Your 12 month wedding planning checklist | Essex Wedding Venue

Congratulations – you’re getting married! The wedding countdown has officially begun. Perhaps you have a clear idea of what you’d like your Essex wedding day to look like; perhaps you don’t. Either way, you’ll want to kickstart your wedding planning journey with a clear roadmap detailing exactly how you should divide your planning tasks between now and your wedding day.

Whether you have an ideal 12 months to plan your day or are working with shorter time frames, it is entirely possible to plan your Essex wedding with ease and have fun throughout the planning process.

Here is our ultimate month-by-month wedding-planning checklist to help Essex couples enjoy the process and plan the wedding day they’ve always dreamed of.

12 months

Select the venue
Most couples will book their wedding venue approximately one year in advance to ensure that they secure the month and day that best suits them. Choosing a wedding venue is probably the most important decision you’ll make throughout your wedding planning journey so it’s essential that you explore your options, visit a few different venues and ultimately choose the wedding venue that fits the location, guest numbers, style and budget you both have in mind.

It’s wise to have a good idea of which type of venue you’re looking for; however, don’t underestimate the importance of gut feel. Trust how you feel when you’re there. You’ll know when you’ve found the one.

If you’re interested in choosing an Essex wedding venue, Braxted Park boasts exquisite indoor and outdoor spaces, is ideally located in rural surroundings but remains well connected for travelling guests, and can accommodate both large and small wedding parties.

Set your budget
First things first, it’s time to map out exactly what you’re prepared to pay for your wedding day. Start with the bottom line – what do you want to spend as an absolute maximum and are family members contributing? From here, you’ll want to agree on your priorities as a couple and start researching how much these priority areas are likely to cost. From there, you can allocate approximate budgets to all aspects of your wedding day and make compromises in less important areas if need be.

Keep this spreadsheet updated as you plan your big day to keep track of spending and to minimise any surprises along the way.

Make a guest list
Putting together your guest list is often one of the trickiest elements of wedding planning. It’s good to get the guest list agreed early to manage everyone’s expectations and ensure you can appropriately budget and plan for the correct number of guests.

You’ll already have checked the minimum and maximum number of guests with your chosen venue, so next, you’ll have to decide whether you have the budget available to invite everyone you’d like there.

Start with immediate family and best friends (bridal parties and groomsmen), and then together, add on people outside of that close-knit circle until you reach a final number you can both agree on.

11 months

Decide on your theme
Pull out your Pinterest boards, pour a long drink and ask yourselves: what do we want our wedding day to look and feel like? What is most important to us? What will we remember for years to come?

Flick through your inspiration boards, choose a colour palette that you both love and begin to create a mood board of your favourite looks, props and styles. Take your time and try to enjoy this part of the process. If you do begin to feel overwhelmed, you may wish to consider hiring a wedding stylist to support you in bringing your design ideas together and delivering on your vision on the day.

Book important suppliers
Some wedding suppliers book up very quickly, such as photographers, bands and DJs, so as soon as you have secured your wedding date, it’s time to research, shortlist and speak with your favoured suppliers. Once you start securing your dream team, we guarantee you’ll feel super organised and confident with how your wedding day will look and feel.

10 months

Send save-the-dates
Now is the perfect time to send save-the-dates to your guests and to find out if anyone can’t make it to your wedding. From here, you can gauge real numbers and guarantee that the most important people will be there.

Tip – if you’re planning to create a wedding website, you’ll want to do this before you send your save-the-dates so that you can include a URL and guide guests to more information, such as places to stay and directions. In our opinion, this is definitely worth doing to avoid being inundated with the same questions from multiple guests.

Start wedding dress shopping
Gather your squad and make for the shops; it’s time to start trying on wedding dresses! Before you head out, make a mood board of gowns you love and wedding dress shops that you can afford to make the trip as productive as it can be. And lastly, enjoy it.

Book Hotel Room Blocks for Guests
It’s a thoughtful gesture to block out rooms (and secure a discounted rate) for your guests. Before you create a room block at random, check out our comprehensive guide on the subject to ensure your family and friends have the right accommodations.

9 months

Buy your wedding dress
It’s time to make that all-important decision and commit to a dress if you haven’t already. Additional fees may apply for dresses ordered later than approximately nine months before the wedding.

Start preparing invitations
If you’re opting for custom invitations, you may wish to start working with a designer or stationer/calligrapher now to create a suite of design ideas. If you’re opting for a less involved route, you could wait until closer to the time you’ll be sending them out, which is around three months before your wedding day.

Book remaining suppliers
At this stage, you will ideally want to have spoken with a few suppliers and be in a position to book the right professionals for your taste and budget. Scour Instagram, speak to friends for recommendations and research your Essex wedding venue’s preferred supplier list. You will want to have booked your florist, stylist or hired props, cake supplier, hair and makeup artists, and musicians by this stage in the planning process.