How to Plan a Wedding: Steps and Wedding Essentials for Brides and Grooms

What is a bride’s best friend in the midst of wedding planning chaos? It’s an all-inclusive Indian wedding checklist, you got it! Weddings can be SO much easier when all of your tasks are organized into a bridal checklist, and the satisfaction of ticking them off one by one is indescribable. What exactly is a wedding checklist? It’s a list of wedding tasks that must be completed, organized by time or category. You can create a task list that includes everything from booking a venue to hiring vendors, creating a guest list, and purchasing your wedding trousseau. It’s a great way to keep track of what needs to be done, what has already been completed, and what requires an alternative. Whoever invented checklists is surely in heaven and has the gratitude of all brides worldwide!

We’ve created a super elaborate and comprehensive wedding planning checklist that will take you from the 12th month to the day of your wedding and beyond. There’s nothing we’ve forgotten, and as long as you stick to this comprehensive wedding essentials checklist, you’ll be ready for your dreamy big fat Indian wedding!

12 to 10 months prior to the wedding

This list contains the first steps you should take as soon as the wedding date and season are set. Begin these steps 12 to 10 months before your wedding or immediately after your engagement because a solid foundation will lead to smoother preparations.

1. Go over Priorities

A thorough discussion of your wedding expectations can assist you in developing your budget. Communicate with your family and partner, and establish your priorities early on. You should also talk about whether you want a day or night wedding, and whether you want a local or destination wedding. Clear thinking leads to clear decisions in wedding planning.

2. Create a Budget

Before you begin your Indian wedding checklist and planning, you must first create a budget. What should you budget for an Indian wedding? A destination wedding, travel, or venue can all have a significant impact on the budget. A rough budget can help you estimate the overall money you’ll need for the wedding and will help you allocate money wisely, preventing overspending.

3. Choose a Wedding Location

Popular wedding venues are frequently fully booked months in advance. As a result, the sooner you begin looking for venues, the better. When booking a venue, make sure it can accommodate your guests and is aesthetically pleasing to look at. The location, ambiance, and behavior of the staff are also important considerations. Book your ideal venue as soon as you find it!

4. Create a Provisional Guest List

Who should you invite, who should you not invite, and what if you forget to invite someone significant? During their wedding preparations, many brides ponder these questions. The simplest solution is to create a guest list. Sort people into family, close relatives, friends, colleagues, or distant relatives groups.

5. Select a Caterer

Good food equals happy guests, according to one of the golden rules of wedding planning! So, when it comes to wedding cuisines, don’t be afraid to go for the best option you have. After all, who wouldn’t want to unwind and eat delicious food after a long day of wedding festivities? If the venue you selected does not offer catering, or if you have some local caterers in mind, now is the time to contact them! Make a list of potential caterers and make a list of their advantages and disadvantages.

6. Look for Trends and Inspirations

Wedding trends change quickly, and there are always new trends that enter the market. Always test the waters and know what’s trending before planning a successful marriage! Wedding blogs, invitation ideas, cakes, venue decor trends, entry ideas, and jewelry and outfit inspiration are all available and are the wedding essentials for a bride! The more you understand about your options, the better your wedding will be. Use all of the social media sites and go browsing! You can also read inspirational blogs, make Pinterest boards, and try polling your friends.

7. Consider Wedding Décor and Themes

Now that you’ve filled your head with trends and ideas, it’s time to start visualizing your wedding! Do you want to incorporate any themes into your events? What about color palettes? Do you prefer bohemian, rustic, carnival, forest, disco, old-school, or vintage vibes? Do you have any DIY projects in mind? You should answer these questions one by one to get a better idea of what you want out of your wedding. Of course, the planner and decorators can help you, but if you want things to look a certain way, you’ll need to start brainstorming from the start.

8. Make a list of all wedding vendors.

Only fools rush in, wise men say! Don’t just go with the first top-rated vendor you come across. You should always make a list of potential vendors and choose the best after checking their experience through their blog, visiting their social media, scrutinizing reviews, speaking with them in person, and getting a sense of their personality. Wedding vendors to consider hiring include a photographer, a choreographer, gifts and favors, decorators, DJs, and so on.

9. Choose a Wedding Photographer

Because your photographer will be the only one to capture your memories, they must be the best! You can choose the best photographer for your needs by considering your budget, experience, photography style, and personality. Remember to choose a preferred style, such as candid or traditional, before negotiating with your photographer. Aside from that, getting the photographer and videographer from the same place saves time, money, and resources.

10. Examine and Choose Wedding Gifts & Favors

Your friends and family have traveled a long distance to attend your wedding, and it would be unjust to send them home empty-handed! This is where wedding gifts and favors come into play! The good news is that you have several options to choose from

11. Hire Event Decorators

No other vendor can help you turn your wedding into a fairytale like your decorators. It is now up to you whether you want to go for a Bollywood, fairytale, forest, minimalist, funky, or retro vibe. Your wedding decorators, on the other hand, will make your ideas a reality. Needless to say, selecting them will be one of the most important aspects of your wedding checklist for the bride. Before hiring a decorator, make sure to go over your ideas and expectations. A thorough discussion with your decorators, as well as taking their advice when necessary, can help you get closer to your dream wedding.

12. Choose a hairstylist and makeup artist.

Another item on the marriage list for brides that you should not skimp on is your makeup and hair stylist. Don’t you want to look your best on your wedding day and surprise your future husband? Only a bride who is confident in her grooming can slay her wedding! To get a better idea of their abilities, book a demo makeup and hairstyling trial. If you intend to do your own makeup, now is the time to gather all of the materials for your bridal makeup kit.

13. Purchase Your Final Wedding Outfit

All of your months of planning must have given you a general idea of what you want from your wedding trousseau. It’s time to start looking for that one perfect outfit that you’ll remember for the rest of your life! Begin by looking for designer brands or stores where you want to buy your clothes. Shopping for clothes is enjoyable, but it can take a long time if you can’t find exactly what you’re looking for. Because Indian weddings have different rituals on different dates, you’ll need to buy appropriate clothing for the event, such as haldi, mehendi, sangeet, or your wedding day.

14. Arrange a pre-wedding photo shoot

Don’t forget to include a pre-wedding photoshoot in your wedding checklist for the bride and groom. You can obtain some romantic pre-wedding photographs, which will undoubtedly make an excellent addition to your wedding album. Not only will you get used to the camera, but you’ll also be more comfortable because you won’t be wearing any heavy jewelry or clothing. Take your time discussing the shoot location, timings, and expectations with the photographer.

15. Purchase Wedding Jewelry

Now that your bridal trousseau is complete, you’ll need the jewelry to match! The reason we have buying jewelry after the attire on the wedding list for the bride is that it is easier to look for a set that goes well with your get-up rather than buying whatever looks good. Make a list of the jewelry you want, such as a necklace, earrings, mattha patti, anklets, or bangles, and start visiting jewelers!

16. Look for Additional Accessories

Don’t forget to buy non-jewelry accessories like footwear, alta, bindi, hair accessories, or flower bouquets. Shopping sprees can provide a much-needed break from the wedding planning process.

17. Begin a Skincare Routine

Your wedding is approaching, and you deserve flawless skin on your big day! That is not something that can be accomplished overnight. Begin planning and adhering to a detailed skin care routine at least four months before your wedding to allow your skin to recover and glow. Don’t forget to be consistent in your practice or the results will be minimal! You should also start a healthy diet, detoxification, a regular sleep schedule, and stay hydrated.

18. Schedule Pre-Wedding Beauty Treatments

Now is the time to pay special attention to your skin! Long-term pre-wedding beauty treatments are best done three months before your wedding. Visit your dermatologist for advice and medications to achieve more supple skin. Don’t forget to get regular facials to keep your skin nourished. For your hair, you could also consider keratin treatment or rebonding.

19. Purchase Wedding Favors and Gifts

Complete your shortlist of gifts and place your order right away. It could be a gift basket of necessities, personalized items, metallic artifacts, coffee, personal care, handmade soaps, candles, or whatever your heart desires! Many vendors would be willing to take customized gift orders, so buy gifts.

20. Distribute Invitations

Sending out wedding invitations two months before your wedding is ideal! Arrange the invitations based on the printed names and distance. Send out invitations to guests who live the furthest away first, as it may take time to reach them. You can begin visiting local relatives’ homes to deliver invitations.

21. 5 months prior to the wedding

This half of the Indian wedding checklist will cover the tasks you must complete five months before your wedding. Booking decorators, makeup artists, and a bride’s favorite part – shopping – are all part of this half of the Indian wedding preparation checklist.

22. 6 months prior to the wedding

With the wedding only a half-year away, your planning will be in full swing. Finalizing vendors and accommodations will be covered in the second half of the Indian wedding checklist of how to plan a wedding step by step.

23. 9 to 7 months prior to the wedding

Before you begin moving forward with how to plan a wedding, make sure you have completed everything on the 12 to 10 month Indian wedding planning timeline! This section goes over all of the tasks you’ll need to complete nine to seven months before your wedding.

Now you seem all set for your wedding. Check in all the points again and you are one step close to your perfect wedding.

FAQs – Wedding Planning