12 to 6 Months Before the Wedding

• Determine what you and your families expect you’re wedding to be like.
• What religion, if any, will the service be performed in? How many guests do you want to have? Is it important to have dancing? A seated meal? Live music? An outdoor setting? Alcohol?

• Decide how the wedding will be financed.
• If parents are helping to pay for it, find out how they want to deal with this. The lowest-stress method for everyone is for the parents to commit a specific amount of money, which the bride & groom can supplement with their own money, or keep the extra if they spend less. However, many parents wish to retain greater control over the budget than this method allows. It may be helpful to do some research about wedding costs in your area before attempting to come up with a budget.

• Determine the style and time of day of the wedding.
• If money is an issue, you can often adjust the time of day so that the reception will be more economical. If you do not have the reception during a common meal time, for example, you will not need to serve a meal.

• Select a wedding date.
• This may need to be done in conjunction with selecting ceremony/reception sites.

• Select and reserve ceremony and/or reception sites.

• Find a wedding officiant, if one does not come with the wedding site.
• Speak with your officiant to determine if there are any requirements for them to marry you, and when these requirements need to be met. Discuss also when you should meet to discuss the ceremony.

• Secure catering arrangements for your reception site, if the site does not come with a caterer.

• Order Announcements, Invitations and Thank you cards.

• Plan accommodations for out-of-town guests.

• Plan your wedding cake - Make appointments to sample several bakeries.

• Find a florist

• Hire a photographer and/or video-grapher

• Make a decision on a Musicians, Band and/or DJ

• Arrange for transportation to take you the Bride, the Groom, and your bridal party to and from the wedding location.

• Select a carter and begin to plan a menu for the Wedding Reception