Wedding Checklist: 4 to 5 months

4–5 months

•  Decide on bouquets and floral arrangements with the florist, or look for ideas to do with your own flowers.
• Plan the groomsmen attire
• Finalize the rental lists.  Tables, chairs, tents, etc.
• Grooms: Buy or rent your attire and accessories.
• Book a calligrapher if you are using one.
• Book the rehearsal dinner and finalize rehearsal dinner plans.
• Decide the dress code...how do you want your guests to dress?  Black tie, casual, or something in between?
• Book a handfasting night hotel room
• Finalize what the groomsmen are wearing.  If need be, have fittings.
• Make all honeymoon and travel reservations, including flights and rooms.

Wedding Checklist: 6 to 8 months

6–8 months

• Start your registry, if you are having one. Keep track of your registry numbers to give out.
• Start deciding on ceremony music...what you are going to play for guests before the ceremony, what you will walk down the aisle to, what will play as the two of you walk out.
• Start looking at hairstyles, keeping track of what draws you to different styles. Start researching stylists in your area.
• Start looking for local bakers to make your cake.
• Decide on a florist and send in the deposit, or make sure your plants are growing nicely.
• Start deciding on dresses for your attendants. A more common occurrence these days in a colour is chosen, and the attendants choose their own dresses.
• Book and get engagement photos taken if you want them.
• Prep for out of town guests, booking slabs of rooms at hotels for them or a lot of campground space depending on how they are travelling. Don't book without getting numbers though, and if you book in a large enough amount you can also try to get a discount!
• Finalize the attendant dresses. Make sure each one gets their dress tailored if that is of importance to you.
• Book your cake.
• Send out save the dates NOW if you haven't already.
• Plan the Rehearsal Dinner.
• Start thinking about wording for the invitations. Traditional, modern, witchy, or something else?
• Finalize the menu with the caterer.
• Order your invitations!
• Start thinking about what kind of centrepieces you want. Again, this can be decided by the wheel of the year. Samhain? Something with pumpkins. Lughnasadh? Shocks of Wheat, perhaps.

Wedding Checklist: 9 to 11 months

9-11 months

• Start looking for a High Priest and Priestess to perform the ceremony. Some of them will require marriage counselling, which can take several weeks at the least. You also want to be able to find someone you are compatible with.
• Start planning the guest list. Have two lists, A and B. The A list is for everyone that you feel HAS to be there, the B list is for people who it would be nice to have there, but only if you have the extra space or invites. When making your lists, keep in mind that the people you invite will probably have to participate in the circle, so make sure that they are comfortable with this before hand.
• Find a ceremony/reception site, if you are having both in the same place. Book as soon as possible. Be sure that they are they are comfortable with what will be going on in the space; renting a church basement wouldn't go over very well.
• Start looking at rentals if it is an outdoor wedding – an event tent, chairs, tables, etc.
• Choose the bridal party – who will stand with you, who will the flower girl/ring boy be if you are having such, who will take care of the guest book, the ushers if needed, who will help hold the broom for you to jump over.
• Start shopping for dresses. Custom made dresses can sometimes take a long time to get in, so the earlier the better. Especially for Witchy wedding dresses.
• Start looking for Djs or musicians. Ask for samples of their work. Decide whether you want specific musicians for the ceremony as opposed to the reception as well.
• Look for a caterer. Make sure to have a tasting, and as soon as possible decide, sign the contract and send in a deposit. Plan your reception menu. Decide on price per head with the caterer. If you are planning by the wheel of the year, you may want to be sure that your caterer can include some meals with significance for you.
• Shop around at different floral shops for prices. An attractive alternative for green witches? Grow your own flowers!
• Plan out the ceremony with the High Priest and High Priestess. Be sure to mention passages you would like included or things of special significance to you.
• Look for a photographer and/or videographer. When you find someone you like, book them! They book out quickly.
• Decide on which colours, if you haven't already. Again, if you are planning by the wheel of the year this can be a great help in deciding colours. Green and Red for a Yule wedding, Orange and black for a Samhain wedding, Gold and Green for Litha.
• Order your dress! At least send in the deposit and go for measurements.
• Decide what kind of invitations you want, who you want to get them from, and sayings or quotes you want included. Be sure to let people know what to expect, most people have never been to a handfasting. A little information sheet written with what they can expect is usually well received.
• Book your honeymoon, if you are planning on having one.

Wedding Checklist: 12 months and earlier

Here is the first part of a wedding checklist, tweaked and edited for handfastings!  Most of these things are interchangeable with a more traditional wedding, but some are not.  I realize that it is a short list, but there isn't too much to do before then!

12+ Months

• What do you want your handfasting to look like?  Now is the time to decide on a tentative theme.  Backyard, fancy, elegant, beach, etc.  Make sure there is room for a circle to be cast.
• Decide on a budget and decide who will contribute what.  This is a good meeting to have with both of your families.
• Decide on a date and time.  Keep in mind you may want to look at astrology books, or decide based on the wheel of the year.
• If you are having a traditional white dress, start looking now.  If you are going with something more Witchy, you can find several websites that sell dresses.  You could also give some thought to hiring a seamstress.

The next portion of the checklist will be posted next week.  A big part of planning a wedding or handfasting is not to rush, regardless of how much time you have or don't.  Checklists always help!