You are here: Home > Event Management Resources > Wedding Planning Checklist

Wedding Planning Checklist

Planning the wedding

Wedding Logistics

Wedding Interview

Wedding Budget Planning

Wedding Planning Risk Management

Wedding Sites Selection

Wedding Caterers Selection

Wedding Decorator Selection

Wedding Musicians Selection

Wedding Photographer Selection

Wedding Videographer Selection

Wedding Boutique Selection

Wedding Jewellery Shop Selection

Henna Mehndi Artist Selection

Wedding Makeup Artist Selection

Wedding Tent House Selection

Wedding Planning Guide

At least 4 Months before the wedding;
1) Ask bride, groom and their parents to set budget for various ceremonies And how they will share expenses. 2) Ask bride, groom and there parents to divide responsibilities between both families. 3) Interview bride, groom and there parents, review historical data, conduct risk analysis and feasibility study to estimate the overall budget of the wedding. 4) Take approval for the budget from bride, groom and there parents. 5) Interview following: a. Venue manager b. Tent house manager c. Caterer d. Florist e. Decorator f. Musicians g. Photographers h. Videographers i. Boutique managers j. Jewellery shop managers k. DJs l. Music band managers m. Henna artists n. Beauticians o. Hair Stylists p. Wedding car driver q. Wedding band manager (for Barat); 6) Book following: a. Venue (for engagement, Tilak, ladies Sangeet, wedding and Reception) b. Tent house c. Caterer d. Priest e. Florist f. Decorator g. Musicians

h. Photographers i. Videographers j. Wedding Boutique k. Wedding Jewellery shop l. DJs m. Music band n. Henna artist o. Beautician p. Hair Stylist q. Accommodation (hotel/guest house/resort/) for outstation guests according to bride, groom and there parents preferences. r. Wedding car driver s. Wedding band (For barat) Note: Have all your booking confirmations in writing. Keep a record of every transaction.

7) Place an order for wedding invitation cards according to bride, groom and there parents preferences.

8) Place an order to the wedding boutique for making and designing engagement wedding and reception attires and trousseau according to bride, groom and there parents preferences.

9) Place an order to the Jewellery shop for making and designing wedding Jewellery according to bride, groom and there parents preferences.

10) Ask bride and groom to keep there passport and visa ready for honeymoon.

11) Filled an application for registering the marriage in the registry office.

At least 2 Months before the wedding

1) Ask bride and her parents to start shopping for wedding gifts. 2) Send wedding invitations to all the guests along with a map to help them in finding the venue. 3) Be sure the wedding attire and Jewellery are collected and ready to wear.

4) Book cars for transportation. Note: Be in touch with all the service providers like venue manager, Caterer, priest, florist, photographers etc

At least 1 month before the wedding

1) Confirm all bookings and arrangements. 2) Hire 2 or 3 girls for petal tossing. 3) Confirm final guest list. 4) Book 3 or 4 security personals 5) Finalize shopping for wedding day. 6) Finalize your menu, beverages and alcohol order. 7) Plan wedding hall layout and seating arrangements with your venue manager And get an approval from bride, groom and there parents before finalizing.

One week before the wedding

1) Ask photographer to meet bride, groom and there parents to know what type of photos they want. 2) Ask Videographer to meet bride, groom and there parents to know which events or people they want to be videotaped. 3) Ask bride, groom and there parents to make sure that all the wedding dresses and outfits are ironed/dry cleaned and absolutely ready to use. 4) Confirm all bookings and arrangements once again.

A day before the wedding

1) Ask bride, groom and there family members to go to the parlor for pedicure, manicure, nails, facial etc.

On the wedding day

Onsite Management 1) Ask bride and groom to go to the parlor for final makeup. 2) Appoint three or four persons (preferably educated well mannered security Guards) and assign them following responsibilities: i) Maintain a record of all gifts received during the wedding. ii) Make sure that bride and grooms outfit, Jewellery, presents, all rented items and other items are safe. iii) Lookout for suspicious people like freebies and thieves. iv) Make sure that guests do not face any problem. v) Take care of all the kids. Keep them away from electrical appliances, heaters, burners etc. vi) Transport gifts from the ceremony site to the brides suite or car. vii) Make sure that everything is running smoothly and in case of a mishap or any problem contact the event manager. viii) Switch on generators during a power failure. ix) Use fire extinguishers in case of fire. x) Handle the entire security of the wedding Note: Make sure that all rented objects are returned and all payments are made after the wedding.

Wedding Logistics
1) Florist

2) Floral theme

3) Flowers

4) Decorator

5) Venue (marriage hall, banquet hall, marriage garden, ground, park, home, hotel, resort)

6) Caterer

7) Food items, sweets, beverages, crockery, special dishes

8) Musicians

9) Bride and grooms album, extra prints, negatives, Photographer, camera

10) Videographer, video album (usually cassette / CD) with title and photo montage, extra copies of video album

11) Accommodation (like hotel, guest house, resort) and transportation (like rented cars, taxies, buses) for outstation guests.

12) Rented items like tent, wedding furniture, lighting and sound systems Etc.

13) Gifts (given to the groom and his family members).

14) Wedding consultant

15) Priest (for performing religious rites)

16) Bride and grooms dresses for engagement, wedding and Reception ceremonies

17) Boutique

18) Bridal Jewellery

19) Trousseau

20) Hairdresser, Makeup artist, manicurist, pedicurist, facial expert

21) Crackers (for fireworks display)

22) DJs / DJ floor

23) Professional / Pop singers

24) Security personals

25) Registrar (for issuing marriage certificate)

26) Mehendi artist

27) Engagement rings (for both bride and groom)

28) wedding garland

29) Petal tossing girls

30) Bride, groom and their relatives and friends

31) Wedding Band

32) Wedding car decorator

33) Wedding car driver

Wedding Interview
Ask following questions from bride, groom and their parents: Q1) When they want the Pre-wedding ceremonies (engagement) to take place? (i.e. there dates). Q2) When they want the wedding to take place? (i.e. the wedding date). Q3) When they want the reception to take place? Q4) How much they are willing to spend on wedding, reception and pre-wedding Ceremonies? Q5) What type of wedding they want: Traditional or contemporary? Q6) What will be the size of the Engagement and Reception ceremonies: Small scale or large scale? Q7) What will be the size of the Wedding ceremony: Small scale or large scale? Q8) How they want their wedding should be: Simple, with fanfare, Splendid, spectacular or customized. Definition of a simple wedding 1) Basic floral and interior decoration 2) Marriage venue (home, ground, park, banquet hall) 3) Catering service 4) Musicians 5) Professional photographer 6) Professional Videographer 7) Accommodation and transportation facilities for guest

Definition of a wedding with fanfare 1) Basic floral and interior decoration 2) Marriage venue (home, ground, park, banquet hall) 3) Catering service

4) Musicians 5) Professional lights and sound systems 6) Fireworks display 7) DJs / DJ floor 8) Professional photographer and Videographer 9) Security personals 10) Accommodation and transportation facilities for guest.

Definition of a splendid Wedding 1) Elegant floral and interior decoration 2) Elegant Marriage venue (Marriage hall, marriage garden, 3 stars or 5 stars hotel/resort) 3) Catering service (with 5 star hotel cooks and chefs) 4) Musicians 5) Professional lights and sound systems 6) Grand Fireworks display 7) DJs / DJ floor 8) Professional / pop singers 9) Professional photographer and Videographer 10) Security personals 11) Accommodation and transportation facilities for guest. Definition of a Spectacular Wedding 1) Excellent floral and interior decoration 2) Top class marriage venue (Palaces, top-rated 5 stars or 7 stars Hotel / resort) 3) Catering service (with renowned 5 stars hotel cooks and chefs) 4) Famous musicians 5) Sound and light systems of music concert level 6) Grand Fireworks display 7) Ceremony programs hosted by famous professional / pop singers, TV artists /anchors, Celebrities, DJs and VJs. 8) Media and press coverage 9) Professional photographer and Videographer 10) Security personals and police security 11) Accommodation and transportation facilities for guest 12) Doctors (for guest) 13) Famous Hollywood photographers 14) Famous Hollywood Cinematographers 15) Guest attendants and Ushers 16) Renowned fashion designers for designing attire of bride and her family members.

Definition of a customized wedding

All wedding arrangements will be according to bride, groom and there Parents preferences. E.g.: 1) Elegant floral and interior decoration 2) Marriage venue (home, ground, park, banquet hall) 3) Catering service 4) Musicians 5) Professional light and sound systems 6) Fireworks display 7) Professional photographer and Videographer. 8) Accommodation and transportation facilities for guest.

Q9) How many people will attend engagement ceremony? Q10) How many people will attend Wedding? Q11) How many people will attend Reception? Note: Ask bride, groom and their parents to create a list of the people, with there addresses whom they would like to invite in their Engagement, Wedding and Reception ceremonies. Also ask them to make certain that all guest names are spelled correctly and that all addresses are correct. Q12) How many people will receive wedding gifts? Note: Ask bride and her parents to create a list of people who will receive gifts. Q13) How many guest will be outstation guests? Where they will stay (hotel, guest house, home, resort) and for how long?

How to Manage Risks in a Wedding

In risk analysis we identify, understand and manage uncertain situations like: i) Large number of unexpected guest ii) Unexpected rain or storm iii) Power failure iv) Mishap like fire or accident v) Unexpected expenses vi) Last minute arrangements

Review of historical data

From the review of historical data (I.e. how much was spent in the similar weddings in the past) we can estimate the efforts and cost of the wedding.

Feasibility Study
Conduct feasibility study to find out whether the wedding is possible or not within the specified budget, preferences and arrangements specified by bride, groom and there parents. If the wedding is going out of the budget then inform bride, groom and there parents about it and ask them to either increase the budget or make changes to there preferences and arrangements.

How to Estimate the Budget of a Wedding

On the basis of the interview with bride, groom and their parents, create a handy checklist of expenses for estimating the budget of the wedding. E.g. of a handy checklist

1) Floral delivery and setup fee (to the florist) 2) Decoration fee (to the decorator) 3) Engagement, wedding and Reception site fee (to the venue manager) 4) Catering fee 5) Musicians fee 6) Photographers fee 7) Cost of: bride and grooms album, extra prints, negatives 8) Videographers fee 9) Cost of: video album (usually VCD / CD) with title and photo montage, Extra copies of video album 10) Accommodation and transportation cost for guests and other wedding Related activities. 11) Cost of rented items like Tent, wedding furniture, lighting and sound systems, cars etc. 12) Cost of gifts given to the groom and family members. 13) Cost of Jewellery given to the bride by grooms parents 14) Wedding consultants fee 15) Cost of bride and grooms attires for engagement, Tilak, Ladies Sangeet wedding and Reception Ceremony. 16) Boutique fee (for making and designing bride and groom attires)

17) Cost of bridal Jewellery and trousseau. 18) Hairdressers fee 19) Bridal Makeup artists fee 20) Fee of Grooms Makeup artist 21) Manicurists fee 22) Pedicurists fee 23) Facial fee 24) Expenditure on fireworks display 25) DJs fee 26) Rent of DJ floor 27) Professional/Pop singers fee 28) Security personals fee 29) Registrar fee (for issuing a marriage certificate) 30) Mehendi artist fee 31) Cost of bride and grooms engagement rings 32) Cost of garland 33) Cost of lighting and floral decoration at bride and grooms homes 34) Stage Setup fee 35) Petal tossing fee 36) Cost of wedding band 37) Cost of fireworks display 38) Cost of decorating a wedding car 39) Cost of hiring a wedding car

40) Fee of wedding car driver

To estimate the overall budget of the wedding conduct risk Analysis And review historical data also.