This is definitely the most excited I’ve ever been for somebody else’s event, I’m planning my best friend’s wedding with her! I am the maid of honor and I have a lot more free time than her right now so I’ve been having a blast with the planning and organization. However, doing this on your own is no joke, wedding planners are so expensive and the amount of things that need to be considered are so overwhelming to keep track of. Here is what I’m doing to stay organized and on track for the big day.
- Get a Good Wedding Timeline Checklist
This is probably the most important one. You can’t possibly remember everything you need to do and by when each thing needs to get done. There are hundreds of pre-made wedding timelines out there so find one that works for you. I like this one on The Knot but, you might find it to be lacking some things that are relevant to your wedding specifically.
So, I recommend taking some time and going through this checklist and seeing what its missing – look up your vendors and see when they need certain decisions by or when they do their tastings etc… This can be added to your master excel sheet (see more below).
- The Master Excel Sheet
This is the one that gets me side eyes from my type B friends but it has been a lifesaver. I’m linking an empty template here you can start using on your own for free on Google Sheets. Just make a copy to make it your own!
The key with this is to utilize the tabs at the bottom to organize different parts of your wedding. I have on the main page a big list of all wedding day tasks, when they need to be done by, whose job it is to get it done, and notes about what it may pertain. For example, the task is “finalize napkin choices for dinner”, it’s the bride and groom’s jobs to get it done by xx/xx and a note could be “explore colors sky blue and light blue”. You can check these off right on sheets when they get done and you can even put “in progress” to make you feel like you’re getting somewhere, LOL.
Then, the fun part is adding tabs for rehearsal dinner, bachelorette, bridal shower (if you’re the MOH or MOB etc…), guest list to keep track of RSVPs and whatever else needs planning. That way you have separate lists for when you just need to focus on one thing.
- Get a Binder
Yes, a real life paper binder. A cute one is obviously preferred. Put some lined paper for brain dumps and plain paper for sketches of the venue and table settings. Then add the clear pockets to fill with all the paper things you need to keep track of. The venue may give you one of these and I recommend taking the stuff you don’t really need out but, sometimes they give you some helpful checklists. This is where you can keep invoices from the venue and other vendors, swatches you may order for bridal party, printouts from vendors you need to contact, relevant business cards, etc… Truly there are so many things that start to accumulate that you will not want to lose.
- Give Yourself Deadlines and Schedule Planning Sessions
Planning fatigue is real and sometimes it’s hard to find the motivation, especially when there’s a lot of logistical stuff to be done (boring). This is why you should schedule out your planning sessions. Look at your calendar and pick a few days a month or week (depending on how far out you are) to dedicate several hours to planning. Grab a coffee, go to a cute cafe and make a list at the start of each session of specific things you want to get done. This makes the whole process a little less overwhelming. You can feel accomplished and productive and know that you’ve done all the planning you need to do that week.
- Make a Presentation
Okay, sorry, you need an excel sheet and a powerpoint because some things are just visual. Table settings, flowers, dresses, color palettes, detail shots, all things you need to see planned out. Likely, you have a bunch of stuff saved to different Pinterest boards (check out mine for more wedding inspiration) which is great but, digging through these boards can be time consuming when you just want to bring up the colors quickly or show you vendor the vibe you have for flowers.
On my powerpoint I have a page for bridesmaid dresses, on which I pasted photos from the websites we’re using and put them next to each other to see what we would all look like lined up and then I put another one with the groomsmen next to us to make sure the colors worked. We have a slide for hair inspo, makeup, flowers, table setting, venue decor, small details like the guestbook, and shots we want that we can show the photographer.
I hope all of these tips and resources help you out in your wedding planning journey! Remember to have fun, in the end it’s not about the decor and colors or even the photos, it’s about marrying your best friend!