Wedding List: The 101 checklist you should have for weddings

After the excitement of the engagement dies down a little bit, you have to get into the wedding planning and that can be a nightmare. Especially if you're doing the planning yourself. To avoid totally losing your mind planning a wedding over short notice, Plan your wedding over a period of time you'll be comfortable with, like 6 months to 1 year.

Take things one step at a time and get ready to recruit and ask for help because you’ll need it and just have fun with it. Don’t get too hung up on the small stuff that you forget that you’re planning your own wedding and end up not enjoying it at all. Creating a wedding website is also a great way to keep everyone involved up-to-date.

Planning a budget should be the absolute first thing you do as this will help you in all your decision-making processes later on. Talk to people that were planning on chipping in on the wedding for their contribution and make a budget list of how much you’re working with from all your pooled resources.

It’s a smart idea to set aside some money, 10% as a splurge cushion for unexpected costs but otherwise, this is where you really need to practice self-control and work within the limits of your set budget.

Your priorities should be the things you absolutely feel are necessary for your wedding to be perfect for you. Focus on three important aspects of the wedding whether it’s the food, securing a specific location, booze or the DJ. Choose the three important aspects of the wedding and then get ready to compromise on the rest so you can stick within the budget.

This is both your wedding and you both need to be active planners of it. Some of the things you should really work with your partner on is creating the guest list and the sitting arrangements if necessary, deciding on the venue and the type of food and drinks that will be served so you’re both aware of what’s going on.

Another thing you could so as a couple is to talk to other married couples and get them to tell you the little things they picked up while planning their own wedding.

Choosing a theme or wedding inspiration from wedding blogs and magazines can be overwhelming so we suggest narrowing down your search to two or three mediums such as Pinterest, Instagram and a bridal magazine that you like and get down to business. Make pins/ save themes you like or make cutouts to pin to your vision board.

This would also be the perfect time to choose the timeline/season under which you want the wedding to take place so you can plan adequately. Once you got the styles that you want, talk to your vendors and see if they can make it happen.

Especially if you are working with a limited budget, it is important that you not go overboard. Limit your expenditure so you don’t find yourself with no money and no wedding plans to show for it. Cut down on whatever you feel is extra and only keep the absolutely necessary.

Speaking of options, choose an “on-site” wedding venue like a hotel, restaurant or resort that is inclusive of a kitchen for the food services. These destination venues are great too in case you don’t want a lot of work because they come with great wedding packages and all you have to do is show up and get married and just have a good time.

Have a wedding planning book or buy one from a professional wedding planner. We recommend Mindy’s The wedding book for tons of expert advice, tips and tricks on how to plan the perfect wedding.

A master checklist will really help you stay organized and can be arranged by the division of time and things to do by month, day or hour. The broken down nature of such a checklist will make it easier for you to follow up with what you’ve accomplished and what you’re yet to do. Just find one online that you feel suits your needs and then adapt it for your own wedding.

Nowadays you can take advantage of free social media to post pics and ideas about your wedding online to your crew but if you like being low-key, just pick signage online only to the people you plan on inviting and then pick an officiator for the ceremony well before time.

In your state of feeling overwhelmed, you might get the idea that you won’t have enough time to really go for what you want and end up picking the wrong items. Take your time and weigh everything carefully before making a final decision. It’ll be worth the effort once you see the results of your hard labor.

On this, work with vendors you feel understand you and get the style of your wedding. Read every contract sent your way to avoid non-refundable disappointments at the last minute too.

Your bridesmaids and groomsmen aren’t there to just wear pretty dresses and dashing tuxes on the big day. They are also there to offer moral, emotional and whatever other kinds of support you feel you need for your wedding. Choose from a list of family and friends of people you completely trust and who’ve got your back.

A wedding planning checklist is much like any other checklist, like a shopping checklist with the exception that it runs for months. While planning your wedding, a checklist is a great way to keep on top of things; knowing what needs to be done when and by whom.

This way you can have people help in completing some tasks and then crossing it off and updating the checklist so everyone else knows what's been done and what hasn't.

Here are some of our best pick of apps that you can use to help make your special day just as perfect as you picture it.

Zola is the company that'll do anything for love. The website, as well as the checklist work hand in hand with you to make sure you get the best planning experience by customizing your list to your specific needs like religion and culture. And, it is free! 

The Knot wedding planner app has everything you could possibly need to plan the perfect wedding. It has lots of planning tools such as checklist which is what you want.

Wedding Happy is a smart app that asks you for your wedding date and helps you create a customized wedding planner and a to-do checklist to help you know what needs to be done and by when so you can stress less and enjoy your wedding.

The app sure does have a corny name but it delivers when it comes to planning your guest list. It's great for following up your guest list, sending out invites and collecting RSVPs. Everything is made simpler with Appy Couple.

If you're looking for free printable wedding checklist templates, may we suggest Magnetstreet for their all-inclusive printable wedding checklist.

You can also visit APW, A Practical Wedding planning website for their wonderful wedding planning advice and free printable checklists that you can work with.

Planning a wedding can be stressful but with all the help we've provided above, we believe that you'll be on your way to planning the most beautiful day and all we want is to see you smile through this process.