There are a lot of details to consider when planning your wedding, some that need to be done well in advance and others that can wait until closer to the date. The timeline to plan a wedding comes down to the specifics of your day. If you’re wondering how to plan a wedding step by step without feeling stressed out, start with some of the bigger tasks and work your way down.
Timeline to Plan a Wedding
One of the first things you do when planning your wedding is to find a venue and pick a date. Once this is solidified, you’ll know how long you have to plan and your venue’s capacity.
1 Year Before Your Wedding
Create Your Guestlist: Start building out your wedding guestlist based on the capacity of your event space.
Choose Your Wedding Party: Ask your closest family members and friends to be a part of your special day. Give them plenty of time to ensure they are available to be there for your big day.
Buy Your Wedding Dress: Wedding dress shopping is a fun and special moment for many brides. Visit a couple of different stores to try on dresses to get a feel for the style you like best.
Find Your Wedding Vendors: Once you have your date secured, you can start looking for vendors that are available that day. Historic Acres of Hershey has a list of preferred vendors that we love and trust.
Start a Wedding Registry: Determine what you have already and what you’ll need once you officially start your life as a married couple. You can go to a store or do a wedding registry online.
Book a Hotel Room Block: If you have a lot of out of town guests, it’s nice to offer a room block so that everyone stays in the same place.
6 Months Before Your Wedding
Shop for the Bridal Party: Determine your color scheme and go shopping for your bridal party attire.
Plan Your Wedding Decor: Choose the style and types of decor that you’ll want to have for your wedding. Consider the time it will take to create DIY decor or how long it will take for something to ship if it’s being made.
Send Out Save the Dates: Let everyone know about your upcoming event with save the dates! These are typically simple and beautiful with minimal details so your guests can begin planning.
Create Your Wedding Website: Another great tool for planning is a wedding website. Create a wedding website for your guests with information like the wedding registry, hotel accommodations, things to do in the area, wedding party information, and more.
3 Months Before Your Wedding
Plan the Day: You’ll need to plan the wedding reception order of events and which traditions and activities you’ll include on your special day.
Create Your Seating Chart: By this time, you’ve likely started receiving your RSVPs and you can start building your seating chart.
Obtain Your Marriage License: Just before the wedding, you’ll need to obtain your marriage license. You will need to obtain it within 2-3 weeks but at least three days prior to your wedding day.
FInalize Last Minute Items: No matter how well you plan, there’s always something that seems to pop up at the last minute. Save yourself some time- and money- to manage these surprises.
Plan Your Wedding at Historic Acres of Hershey
Historic Acres of Hershey offers a beautiful setting for rustic and modern weddings alike. Contact us to learn more about our event spaces or to book a tour of the property.