The Ultimate Wedding Details Checklist

The ultimate wedding details checklist to help you make sure you have everything covered and accounted for, small details included.

The closer and closer we get to our wedding date, the more stressed I get. I know that in the grand scheme of things, the details of our wedding day really don’t matter. What matters is that I’m marrying the man I love. But, as a woman, I’ve been dreaming about my wedding since I can remember. Even before we had any interest in boys, my friends and I would dress up and pretend like we were getting married. It’s just a part of being a woman.

What makes the stress worse, is that I’m a planner. I love to plan and organize because I want everything to be perfect. So, naturally, that’s how I am for my wedding, the most important day of my life up until this point. As it gets closer, I’m beginning to worry about the small details. The things that none of the online wedding checklists cover.

I’ve scoured the internet looking for a checklist that covers the small details, but I couldn’t find any. All I could find were basic checklists with the main things like buy a wedding dress, hire a baker, send invites, and book your venue. I want a list of the nitty gritty details so I can have a peace of mind that we have it all accounted for. There has to be other women like me out there who are crazy about planning and being organized that could benefit from this detailed of a list as well. Since I couldn’t find that, I decided to make the ultimate wedding details checklist myself.

Before I begin, I wanted to recommend using The Knot for everything when it comes to your wedding. They have a great planning tool that I’ve found super handy. It is personalized to your wedding date, so it will tell you exactly when you need to do things. I love being able to check things off as I go. So now, let’s get into the ultimate wedding details checklist.

venues & Locations

Your venues and locations are probably the most important things about your wedding day, so get them booked right away. Pretty much everything else is more lenient when it comes to timing, but these things are first-come-first-serve. There aren’t many good wedding venues around me, so I knew I needed to book them soon if I wanted to get one before it was taken. I’ve also included some of these in other categories below, but wanted to give it its own category as well since it’s so important.

• Rehearsal Dinner Reservations
• Accommodations for the Night Before if you’re staying in a hotel
• Decide on a “Getting Ready” location for both the girls & guys
• Decide on a “First Look” location
• Ceremony Venue
• Decide on a photography location
• Reception Venue
• Wedding Night Accommodations for the Bride & Groom
• Reserve hotel block if you have a lot of out-of-town guests

Attire

Another important piece, and probably the one us ladies are the most excited about completing!

• Wedding Dress
• Wedding Dress alterations
• Bride’s shoes
• Bridesmaids dresses
• Bridesmaids shoes
• Groom & Groomsmen suits or tuxes
• Ties for Groom & Groomsmen
• Groom & Groomsmen shoes
• Mother-of-the-Bride dress
• Mother-of-the-Groom dress
• Suits or tuxes for fathers & grandfathers
• Dresses for grandmas
• Flower girl dress
• Ring bearer suit
• Bride’s jewlery
• Bride’s veil
• Bridesmaids jewelery
• Undergarments
• Garter if you’re wearing one

flowers

• Bride’s bouquet
• Groom’s boutinniere
• Bridesmaid’s bouquets
• Groomsmen’s boutinniere
• Mother of Bride and Mother of Groom flowers
• Flowers for grandmothers
• Father of Bride and Father of Groom boutinniere
• Ring Bearer boutinniere
• Flowers for flower girl to toss

gifts

• For each other
• For the Bride’s parents
• For the Groom’s parents
• For other family members
• For the Bridesmaids
• For the Groomsmen
• For the Flower Girl
• For the Ring Bearer
• Tips for the officiant, the florist, the photographer, the caterer, and the DJ

things & people to book and/or order

• Photographer
• Hair and makeup artists
• Officiant
• Florist (or order flowers if you’re going the artificial route)
• Cake baker
• Caterer
• DJ
• Pianist
• Save the Dates
• Invitations

things to do ahead of time

• Whiten teeth
• Tan
• Workout
• Skin care
• Get your nails done
• Get your engagement ring cleaned
• Get insurance for your venues if required
• Prepare for your marriage
• Get marriage license
• Explore joint bank accounts
• Research how to change your name
• Look into joined insurances policies

the rehersal dinner

• Make arrangements with your officiant
• Talk with the one’s paying for the dinner (usually this is the groom’s family).
• Reserve the dinner location
• Decide on a menu
• Decide on drinks (if you will offer them)
• Decide on dessert options
• Invite your wedding party and the family members you want to attend
• Take decorations to decorate the ceremony venue while you’re there

Getting ready: details

• Choose a “Getting Ready” location
• Make a schedule
• Book hair and makeup artists
• Decide if you want your photographer there while you get ready
• Make a getting ready playlist

getting ready: things to buy

• Bride’s Dress
• Bridesmaid’s Dresses
• Bride’s Shoes
• Bridesmaid’s Shoes
• Veil
• Hair pieces
• Jewelery
• Undergarments
• Garter (if you’re wearing one)
• Hanger for wedding dress
• Hangers for Bridesmaid’s dresses
• Robes or pajamas
• Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, and Something Blue
• Mother of the Bride Dress
• Mother of the Groom Dress
• Grandmother’s dresses
• Flower Girl Dress
• Groom’s suit or tux
• Groomsman suits or tuxes
• Father of the Bride suit or tux
• Father of the Groom suit or tux
• Grandfather’s suits or tuxes
• Ring bearer suit

Ceremony: details

• Decide on and ask officiant
• Go through pre-marriage counseling
• Decide if you want music played by piano or sound system
• Pick your song choices
• Organize the processional and recessional orders
• Organize seating
  • Which side will the Bride’s family be sitting on? The Groom’s?
  • Who’s sitting in the front row?
  • Will you assign sides based on who they’re there for (Bride or Groom)? Or will you let people choose a side?
• Assign ushers
• Choose people for readings during the ceremony
• Decide on a special element for your ceremony (e.g. Unity candles, A cord of three, Foot washing, Communion, etc.)
• Decide if you’re going to do a first look
• Are you going to write your own vows?
• What are you going to do when you exit? (Receiving line, bubbles, flowers, bird seed, etc.)
• Parking

ceremony: things to buy

• Rings
• Ring Bearer pillow
• Flower Girl flowers
• Flower Girl basket
• Aisle runner
• Reserved pew signs
• Decorations
• Ceremony Programs
• Welcome Sign
• Items for special element of ceremony (unity candles, cord of three, feet washing supplies, etc.)
• Backdrop and/or arch

reception: details

• Decide and book venue
• Decide on a theme
• Book caterer
• Are you going to have alcohol?
• Make a schedule of events
• Make a seating chart
• Make a cocktail hour playlist
• Choose hors d’oeuvres and drinks for the cocktail hour
• Choose how the wedding party will enter the reception
• Choose first dance song
• Make a dinner playlist
• Book DJ
• Assign people to make speeches
• Tables
  • Welcome table with seating information
  • Gift table
  • Memorial table for family members who have passed away
  • Food tables
  • Dessert tables
• Choose dinner menu
• Choose the father-daughter dance song
• Choose the mother-son dance song
• Plan out cake cutting
• Are you doing a flower toss?
• Are you doing a garter toss?
• Make a dancing playlist
• Choose a last song
• Decide on a special exit

reception: things to buy

• Signs
  • Welcome sign
  • Gift table sign
  • Dessert table sign
  • Memorial table sign
• Guest Table Decor
• Head Table Decor
• Decor for other tables
• Place settings
• Name cards
• Seating chart
• Table numbers
• Printed menu for each place setting
• Cake knife
• Cake topper
• Toss bouquet
• Toss garter
• Items for your exit (sparklers, glow sticks, bubbles, flowers, etc).

If you’re like me, you have tons of things going on in your head at once. Having everything in a list helps me to organize those things and stay sane. If not, I end up feeling like I’m forgetting something. I hope that this list help you to organize all of your thoughts and ideas.

Thanks for reading!