Event planning timeline: from twelve months out to the day

How to use this timeline

Every event has three fixed points: the date, the venue and the number of guests. Once those are set, almost everything else follows in a predictable order, because the vendors who book out furthest ahead have to be secured first and the guests need enough notice to reply. This timeline is written for a wedding with a year to plan, which is the most demanding case. A smaller event compresses it: a party fits in eight weeks, a company dinner in three months, and both skip whole sections. The order stays the same.

Read it once from the top, then work from the section that matches how far out you are. If you are starting late, do the first three sections in the first two weeks and catch up from there.

Twelve to nine months before

• Decide the budget, who contributes to it and what the total can be, before you look at a single venue. The budget guide covers how.
• Agree the rough guest count. It decides the venue size and most of the costs.
• Choose the date, or two or three candidates, and check them against the people who must be there.
• Visit and book the venue. Ask what is included, what is extra, and when each payment is due.
• Book the vendors that book out first: the photographer, the band or DJ, the caterer if the venue has none, and the officiant.
• Start a guest list with names and households, so the number becomes real.

Eight to six months before

• Send save-the-dates, especially if guests travel. A short message with the date, the town and a link is enough.
• Choose attire and start alterations; order anything with a long lead time.
• Book accommodation blocks and any transport for guests and vendors.
• Create the event page with the date, the venue and a map, and put the link on everything that goes out from now on. The support article shows how to set it up in a minute.
• Decide the ceremony and the key moments of the day, so the vendors can plan around them.

Five to three months before

• Design and order the invitations, with the reply method printed on them. Include the QR code or short link to the event page; the QR code guide has the sizes and placements.
• Taste and confirm the menu and the cake.
• Order flowers and decoration, and agree a delivery and setup time with the venue.
• Book rentals the venue does not provide: chairs, linen, lighting, a dance floor, a tent.
• Write the ceremony and ask the people who will speak.

Two months before

• Send the invitations, six to eight weeks before the day, with a reply deadline three to four weeks before. The RSVP guide covers the questions to ask and how to track replies.
• Confirm the schedule with every vendor in writing: arrival, setup, start, end, breakdown.
• Plan the music: the moments that need a specific song, and the moments that need none.
• Order the signs, the table cards and the welcome board, leaving space for the final table numbers.
• Book hair, make-up and any trials.

Four to three weeks before

• Chase replies: a reminder to everyone who has not answered a week before the deadline, then a personal message, then a call.
• Give the venue and the caterer the final count and the dietary notes.
• Make the seating chart from the confirmed list; the seating guide takes you through it.
• Write the day's timeline with times, places and who is responsible for each moment, and share it with the vendors and the helpers.
• Pay the balances that are due, and note who wants cash on the day.

The last week

• Confirm every vendor once more, with the timeline attached.
• Print the seating chart, the place cards and the signs, as late as you can.
• Pack an emergency kit: sewing kit, plasters, painkillers, stain remover, phone charger, cash, a copy of every contract.
• Hand off: one person holds the timeline and the vendor numbers on the day, and it is not you.
• Open the photo upload and the guestbook on your event page and test the QR code with a few phones.

The day before, the day, and after

• The day before: drop off the decoration and the printed items at the venue, rehearse the ceremony, and go to bed early.
• The day: eat breakfast, keep your phone with the person who holds the timeline, and let the schedule run. Something small will go wrong and nobody else will notice.
• The week after: send thank-you messages with the link to the gallery, and collect the photos and videos your guests took while they still have them. The guide on guest photos explains the easiest way; the guestbook guide covers the messages they would still write.
• The month after: close the budget with the final invoices, return rentals, and write down what you would do differently while you still remember.

Parties and corporate events

A party of up to sixty guests fits into eight weeks: venue and date in week one, invitations with a reply deadline in week two, food, drinks and music by week four, replies chased and the final count given in week six, decoration and a playlist in week seven, and the shopping in the last days. Skip the seating chart unless the dinner is seated, and put the photo upload link on the invitation so the pictures come to you.

A company event follows the same order with different names: a registration page instead of invitations, a run of show instead of a ceremony, and a technical check with the venue a week before. Add three milestones: when registration closes, when the final catering count is due, and a debrief the week after with the numbers, the feedback and the photos.