6 Weeks Until You're Married...

Argh! It's six-weeks to go!

There's no time to panic, but it's too soon to put your feet up just yet. Review our previous posts to make sure that you've covered all your bases:

1 year to go

9 months to go

6 months to go

3 months to go

Assuming you have a check-list of things, now is the time to review everything again. Get your partner to go through everything separately, too. A fresh pair of eyes might spot something you've missed.

• Book in for a hair and make-up trial and settle on the style that you're looking for. Use magazines, billboards, films, paintings and photographs as your inspiration. Choose a stylist who you can trust. You'll want someone who is honest with you, but willing to create the style you want.
  
  
• Reconfirm the venues and services and make sure they understand exactly what it is that you expect on the day.
  
  
• Arrange to collect any dresses, or suits and start thinking about whether anything is likely to need altering.
  
  
• Encourage the Best Man, Father of the Bride and Chief Bridesmaid (if necessary) to start writing their speeches.
  
  
• Make sure the celebrant or officiant has a copy of the order of service and is notified of any special elements that you want to include.
  
  It's easy to feel the pressure building and that's completely natural and understandable, but don't lose sight of the most important element of all: you're marrying the person that you love. It doesn't matter if you've dropped the ball on a few things.
  

3 Months Until You're Married...

Well, it's not long now...

Ideally, with only 12 weeks to go, you should have all the big stuff booked by now. If you haven't, then don't underestimate how quickly the next 3 months will go by.

If you need a re-cap on our previous countdown posts, then you may find our 12 month, 9 month and 6 month posts helpful.

Again, this list is neither prescriptive nor exhaustive. There's no right or wrong way of planning a wedding, so it's absolutely fine if you don't agree or if you do things in a different order. We'd love to know what works for you so get in touch with us via email or our Twitter account.

• Some people buy their wedding rings at the very start, and some will leave it until much later. Three months before the big day is perfectly acceptable and will give you time to spend looking now that the big bookings (venue, church, catering etc) has been taken care of. It's important not to just go by what a ring looks like, but also its practicality: mechanics, industrial or construction workers are likely to need a stronger band like titanium.
  
• Between 3 - 4 months before the day, you might like to start sending out wedding invitations. Hopefully, you've already sent out save the date cards and these will give guests more information about the ceremony. Sometimes caterers and venues will require you to give them final numbers, so you may need to send the invitations out earlier. Too early, however, and people may be likely to misplace or forget their invites.
  
• Sorting out the music for the first dance could be left until later, but if you and your partner have different tastes then it might be worthwhile starting to pick a song earlier. At the very least it should give you some time to compromise.
  
• Start searching for presents for those who have played a role in the wedding. Traditionally, the mothers will get a bunch of flowers and the best man, the bridesmaids etc will all receive a small gift. If you're on a budget they don't need to be anything extravagant; instead think of it as a small trinket of gratitude.
  
• If you haven't already, most people will begin planning the seating arrangements around the three month mark. This may change when the RSVPs begin arriving, but it's always good to have an idea.
  
• Having a stag or hen night? Get you're friends together and start planning. Ensure you give your friends enough notice so that they can book any time off work, or arrange any childcare.
  
• If you're planning an exotic getaway, then now would be a good time to start thinking of any holiday vaccinations that you might need. Contact your GP to see what's required. 

If you're at the 3 month mark, then good luck! We'd love to hear about how you're getting on.

6 Months Until You're Married...

We're continuing with our planning countdown and we're at the 6 month mark. If you're arriving late, then you catch up with our 12-month and 9-months posts.

You're closing in on the final stretch now, and we're not lying when we say that your wedding will be here sooner than you think. We're going to assume now that the venue is booked and that you've already got an idea of the sort of shape the wedding will take. Revisit our previous posts or check out our full plan over at Pink Wedding Days if you need a reminder.

• Start looking around for a hair and make-up stylist and get hungry for ideas. You can find inspiration everywhere: magazines, on television or in film, billboards, books and in advertising. If you're a bit of a creative spark, then why not come up with you're own ideas and talk them over with your hairdresser.
  
• Now is also a good time to begin looking for honeymoon destinations. This will give you ample opportunity to research, plan and book that special trip away. A honeymoon doesn't need to be anything OTT. Mini moons are becoming increasingly popular and a weekend away will be cheap enough if you're willing to shop around: lastminute.com, Trivago, Expedia and Ebookers are all good places to start. Remember that the UK and Ireland offer fantastic short break opportunities and Premier Inn, Travelodge and even Wetherspoon's will often have cheap rooms, sales or discounts to tempt you.
  
• Check to see if anyone in the wedding party needs any accommodation booked either at your venue or in a venue nearby. If you're booking for more than 9 people, see if you can negotiate a discount or some freebies.
  
• Now would also be a good time to buy any dresses or look to hire suits. This will give you ample chance to have them adjusted closer to the time, too.
  
• If you're thinking of slimming down, muscling up or filling out for your big day, then the sooner you start the better and with the lighter evenings you could spend it getting fit with your partner.
  
  
  The six month mark is a really good time to review what you've already done and evaluate what still needs to be done. We're still a little way off the OMG, I'M GETTING MARRIED AND THERE'S SO MUCH TO DO stage, but it'll arrive soon enough. Trust us...

9 Months Until You're Married

Countdown..Geddit?

In our last post, we looked at the things to consider 12 months from your big day. Well, here's the next installment. 

Remember, this isn't a prescription for the perfect wedding; everyone will have different timings and priorities, but use it as a guide. Neither is it exhaustive, you may find your own list is much shorter or much longer, and you'll probably find a degree of overlap between the 9 and 6 month marks, but that's fine. 

• Now's the time to start booking things. It's hugely important that if you don't already have a venue that you start looking now. Once that's done, you can start looking at adding in the other elements.
  
  
• Start thinking of:
  
  booking the DJ or live band, photographer, caterer, toastmaster (if required), cake maker, wedding transport and any additional vendors or services. Remember, there's competition for dates between couples getting married so the sooner you book the better. 
  
• You'll probably already have an idea about the dresses and suits, but around now is the time to make the purchase as this gives plenty of time for alterations.
  
  
• It's also an idea to write up the guest list and start thinking about who is coming. No need to send the invitations out yet, but having an idea of numbers will give you a better understanding of budgeting, and venue space.
  
  
• You're probably going to be thinking about registering your intent to marry. We've already covered that and you can find information on how to do it here.
  
  
• Begin planning the wedding decor and theme. The sooner you do this the less chance you'll have a miss-matched or confused room dressing. Having time to pick-and-choose your theme will give you more scope to experiment and more chance to shop around for the best deal.
  
  
• You might like to start thinking of the fun stuff, too: the honeymoon and hen and stag nights.

Are you 9 months from your big day? How are you planning to organise everything? Get in touch via our contact form or through our twitter page; we'd love to hear from you.