You’re getting married in a few months, maybe next summer or fall, and if you’re planning a DIY wedding, you’re going to have to get started now!
As an event planner I know how much of a runway I’m going to need to plan a wedding, depending on the vision for the wedding. And realistically, it typically takes a lot longer than most DIY couples think – especially if you want to keep the whole process joyful! For example, if you’re planning on catering your own wedding, you’ll have to plan the menu at least two months out. To do that, you’ll need to get RSVPs back before that point, which means invites need to be sent out two months beforehand so that you can take note of various food allergies/preferences etc. Once you have all that info you’ll need to create a very big list of all the ingredients you’ll need to buy, and whether things will be frozen or made fresh the week of your wedding. And then how all the food will get to the venue and where it will be stored so that it’s safe to eat. Plus, who’s taking home the leftovers?
This goes for any DIY wedding project, on top of all of the logistics that need to be accounted for as well.
Luckily for you, I’ve got a handy dandy template that I made, to get you started which you can get at joyfactor.com/wedding-timeline-template – totally free if you sign up for my email list – and hey, I share some excellent DIY wedding tips in my emails!
Here’s how I recommend starting to plan your DIY wedding:
- Make a timeline from now until the wedding day (or the end of the honeymoon) – use key dates to get this started
- Rally the troops! Ask your bridal party/family/friends what they’re willing to contribute to the big day – and/or just assign things. This really depends on the person you’re working with.
- Start filling in the little details. You won’t know everything right away but as new important elements come up, you will add them into your plan.
Get started as early as you can, because as you can see, there are a LOT of little details that need to be accounted for, and they’ll pop up unexpectedly! The sooner you have it down on paper, the easier it will be to make your vision come to life.
If you found this useful I’d be so grateful if you subscribed on YouTube or followed wherever you get your podcasts! If you have questions about staying present and I’d be happy to share what I know to help! I’ll be with another wedding planning video, so until then keep it joyful!
Links:
https://joyfactorweddings.com/wedding-timeline-template
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