First Steps in Wedding Planning

Your engagement was a real highlight, but now it’s time for the next step: Wedding planning is on the horizon, and you’re wondering, “How do you plan a wedding the right way?” To help you start your wedding planning on the right foot from the very beginning, we’ve put together a guide to help you take your first steps in wedding planning.

Calculate Time Accurately

As newly engaged couples, the planned wedding day—even if it’s still far off—is very much on your minds. So you find yourself thinking almost every day about how the wedding day’s schedule and timeline would work best. When it comes to planning the day itself, you want something concrete and tangible. And that’s exactly what we’ve put together in our blog post “Wedding—Schedule & Day-by-Day Itinerary ”: different sample wedding schedules. Here, you’ll find ideas for what personalized wedding schedules can look like. After all, every couple and every wedding is different, so you can’t apply a one-size-fits-all approach. Still, the different itineraries provide a helpful guide so you can plan more effectively—even if you might need to tweak one or two time slots for your own wedding.

Stress-Free Wedding Planning: A Year in Advance

Generally speaking—and we can say this right off the bat—it’s always best to set aside about a year or even a year and a half for your wedding planning. Six months of planning is certainly feasible for a micro-wedding or an elopement; however, if we’re talking about an average-sized to truly large wedding with over a hundred guests, you should definitely allow plenty of time.

A Guide to Wedding Planning

Now that you know where to find information about specific wedding schedules and can use that to work out your timeline, let’s turn our attention to the practical aspects of wedding planning:

What do you need to consider when planning? When is it time to start thinking about the music and the flowers? Who will contact the DJ and explain where he can set up his equipment at the venue? We’ll cover all these and many other wedding planning details—big and small—in this blog post. We promise: We’ll help you see the big picture, and soon you’ll be able to approach your wedding planning in a very structured way. Good planning gives you breathing room—moments to pause and enjoy. After all, preparing for your own wedding is a wonderful time that you’ll never experience quite like this again. So it’s all the more valuable when, thanks to good wedding planning, you have time to look forward to the big day.

A Timeline for Your Wedding Planning: From Month 24 to Month 0 Before the Wedding

Before we dive right into the different stages of planning, here’s a quick heads-up: You’ll be the busiest one year before the wedding and then again about three months before your big day. In between, you can put your feet up and look forward to the wedding day. But first, let’s start with the to-dos right after the engagement…

24–18 months until the wedding

• Set a budget: Set a fixed maximum budget for your wedding. Consider what you’re willing to spend and make sure to include a safety cushion. In our blog post, “The 9 Biggest Wedding Budget Items and How to Save Money, ” you ’ll find plenty of tips and tricks on this topic.
  
• I’m sure you’re expecting that the next step is to set the date. Think again—that’s exactly the mistake many couples make. They commit to a date too hastily. Most newly engaged couples can’t wait to get married and pick a date right after the proposal. “July 7—that sounds great! And it’s summer, too! Let’s go with that!” Unfortunately, this approach is still recommended in many wedding magazines and blogs. We, however, strongly advise against rushing to set a wedding date. Because if you limit yourself completely right from the start by choosing a specific date, you’ll have a hard time planning your wedding. This is especially true if you choose a popular date or one during peak season. Most wedding vendors and venues are usually already booked up by then—especially the popular ones, of course. The same goes for the civil ceremony office. You also shouldn’t book the venue right away before you’ve checked whether the other vendors you want are still available on that date. The venue isn’t everything—maybe you want to book a specific wedding band, or you have high standards when it comes to wedding photography? So, instead of setting the date, our next to-do is:
  
• Decide on the type of wedding ceremony: Right at the start of your wedding planning, think about what kind of ceremony you prefer. Do you want a church wedding, a civil ceremony, or an independent ceremony? This decision will play a role later on when you’re looking for a venue—for example, if you know you want an independent ceremony, your favorite venues should offer that option.
  
• Finalizing the guest list: It’s especially important to finalize the guest list early enough because, in the next step, you’ll need to take the venue’s capacity into account …
  
• Venue Research: This is going to be exciting—what’s nearby, and what options are right for you? Take a look at venues online together. Here’s a great overview of wedding venues in Austria.
• Finalize the Venue & Date: Only once you've finalized the venue is it time to set the date.

14–12 months until the wedding

• Create a list of vendors: Take a look at the service providers listed on Austria Wedding for planning & design, as well as reception and the wedding ceremony, and discuss together what you like, who’s a good fit, and who isn’t. Write down everyone who might be a good fit for you in terms of location and style—and sort them by category. Our Austria Wedding books are also very helpful for your research—as a couple planning your wedding, it’s often more enjoyable and pleasant to have something physical in your hands while researching rather than scrolling through websites. Also, be sure to take advantage of the wide range of wedding fairs in Austria—our Luft & Liebe® wedding festivals take place throughout Austria at the beginning of the year and again in the fall. There, you can meet numerous wedding vendors in a single day, which saves you a tremendous amount of time and research effort.‍
• Request quotes from vendors: You’ve compiled a list of your favorites and suitable alternatives for venues, the civil registry office, and more. Now you can ask all the vendors on your list about their available dates. Since you’ve already set a budget, you can ask the vendors specifically for quotes. This way, you’ll see right away whether your favorites fit within your budget. When making inquiries, be sure to specify a timeframe: The broader the timeframe you provide to vendors (e.g., “March through October”), the greater your chance of finding a match! Austria Wedding Tip: Every vendor is important for eure Traumhochzeit. However, there are industries that are simply always booked up many months in advance. That’s why we recommend starting with inquiries for the following vendors: wedding officiants, music, catering, and photography. All other vendors should, of course, also be contacted and confirmed as soon as possible.‍
• Asking for witnesses: Ask the people you've chosen if they have the time and would be willing to serve as your witnesses.

10 months until the wedding

• Book Your Vendors: As soon as you know when your preferred vendors and venues are available, it’s time to decide on the vendors and set a date. Schedule meetings with vendors you’d like to meet in person first, and arrange a venue tour. Maybe you’ll get lucky and all your favorites will be available on the same date.Once you’ve made your decision, book that date with all the vendors. And please—don’t sweat it if it ends up being April 28 instead of July 7. It’s so much more important that everything is perfect on your big day and that you get the venue and vendors you want than it is for the date to sound good!‍
• Get inspired: Gather inspiration and information. Enjoy looking at beautiful wedding concepts. These ideas will serve as a foundation for you and your chosen vendors to create your own wedding concept.‍
• Start with the wedding stationery: Now is a good time to finalize the printed materials with your designers. First, of course, you’ll need the save-the-date cards—your designer will tackle those first. After that, stationery designers usually work through the process step by step. They’ll design the invitations, place cards, and other items in order.‍
• Announcing Your Wedding: We recommend announcing your wedding date NOW. You’ve had it set for a while, but it’s enough to send out your save-the-date cards ten months before the wedding. With the save-the-date cards, you can ensure that your guests take your date into account when planning their vacations. The best part: Even if the wedding still seems far off—you can sit back and relax for now, because everything important is organized, and your date is noted not only by the vendors but also by your guests. You can then meet with all your vendors two to three months before the wedding to finalize the details. And if you’ve already sent out a Save-the-Date, you can even send the invitations a little later. If you’d like to leave your Save-the-Dates, wedding invitations, and other stationery in professional hands, we have numerous wedding stationery designers listed on our platform.

8 months until the wedding

• Researching wedding outfits: Get inspiration for your wedding dress or tuxedo, schedule appointments, and be sure to factor in alterations and delivery times for wedding outfits (often up to 3 months!).
• ‍Have invitations designed: The designer who created your save-the-dates can easily design your invitations in the same style . Talk it over with her and decide what you’d like to include on the invitation card.
  
  

6–3 months until the wedding

• Sending out invitations: If you’ve already sent out “Save the Date” cards, there’s no rush to send out the invitations just yet; however, your guests should receive them no later than three months before the wedding.‍
• Update guest list: Update the guest list. Who can come, and who has declined?
• ‍Practice dance moves, choreography, or a flash mob: Want to put on a show for your guests on the dance floor? Now is the time to practice. ‍
• Think about wedding favors: Let your maid of honor handle the arrangements, or let your florist get creative. ‍
• A Look at the Wedding Budget: You should never lose sight of this list; be sure to carefully fill in each item and adjust it as needed. ‍
• Document Check: Verify that your passport is valid. Also, check with the civil registry office to find out what documents are required; a birth certificate is usually needed as well. ‍
• Put your feet up: This is exactly the time when the people around you will start asking how the wedding preparations are going. Instead of panicking when asked, you can—thanks to good planning—answer, “Great!” and go back to putting your feet up. Until things really start to heat up again a month or two before the wedding…

3–1 months until the wedding

• Wedding Day Stationery: Now is the time to order the rest of your stationery—such as menu cards, place cards, program booklets, and so on—from your trusted designer. Of course, these will all feature the same design as your save-the-date cards and invitations.
  
• Choosing Flowers: You’ve already confirmed the order with your florist, and you’ve probably set the parameters based on the quote. But now it’s time to get specific: Which flowers should you choose for the tables, the reception, the flower girls, and the bride’s hairstyle?
  
• Wedding Cake: Final Consultation with Your Pastry Chef. What should the cake look like, and how should it taste?
  
• Coordinating with the Master of Ceremonies: Ask your father-in-law or your best friend if he’d be willing to coordinate the wedding day schedule. Often, the Master of Ceremonies is also the best man. If you have a wedding planner, she’ll naturally take care of this task. ‍
• Meeting with the pastor/wedding officiant/registry officer: Do the officiants need anything else from you? Any documents or information? Go over the ceremony schedule one more time.‍
• Wedding Rings & Jewelry: Head to your favorite jewelry store. Take your time choosing your wedding rings. Don’t forget to have them engraved if you’d like. And, of course, the perfect bridal jewelry is a must.‍

Only 4 weeks until the wedding

• Talking with your partner: Yes, this is definitely worth a few lines. Because things tend to get hectic again, especially in the last month before the wedding. Take time for important discussions and meaningful conversations: What last name do you want to take? Are you looking forward to the honeymoon? Speculate together about whether there might be any surprise moments—aka wedding performances—at the reception—and try not to lose sight of what’s most important—you as a couple—despite the hustle and bustle and the to-do list.
  
• It’s time for the final fittings: Pick up the wedding rings and try them on. If possible, sample the menu (tasting) at the venue and remind them of any special requests (allergies). Try out the bridal hairstyle at the trial appointment, and don’t forget about the bridal makeup.
  
• Reminder to guests: Haven't heard back from some of your guests yet? Then give them a call to get a direct response.
  
• Seating Arrangements: Determine the seating for your wedding guests and share the information with your designer. She can then have the seating chart printed.
  
• Review the wedding schedule: No matter which schedule you’ve chosen, go over the day’s plan—including all the times—with your witnesses at your leisure, and make sure it’s realistically timed.
  
• Wedding Speech: Will anyone be giving a speech? Would you like to provide some guidance? Or do you plan to say a few words yourselves? If so, prepare some cue cards (in the wedding theme).
  
• Flower girls, gift table, the bride’s purse contents: It’s often the little things that are easily overlooked. Have your maids of honor or best friends make a list of things that are “obviously not that obvious.” And then let your friends take care of organizing those things instead of you.

On the day of the wedding

• Get up, have breakfast: coffee and croissants first ! Have a good, leisurely breakfast. Enjoy the moment before you start getting ready.
  
• Getting Ready: Is everyone here and in a good mood? Then let’s get started. The hairstylist, photographer, and witnesses are doing their jobs, and you, as the bride and groom, can slowly but surely let everything unfold around you—because now it’s time to fully embrace your day of love and just enjoy every moment! ‍
• So your final task on your wedding day can be summed up in four wonderfully simple words: Kiss, laugh, and party!