How to use this timeline
This timeline assumes a winter wedding in a large city, planned about a year ahead. If your date is off-season or your wedding is small, you can compress it; if it is a destination wedding, start a couple of months earlier. The checklist on this page groups the essential tasks by milestone and can be printed. For a more detailed, month-by-month list with over fifty tasks, use the 12-month wedding checklist.
12 months before: the big decisions
This is when you decide the shape of the wedding. Agree the budget and who contributes, using the budget calculator to make sure expectations are realistic. Get muhurat options from the family pandit. Draft the guest list for each function, because the list decides the venue. Choose between a local and a destination wedding, then visit and book the venue. Popular venues for November–February muhurat dates are often gone by the ten-month mark. If both of you work long hours, decide now whether to hire a planner; our planner vs self-planning guide will help.
9 months before: the key vendors
With a date and venue fixed, book the vendors who fill up fastest: photographer and videographer, decorator, caterer (if the venue allows outside catering) and bridal makeup artist. Block hotel rooms for outstation guests now, especially for destination weddings, using the guest stay calculator to estimate how many. Start a shared budget tracker that shows what is booked, what is paid and what is pending.
6 months before: outfits and entertainment
Bridal outfits take three to five months, so order them now. Book the DJ, band, dhol players and a sangeet choreographer if you want one. Book the mehendi artist and confirm the pandit. Send save-the-dates to guests who will travel. Finalise the décor concept for each function with your decorator.
3 months before: invitations and logistics
Print cards and send e-invites; the invitation calculator helps you work out how many of each. Fix menus for every function after a tasting, and check quantities with the food calculator. Book transport for the baraat, shuttles and airport pickups. Finalise jewellery. Plan room welcome kits and favours. Gather documents for marriage registration so it can be done soon after the wedding.
1 month before: confirm everything
Call every vendor and confirm dates, arrival times and deliverables in writing. Write a run-sheet for each function and share it with vendors and one coordinator from each family. Do final fittings. Confirm guest numbers and minimum guarantees with the venue and caterer. Prepare payment envelopes for the final balances and a cash float for tips. Pack an emergency kit using the wedding-day checklist.
If you have less time
With six months, merge the twelve- and nine-month stages into your first four weeks: book the venue and photographer immediately, then the decorator and makeup artist. Choose ready-to-wear or rented outfits if a custom lehenga cannot be made in time. With three months, keep the wedding smaller, pick a venue with in-house catering and décor, and send e-invites rather than printed cards.
The final week
Keep it light. Delegate, sleep, and avoid new skincare or big decisions. Hand the run-sheet to the people running each function so you can be a guest at your own wedding.
The checklist
30 tasks · tick them off as you go. Your progress is saved in this browser.