If you’re currently planning a wedding, we think you deserve a long, relaxing Christmas break, spent largely in front of the TV with a glass of something sparkling! That said, we know that, for some personality types, crossing items off your to-do list is the only way to relax. With that in mind, we wanted to provide you with a list of wedding planning tasks you can complete from home over Christmas break, particularly when 99% of wedding-related businesses are closed for the holidays. Just promise us you’ll reward yourself with a boozy hot chocolate or mince pie afterwards, deal?

If You’re in the Early Stages of Planning

The situation: You’re newly engaged (Congrats!), or you’ve been engaged for a while, but you’ve only just started wedding planning. This means nothing’s been booked and you haven’t made any of the big decisions yet.

If You’re in the Middle Stages of Planning

The situation: The plans for your wedding are well underway. You’ve set a date, booked a venue and possibly booked the main suppliers, too. This means your wedding is probably due to take place in 2025 or 2026.

• Set yourself up on a task-management app like Trello, which helps you divide and track tasks among yourself and your partner.
• Decide on your wedding colour palette. We’ve got dozens of gorgeous samples for you to use here.
• Familiarise yourself with which flowers will be in season when you’re getting married, so you can communicate your ideas to your florist. You’ll find our seasonal guides here.
• Come up with a fun system for naming the tables at your reception dinner. We’ve listed our favourite table name ideas here.
• Order items for your bathroom baskets. We’ve got a handy checklist of what to put in a bathroom basket for you to work from.
• Create mood boards for your wedding decor. You’ll find tonnes of inspiration in our dediated decor section here, and, if you’re using Pinterest, read our guide to setting up a wedding Pinterest board.
• Create your wedding hashtag. It’s super easy when you follow these steps to pick a hashtag.
• Gather inspiration for your wedding-day look. Our wedding dress gallery is full of gorgeous, timely collections, and shopping guides, while our groom style section has got foolproof styling tips and trend-led inspiration.
• Familiarise yourself with the dos and don’ts of wedding dress alterations here.
• Make a list of wedding party members, friends and family members who you’d like to organise thank-you cards or gifts for. Now’s a good time to take note of anyone who has been particularly helpful or supportive in wedding planning.
• Purchase gifts for the wedding party, or any friends and family members you’d like to treat around the time of the wedding. There are tonnes of lovely ideas in our Christmas gift guides and our list of unique bridesmaids gift ideas and gifts for groomsmen.

• Buy and write thank-you cards for the wedding party, or any friends and family members who deserve a huge thank you!
• Get working on any DIY projects you were planning to do for your wedding. You’ll find our favourite ideas here.
• Gather inspiration for your honeymoon. Start by reading our favourite honeymoon features.
• Brainstorm ideas for your Day Two celebrations here.
• If you’ve already settled on your wedding-day look, now’s the time to shop for accessories. We’re talking shoes, jewellery, veils, headpieces, bow ties, belts, sunglasses, and underwear.
• Gather inspiration for page boy and flower girl outfits. We don’t recommend buying these too far out from the big day (children seem to grow even faster around the time of a wedding!) but it’s a good time to gather ideas. We’ve got a whole section devoted to page boy and flower girl style, which you’ll find here.

• Plan or refine your wedding timeline. We’ve got four sample wedding timelines to work from here.
• Start a spreadsheet with contact information for all your suppliers. This is something to share with a couple of wedding party members in the run up to the wedding.
• Break in your wedding shoes, if you already have them at home!
• Create a wedding website. Click here to see a list of our favourite wedding website builders and here to see what info to add to your wedding website.
• Talk to your partner about whether you’re doing an on-the-day wedding gift exchange, which could otherwise take one of you by surprise! We’ve rounded up some of our favourite thoughtful gift ideas for your spouse-to-be here.
• Make a plan for your wedding speeches, who’s going to give them, when you’d like them to take place, where you’d like them to take place, etc. We discuss our favourite speech ideas here and on this episode of the One Fab Day Wedding Podcast.
• Write your wedding speech.
• Make a list of who needs to be thanked in the speeches. You can either dole these out among your speechgivers, or include them in your own speech.
• Write your wedding vows. See our top tips on writing your own vows here.
• Write your wedding ceremony, if you’re having a Humanist, non-religious or free-form ceremony. It’s a good idea to set up a video call with your celebrant, if they’re available, to discuss your ideas, and to read our step-by-step guide on writing your ceremony.

• Make a list of guests who have special requirements – elderly guests, pregnant guests, those with dietary or mobility restrictions etc. – and ask yourself if you’ve done everything to ensure the day runs smoothly for them. We have a post on creating a wedding quiet room here.
• Start a spreadsheet to log any wedding gifts you’ll receive, or have already received. This will be very useful when it comes time to send your thank-you cards!
• Calculate how much wine you need for your wedding. You’re in luck with this one, too – we’ve got a formula to help you do just that.
• Catch up on episodes of the One Fab Day Wedding Podcast!
• Make a plan for tipping your suppliers. Read our feature on tipping at weddings, and decide which suppliers to tip and how much to set aside for them.
• Make a list of family and wedding party members who will get bouquets, buttonholes, and corsages, if you haven’t already. Remember to consider family members who might get forgotten, like in-laws, partners, older children or anyone who will be getting ready with you and your partner.
• Make a plan for the night before the wedding. This might be an intimate family dinner, a trip to the local pub with your wedding party, or a night of pampering – it’s really your call!
• Give your wedding a sustainability audit. We’ve got lots of advice for this one in this eco-friendly feature, and in this episode of the One Fab Day Wedding Podcast.
• Think about games or activities that will get your guests mingling at dinner, like Wedding Speech Bingo! We have a list of fun dinner table games here.
• Learn how to tie a bow tie or tie! This skill will come in very handy on your wedding day, and we have a great hack here! We’ve linked YouTube tutorials in here.
• Learn how to clean your engagement ring and give it a thorough going over.

If You’re in the Late Stages of Planning

The situation: Your wedding is due to take place in the next couple of weeks or months.

• Reference the above list – under the heading If You’re in the Middle Stages of Planning – for tasks you may still have left to complete.
• Write and address your wedding invitations, if you have them ready to go.
• If you’ve already sent your invitations, get in touch with any guests who have yet to RSVP. Christmas provides the perfect excuse!
• Make a list of what to pack in your wedding overnight bag. Our overnight bag checklist is the perfect place to start.
• Make a list of what to pack for your honeymoon. Our honeymoon checklist is a great place to start.
• Check whether you need to get any shots or vaccinations for where you’re travelling to on your honeymoon – you might need to leave time to get a booster.
• Take a look in your wardrobe for outfits you might wear to pre-wedding gatherings, your Day Two party, or on honeymoon. If necessary, start looking for any new items you might need. Check out our My Wedding Wardrobe for style inspiration from real brides.

Still got time to kill? Our Ultimate Wedding Checklist features the full list of wedding-planning tasks!