If you or your fiancé’s culture means you have additional vendors you may want to add such as dancers or drummers etc.
• Wedding favours: These can often get forgotten about in the planning process and become a last minute rush (if it’s a bit of a labour intensive task, such as adding stickers to candles, don’t forget your bridal party is here to help)!
• Content creator: You may want to add a content creator to your wedding day. They will snap photos on their phone, put together reels and usually deliver them to you within 48 hours.
• On the day coordinator: You may want to organise a wedding coordinator to help bring your vision to life on the day, so you can relax and let them worry about making sure everything runs smoothly. You will also find they are likely to help you organise/finalise your runsheet and final confirmations with your vendors.
• Audio/video guest book: If you want something a little different you may opt for one of these instead of the traditional paper guest or photo books.

These vendors can also book up so the sooner you book the better but at the very least we would suggest reaching out no later than 12 weeks before you walk down the aisle.

Step 14: Organising the final details

At least four to eight weeks before your big day, there is a good chance your vendors will prompt you to take care of some of the final details for your wedding day. For example, if you’ve hired musicians they will most likely reach out to ensure you have selected your final music choices, photographers may prompt you for a list of must-have photos and so on. However, there are a few final details you may need to prompt yourselves to get organised, see our list below to check if you’re on the right track.

Final details to organise:

• Speeches: Now is a great time to decide and reach out to those whom you would like to make a speech at your wedding (if you haven’t already asked them) and of course to take the time to write your own speeches.
• Asking guests to be a part of your day: If you would like certain guests to act as your witnesses, ushers or give a reading now is also a good time to ask as you will want these details for your ceremony venue/coordinator.
• Music selection: If you have decided to provide music yourself, for example a playlist through Spotify, now is the time to finalise your selections and share these with the relevant vendors.
• Father daughter dance: If you’re wanting to have a father daughter, or any other combination as a stand alone dance, it’s worth giving that person a heads up and choosing a meaningful song together.
• Morning of food and drink: It’s always a good idea to have the pantry well stocked or even organise a caterer to drop off some food for the morning of your wedding. This way you and your bridal party have some nibbles and drinks on hand to kick off your day on the right note. Be sure to avoid food and drink that will stain easily such as tea or chips like Doritos!
• Emergency kit: It never hurts to be prepared! Grabbing some items from home or the supermarket, such as bandaids, bobby pins, tissues, safety pins etc and popping them in a little bag to bring along on your wedding day, may just come in handy.
• Something old, new, borrowed and blue: If you are following this tradition now would be a good time to take inventory and see if you’ve got yourself covered or need to organise anything old, new, borrowed or blue!
• Runsheets & back up plans: Whether your venue or coordinator will organise this for you, you may still need to create your own runsheet for getting ready the morning of or any other movements during the day that aren’t covered by either of these vendors. Be sure to have a mobile number for each vendor on hand (just in case). It’s also worth considering if you will need any back up plans in place in case of bad weather and communicating them to the relevant parties.
• Pick ups: Make a list of any final items you need to pick up such as your wedding dress, hired items, deliveries remaining at the post office etc.
• Drop offs: Following your pick ups, you may want to organise any final items you need to drop off with your bridal party or vendors for your wedding day.

Step 15: Final appointments, rehearsals and payments

By this step you will most likely be hitting the one month and under mark which is very exciting!

Be sure to organise and leave time for:‍

• Final dress fitting/s: Whether you have opted for custom made or ordered a dress off the rack, you will most likely have a final fitting just ahead of your big day.
• Have your rings cleaned: Usually the jeweller you purchased your engagement/wedding rings from will offer a free cleaning service.
• Final decisions: To be made with vendors, for example, order of events, music selection, photography must-have lists etc (if you haven’t already done so from the previous step).
• Beauty appointments: If you haven’t already, book in any beauty or grooming appointments you may want prior to your wedding day. While many of these can be booked with minimal notice, it’s always best to book a few weeks beforehand to ensure your preferred date/time and beautician/hairdresser if you have a preference.
• Rehearsal: If you would like to have a rehearsal, it’s good to organise this now and notify the relevant people of the time and place.
• Payments & confirmations: Around now you’ll be getting close to the due date on many of the remaining payments for your vendors. It’s time to make your final payments and while you do this, it’s not a bad time to do a final confirmation with your vendors.
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That’s essentially it!
You’ve taken the final steps in planning your wedding and finalising everything for your big day! Now all that’s left to do is enjoy every last minute of it.

Congratulations, you have made it through all 15 of our steps to planning your wedding! Hopefully by now you’ve had some fun with this process and are well on your way to the wedding day of your dreams!

‍– By The Aisle Runner