One area of wedding planning that sometimes confuses couples is the wedding planning timeline, AKA what needs to be done when. Unfortunately, there’s no one-size-fits-all schedule, as some couples spend two years planning their wedding and others do it in three months. The next best thing is our wedding planning checklist, which can be adapted to suit pretty much any wedding, but one matter that’s relatively easy to address is the question of what to do after you book your wedding venue.

Booking your wedding venue really sets the wheels of wedding planning in motion! You suddenly have a clear understanding of the style of wedding you’re planning, and when and where it will take place, so many of the options that initially made wedding planning overwhelming (thankfully!) disappear. This means that you should be able to make some major decisions quite easily. And with our checklist of what to do after you book your wedding venue, it’ll be a breeze.

We’ve Booked Our Wedding Venue. Now What?

• Make a note of any dates or deadlines relating to the wedding venue – menu tastings, dates for payments and finalising your guest list – and set up reminders for them.
• Review your wedding budget with a 12.5% contingency factored in for unforeseen extras, so you know how much you have to spend on decor, style and suppliers.
• Check that you’re on track with your plans for how you are planning to finance the wedding. Are you using savings, continuing to save, getting financial help from family members, or getting a personal loan.
• Set up accounts for any organisational tools you plan to use, and create your wedding spreadsheets (we love Trello!)
• Or buy a physical paper planner – we have a list of the best wedding planner books here!
• Optional: Book your wedding planner (if you haven’t already!)
• Book your photographer – the best ones can be fully booked out nine to 12 months in advance.
• Optional: Book an engagement shoot with your photographer as a trial.
• Book your videographer.
• Book your band/DJ.
• Consider taking out wedding insurance.
• Make a wedding planning schedule based your wedding date, using our wedding planning checklist as a guide.
• Optional: Create a wedding website.
• Finalise your guest list.
• Gather postal addresses for your guests.
• Organise and send your Save the Dates.
• Plan another visit to the venue – this allows you to gather ideas for decor, ask questions, assess accessibility for your guests with additional needs, or, if you’re attending an open day or showcase, meet some of the venue’s preferred suppliers.

Your Next Steps in Wedding Planning

After you book your wedding venue, once you’ve completed the tasks on the above list, you may find yourself at a loose end, which is totally normal. For most couples with a lead time of 12 months or more, there comes a point when you’re suddenly not sure what you’re supposed to be doing – you’ve booked the main suppliers, but it’s too early to tackle the other items on your list, so you might be feeling a little antsy.

Of course, you can spend this time researching the aesthetic and style elements of your day – colour palette, dress etc.  – but once you’ve worked out when you need to be doing what and have that in the diary, we think it’s wise to take a break from wedding planning, so you don’t completely run out of steam later on. Other people like to put 30 minutes aside once a week on a particular evening to do their wedding admin so that it doesn’t feel all consuming.

It’s also a good excuse to just enjoy being engaged – believe us, it’ll be over in a flash!

Be sure to read our guide on how to stay on budget and be sure to hit follow on Instagram for more tips and inspiration!