The Complete Wedding Checklist

Congratulations on your engagement, now the fun begins. Weddings are extremely exciting, but take a lot of planning. Making sure you've got everything sorted in time is key to a stress-free wedding. Remembering all the things you need to do before the big day can be tricky. It's important to ensure you haven't missed anything vital and have got everything planned just the way you want it.

To help you make sure you aren't forgetting something, and to give you some guidance on timings, our experienced wedding coordinator has put together this wedding checklist.

• Sit down with your fiance to decide roughly when you would like to get married. Deciding on a month and year can help when working out your budget.
• Figure out your wedding budget. Most couples will have to do a little bit of saving, so take into consideration your desired wedding date to ensure this budget is realistic.
• Make a Pinterest board and start filling it with lots of wedding ideas to get a feel for how you might want your big day to feel. Make sure you re both in agreement with any overall theme.
• Host an engagement party. Send out invites to friends and family. If you've decided on a dedicated theme, start rolling with this now.
• Draw up a guest list. Knowing numbers like this will help when deciding on your venue. Start to gather addresses or email addresses for your guests so you can send them invites later down the line.
• Decide who will make up your wedding party. Choosing your maid of honour, best man, bridesmaids and groomsmen is no easy feat. Remember that these are the people you will rely on for help during the planning process.
• Do some venue research. Get in touch with the wedding coordinators at the venues, ask for brochures and any questions. At LQ Resorts, our dedicated events team will always be happy to help you.
• If you chose to get married at LQ Resorts, your guests won't have to travel far at the end of the night. Our glorious rooms are perfect for some well needed rest and we offer preferential rates for a group of rooms. You can even hire out the our preparation suites for that exciting morning of the wedding. Once you've agreed on a date, put the deposit down - now you can start booking and planning all your suppliers.
• Send out save the dates. Even if your wedding is a couple of years off, your guests can save their availability.

• Book and pay for your registrars who look after the venue you have chosen.
• Pop the question to your Maid of Honour and Bridesmaids. Think about how you could do this in a creative way while keeping to your wedding theme (if you have one). There are plenty of videos for inspiration on TikTok.
• Start researching potential suppliers. Think about food, flowers, entertainment, decorations, a photographer, videographer. You also might want to consider a hair stylist and make-up artist here too. Think about friends and family who might be able to help you out with some of the above. For example, you may know someone who specialises in baking fabulous wedding cakes.
• Research options for venue and ceremony decorations. Again, use Pinterest to help you here. You could even make some things by hand.

• It's dress time. Start by doing some initial research on boutiques that sell the style of dress you're after. Book a few appointments to try on certain styles to see what suits you.
• Once you've chosen and paid for your dress it s time to start thinking about bridesmaid dresses. Find a date where your bridal party are all free and book a dress fitting appointment. This gives them the opportunity to choose a style of dress they all like. It also means you can order dresses in the right sizes.
• Finalise and book your suppliers. Order the wedding cake and your transport.
• Start researching your honeymoon. Once you've picked out your dream destination, book it (Make sure your passports are going to be in date).

• Give details of your ideal hen/stag do to your Maid of Honour/Best Man and let them get on with the planning. Did you know we offer great spa experiences for those in need of a relaxing hen do? We also offer a fantastic bridal prep package for the evening before and morning of your wedding. This includes Twilight Spa access, bedrooms for you and your bridesmaids, fizz and nibbles for the morning of your wedding and a luxurious and spacious suite for your bridal party to get ready in.
• Make or order your wedding invitations and send them out to your guest list.
• Shop for the groom and groomsmen suits.
• Look into any additional entertainment that you may wish to have at your wedding, such as live singers/bands, magicians, caricaturists or maybe even a petting zoo.

• Give three months legal notice to your registrar or priest.
• Assemble a wedding gift list (if you are choosing to have one). By creating an online list accessible to all your guests, you limit the risk of getting double or unwanted gifts.
• Go with your partner to try on and choose your wedding bands. Make a romantic day of it.
• Create your table plan who s sitting where? Design and print place cards ready for the big day.
• Choose the music for your big day including ceremony songs and the all-important first dance song.

• Arrange trial days for your hair and make-up. This is important to ensure you are happy with your final look on the day.
• Think about wedding favours and bridesmaid gifts. Places like Not on The High Street have some lovely ideas for this kind of thing.
• Attend final wedding dress fitting to make sure you feel completely comfortable in your dress.

• Get your nails and tan done (if you are opting for this). If you re nearby, our expert therapists in our spa, will ensure a flawless finish while getting you excited for you big day. Explore more of our treatments by looking at our spa pages.
• If you're heading off on your honeymoon the day after your wedding, make sure you re all packed. Additionally, make sure you have an overnight bag for your wedding night.