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6 months before the wedding checklist
9 months before your wedding
In our previous checklists, we wanted to help you by detailing all the things couples normally start organising 12 months or more before their wedding.
You have now booked your venue, chosen a wedding theme, bought your dream dress and booked all your suppliers. There are 9 months until the big day and you may have started to wonder what else you should be doing at this stage and whether there’s anything that’s going unnoticed.
9 months before your wedding is when you should start looking into arranging a menu planning appointment, meeting with your selected suppliers to finalise details and having fun organising another very important event to many: your hen and stag dos!
1 - Wedding Catering
Defining a menu is one of the most important parts of planning your big day. It is during your meeting with your wedding caterer that you’ll have a chance to finalise finer details, discuss dietary requirements to suit your guests’ needs and chat through with the chef to know what the best options are.
At Manor Hill House, for example, we offer our own bespoke wedding menus and we like to give all of our couples the opportunity to meet our head chef and discuss specific requirements.
Different wedding venues will have different catering options. Some will allow you to choose your own caterers or they may have a list of 3-5 for you to choose from, whilst others will offer the whole catering themselves. It’s important to know that each wedding venue has its own policy, so if you have your heart set on a particular vendor, make sure your chosen venue allows external caterers.
There are two things your wedding guests will definitely remember about your day: the good times they had and the food! We always suggest allocating up to 80% of your venue budget to food alone. So, if you want to give everyone long-lasting memories of your special day, don’t forget to put that extra bit of thought into your wedding menu.
2 - Wedding Hair & Make-Up
When you’re 9 months away from the big day, your wedding hair and make-up should start being planned out. Planning these is more than just about looks, though. Everybody loves a bit of pampering and getting your hair and make-up done to walk down the aisle will give you that special feeling you will certainly cherish forever.
At this stage, it’s important that you meet up with your hair and make-up artists to decide on a particular style or look. Consider requesting them to bring assistants over on the day just in
case you are limited on time.
Make sure you book the right people for the job! We can’t stress enough how important it is to have a team of stylists you trust. The right professionals will ensure you look your absolute best during the whole day, with lasting make-up and perfectly put hair.
Remember: this is your day and there’s nothing more special than being made to feel like a princess!
3 - Stag and Hen Dos
This is, without a doubt, one of the most fun parts of the run up to your special day! There are already so many things to plan, so perhaps allocating someone to plan your stag and hen parties will take the weight off your shoulders and give you a chance to be surprised.
For many couples, this nominated person may either be your maid of honour or best man or it could simply be someone in your group of friends who you know will do a good job. So, make sure you choose someone you absolutely trust to deliver memorable hen or stag parties.
There are a number of specialised agencies and companies who are experienced in organising these events, helping you to choose a location and set up an itinerary for you and your friends. This could be particularly helpful if you have a large hen party and your nominated planner is struggling to put it all together.
This is meant to be your last send off before married life so have fun! Hold back from going too crazy though, especially if your hen party or stag do is happening the night before your wedding; hangovers and wedding days aren’t a particularly good combo!
4 - Honeymoon
After looking forward to your wedding day for months and sometimes years, it can be exciting to have something else to look forward to once the big day has come and gone. Booking your honeymoon will ensure you still have those butterflies in your stomach, even after the wedding.
Some honeymoon destinations are quite popular and, as a consequence, expensive. Planning ahead of time can help you prepare your budget and guarantee the best deals. It will also give you and your significant other the opportunity to enjoy married life away from routine.
Some couples decide to travel soon after their big day, whilst others like to give it a few months before they go away. This is all down to personal preference, but planning in advance is crucial to make sure the experience is as enjoyable and as stress-free as possible.
If planning all of it on your own sounds like too much work, you can arrange to visit a travel agent who will help you plan it all and book all of the minor details for you. This can help manage your responsibilities ahead of your wedding and offset some of the pressure.
5 - Wedding Gifts List
Wedding gift lists are a great way to get your guests involved in contributing a little bit towards your new life together as a married couple.
Traditionally, wedding gift lists would include household items for the newly wedded couple as they would normally be building a new home together. However, as so many couples nowadays already live together, it seems another alternative is becoming increasingly more popular and that is contributions towards the couple's honeymoon fund.
This is particularly true when couples have already invested a large amount of money into their wedding day and the pot may be a little low for them to go away and celebrate together. This also allows for guests to contribute as much or as little as they want to, as everything adds up!
Whichever route you wish to go down, setting up a gift list which covers all budgets allows your guests to select how much they’re willing to give away so that those who may not be able to invest in something expensive don’t feel excluded.
There are a number of websites that allow you to create a wish list of gifts, such as Amazon. This is a chance for you and your partner to determine the items you would love to get into a single list. You can then send off the link to your guests, who can visit it at their own leisure.
When sending out the invitations do not be worried about including your gift list or the fact you would prefer donations as this means your guests know what you want and can budget accordingly.