Getting engaged is exciting. Planning a wedding can quickly feel like chaos. If you're newly engaged and wondering what to do first, how long wedding planning takes, or where to even begin, this guide is for you. It breaks wedding planning down into clear stages, explains which decisions matter most, and shows you what can wait.
Whether you're planning a big celebration, a small wedding, or something in between, this guide will help you plan with confidence and without the stress.
What To Do First After Getting Engaged: Wedding Planning Essentials
Before booking wedding venues or scrolling through suppliers, focus on these early decisions. Getting these right makes everything else easier.
1. Set a realistic wedding budget
Your budget affects every choice you make, from venue to guest list. Talk honestly about what you can afford, any family contributions, and where you're happy to prioritise. Setting this early helps you avoid disappointment later. Our wedding budget guide is here to help.
2. Decide what actually matters to you
Ask yourselves questions around the elements that matter to you the most, as well as the kind of wedding you want. This will help you get a clear idea of what you want your big day to look and feel like.
Questions you can ask yourselves include:
- What do we care about most - venue, food, photography, music?
- Do we want formal, relaxed, or somewhere in between?
- Are we planning a full-day celebration or something more intimate?
3. Estimate guest numbers
You don't need to finalise your guest list at this stage, but you do need a sensible estimate. Guest numbers shape your venue choices, catering and budget, so it's worth getting this right early. Our wedding guest list guide explains how to approach this step without it becoming overwhelming.
4. Identify potential wedding dates
Flexibility with your wedding date can open up far more venue options and often comes with cost benefits too. Start by agreeing on a preferred season or time of year, then refine the exact date once you've explored availability, budgets and priorities.
These articles are here to help:
5. Decide how involved family will be
Family input can be supportive and valuable, but it can also become overwhelming if expectations aren't clear from the start. Agree together how much involvement you're comfortable with, who will be included in which decisions, and where your boundaries sit. Setting these expectations early helps prevent pressure, miscommunication and difficult conversations later in the planning process.
How Long Does Wedding Planning Take?
Guides for Brides enquiry data from 2025 shows that UK couples plan their weddings across a wide range of timelines:
- 26.73% plan their wedding within 6 months or less
- 23.14% plan within 6-12 months
- 23.12% plan within 12-18 months
- 27.01% plan over 18 months or more.
This data highlights that there is no single “correct” wedding planning timeline. While many couples take around eighteen months, a significant number plan in much shorter timeframes.
Most couples plan their wedding in stages, with timelines shaped by priorities, availability and budget. This timeline should be treated as a guide rather than a rule and adapted to suit the type of wedding you're planning and the pace that feels right for you.
Wedding Planning Timeline: 18 to 12 Months Before Your Wedding
Set and stick to your budget
This keeps decisions focused and prevents overspending. Our downloadable budget spreadsheet will help you stay on track.
Choose your wedding party
Pick people who will support you, not add pressure. Bigger wedding parties often mean bigger costs and more logistics.
If you're not sure which roles to assign, our guide to wedding party duties is a helpful starting point.
Decide on your ceremony style
Civil, religious, humanist, or independent celebrant-led ceremonies all have different requirements. Knowing this early avoids complications later. Our wedding ceremony guide will help you select the type of ceremony that feels right for you and help you know whether you need to book a registrar, a wedding celebrant or contact your place of worship.
Book your wedding venue
Your wedding venue is typically the first and most important booking you'll make. It sets the tone for the entire day, influences your budget, and often dictates your available dates. Taking time to choose the right venue will make every decision that follows far simpler.
When viewing venues, ensure you ask the key questions which will ensure you consider the practicalities as well as the look and feel, including:
- Capacity and layout
- Location and travel
- Food and drink options
- Whether it's licensed for your ceremony
- What's included versus extras.
Exploring a wide range of wedding venues early on allows you to compare options realistically and narrow down your shortlist by location, budget, style, features and availability. Once your venue is secured, the rest of your planning can fall into place with far more confidence.
Explore some of the best wedding venues in the UK on Guides for Brides.
Book your wedding planner (if relevant)
If you're working with a professional wedding planner to manage the entire planning process, it's best to book them as early as possible. A full-service planner can support you from the very beginning, helping to shape key decisions, manage budgets, recommend trusted venues and suppliers and keep the planning process on track from day one.
If you're opting for partial planning or on-the-day coordination, you can usually book a little later down the line, but the best planners are snapped up quickly.
Send save the dates
Sending save the dates early gives your guests the best chance of keeping your wedding date free. This is particularly important for summer weddings, destination celebrations and weekday weddings, where travel, accommodation and time off work may need to be planned well in advance.
Book priority wedding suppliers
Popular wedding suppliers often book up well in advance, particularly for peak dates and weekends, so it's important to secure key wedding suppliers early. These bookings will have a major impact on the look, feel and atmosphere of your day.
Start by prioritising:
- Venue styling and décor, (if relevant), unless you have chosen a venue with in-house catering, you'll need to secure your preferred caterer well in advance
- Wedding photographer and videographer, to capture your day in a style you'll love long after it's over
- videographer, who will set the tone for your celebration and keep energy levels high
- Florist, whose work shapes the visual impact of both your ceremony and reception
- Venue styling and décor, especially if you're creating a specific aesthetic or transforming a blank canvas space
- Anything particularly important to you, if there's something you and your partner particularly want for your wedding, you'll want to make sure your first choice suppliers for that element are available for your day.
When choosing suppliers, focus on those whose approach and style genuinely align with your vision and values, rather than simply following current trends. The right suppliers will understand your priorities and help bring your wedding to life in a way that feels authentic to you.
Consider wedding insurance
Once you start paying deposits and signing contracts, wedding insurance can provide valuable peace of mind. It helps protect you financially if plans need to change due to unexpected circumstances, such as supplier issues, illness or venue problems. Taking out insurance early ensures you're covered for the full planning period, so consider it in the early stages.
Our Essential Guide to Wedding Insurance is a helpful resource for this decision.
Wedding Planning Timeline: 12 to 9 Months Before Your Wedding
Shop for your wedding dress
Wedding dresses often have the longest lead time of any wedding outfit decision. Many designers require several months for production once an order is placed, followed by multiple fittings to achieve the right fit.
Starting early gives you access to a wider range of styles and designers, allows time for alterations without pressure, and leaves room for thoughtful decisions if you want to make changes along the way.
Book hair and makeup
Hair and makeup artists often book up early, particularly for peak wedding dates and weekends. Securing your artists in advance gives you a wider choice of professionals, greater flexibility around timings, and peace of mind that your morning will run smoothly. Booking early also allows time for trials, ensuring you feel confident and comfortable with your final look.
Start thinking about styling
Begin exploring styling ideas early, but use inspiration intentionally rather than collecting everything you like. Your venue already has its own character and atmosphere, so the most effective styling builds on what's there rather than trying to override it. Working with the space, not against it, helps create a cohesive look and often leads to more confident decisions and better value throughout the planning process.
Arrange your prenuptial agreement (if relevant)
It's not a requirement, but if you're considering a prenuptial agreement, it's best to start the process early. This allows time for open discussions, independent legal advice for both parties and careful consideration without pressure.
Read our guide to prenuptial agreements if you need more information about this step.
Wedding planning timeline: 9 to 6 months before your wedding
Start planning your honeymoon or minimoon
Booking your honeymoon or minimoon in advance gives you access to better availability, more choice and potential cost savings. It also allows you to align travel plans with your wedding schedule, budget and time off work, without feeling rushed.
Plan transport
If your ceremony and reception are in different locations, or if the wedding party needs transport from the getting-ready location to the venue, it's important to plan this early.
Plan and order wedding suits
Wedding suits generally require less lead time than dresses, but still benefit from early planning, particularly for bespoke tailoring or coordinated looks. Allowing time for fittings and refinements helps ensure everything is ready well ahead of the day.
Book wedding entertainment
Entertainment plays a big role in the atmosphere of your wedding, from setting the tone during the day to keeping guests engaged into the evening. This might include performers such as magicians, live artists, caricaturists, photo booths, lawn games or evening experiences designed to keep guests engaged between key moments.
Wedding Planning Timeline: 6 to 3 Months Before Your Wedding
Finalise your menu
Choose food you genuinely enjoy and feel confident serving to your guests, rather than trying to please everyone. Work with your caterer or venue to accommodate dietary requirements in a considered way, keeping options clear and inclusive without overcomplicating the menu. A well-planned menu that reflects your tastes will feel more personal and is far more likely to be remembered for the right reasons.
Order wedding stationery
Wedding stationery goes beyond invitations and plays an important role in setting the tone for your day and keeping everything running smoothly. Ordering in good time allows for proofing, printing and any last-minute changes.
This typically includes:
- Invitations
- Place cards
- Table plans
- Orders of service
- Wedding signage
Allowing enough lead time ensures consistency across your stationery and avoids unnecessary stress as the wedding day approaches.
Send wedding invitations
Your wedding invitations should clearly communicate all the essential details your guests need, including the date, location, timings and how to respond. Many couples choose to include a link to their wedding website, where guests can find additional information such as travel advice, accommodation options, dress code and gift details. Clear, well-timed invitations help reduce questions later and keep planning running smoothly.
Start having fittings and trials
Dress fittings, hair trials and makeup trials are essential for making sure everything looks and feels right on the day. They allow time to adjust fit, refine your overall look and confirm that your choices work together as a whole.
Give notice of marriage
In the UK, you are legally required to give notice of marriage before you can marry. This must be done at your local register office and usually needs to be completed at least 29 days before your legally-binding wedding ceremony. Appointments can book up quickly, so it's important to factor this into your planning early and ensure all legal requirements are met well ahead of the day.
Our Guide to Giving Notice of Marriage is a great resource to help you understand this important step.
Wedding Planning Timeline: Final Months Before the Wedding
Create your wedding day timeline
A clear wedding day timeline keeps everything running smoothly and ensures all suppliers are working in sync. Sharing your timeline with your venue and suppliers in advance allows everyone to understand what's happening and when, reducing stress and making the day feel calm, coordinated and well-paced.
Pay final balances
In the final months, you'll settle your payments to suppliers. Your suppliers should provide clear deadlines for final payments, and it's important to meet these on time. Make sure you know what these are in advance to avoid unnecessary stress and prevent last-minute issues or misunderstandings.
Write speeches
Do not leave this to the last minute. Giving yourself time to plan and write speeches allows you to shape what you want to say, practise delivery and make adjustments without pressure. Your future self will be very grateful you planned ahead!
These articles will help you if you need help with speech writing:
Collect and organise everything
Aim to have all key items gathered and organised well in advance, including outfits, décor, rings and any personal or sentimental details. Preparing everything ahead of time helps avoid last-minute panic, reduces the risk of forgetting important items and allows the final days before your wedding to feel calm and manageable rather than rushed.
It's often a good idea to book a few days off work ahead of your wedding. This gives you the time and headspace to get organised, tie up loose ends and mentally prepare for the big day. The wedding week can be fast-paced, and having space to gather your things, and your thoughts, can make the entire experience feel far more relaxed and enjoyable.
After Your Wedding
Change your name (if you want to!)
There's no requirement to change your name, and no deadline if you choose to do so. Take the time to decide what feels right for you and approach the process when you're ready. Whether you change your name immediately, later on, or not at all, it's a personal decision and one that should be made on your own terms.
The following articles will help with this stage:
Send thank you cards
Sending thank you cards is a simple but meaningful way to show your appreciation to guests who celebrated with you and supported you along the way.
Leave reviews for wedding suppliers
Taking the time to leave reviews for your wedding suppliers is a valuable way to say thank you and support the businesses that helped bring your day together. Honest feedback helps future couples make informed decisions, allows suppliers to continue improving their services, and can even contribute towards them being recognised in industry awards. Even a short review can make a meaningful difference.
You can leave reviews for your wedding venue and suppliers on Guides for Brides.
Plan an evening to view your photos
Once everything has settled, you'll receive your edited photos and wedding videos. Open a bottle, order your favourite food, and take your time revisiting the moments that passed in a blur. Watching it all back gives you the chance to spot the small details you missed, soak up the atmosphere and enjoy the memories without the pace of the day.
Rest
Take time to properly switch off and recharge. You've earned it.
Wedding Planning Made Easier With Guides for Brides
Guides for Brides brings together trusted wedding venues, suppliers, planning advice, and tools to support you at every stage of your wedding journey. From inspiration to bookings, everything is designed to help you plan with confidence.
Download your Wedding Planning Checklist
Our downloadable wedding planning checklist and timeline turns everything you've just read into clear, manageable steps, showing you exactly what to do first, what can wait, and when to book key suppliers.
Enter your details in the form below to download the wedding planning checklist and receive practical, stage-by-stage planning advice straight to your inbox, so you can stay organised and confident from engagement to “I do”.