The Complete Wedding Planning Checklist from a Chicago Wedding Photographer

Planning your wedding is simultaneously one of the most exciting and stressful times of your life! There are so many moving parts, so many things to do, plans to make, and SO much excitement, it can be a little overwhelming. As a wedding photographer in Chicago I have a lot of firsthand experience with these feelings from helping my couples bring their wedding vision to life. This is what’s led me to writing this article, as I thought it’d be helpful to put together a complete wedding planning checklist for all the couples out there who are recently engaged! So here it is!

Celebrate!

Something I made abundantly clear in my article about what to do after you get engaged (check that out by the way!) is that you should be enjoying this time! Be present with one another. Have some date nights. Get together with friends and family. Take in this time of your lives together as it is SO special, and it goes by incredibly fast! As stressful as wedding planning can be, it’s important to remember that all this effort is going towards what’s sure to be THE best day ever, so have fun with it and with each other!

Daydream and Build a Mood Board

The next step of your wedding planning checklist is to begin daydreaming together about your wedding day. What does it look like? Who is all there? What style of venue are you in? What season is it? Don’t be afraid to look for outside inspiration here as well! Something I love to recommend is creating a mood board on Pinterest with all the ideas that you love and want to consider including into your wedding day. Set aside a date night or two for you and your partner to really dive into the vision you have for your wedding day as it will help to guide many of the other parts in the planning process.

Book Your Wedding Planner

A crucial step in the wedding planning checklist is booking your wedding planner! If you intend on booking a wedding planner, which I strongly encourage, you’ll want to do so as early as possible. The reason for this is that they can help with ALL of the planning when it comes to your wedding day, making your lives considerably easier and less stressful! We’ll take a look at other vendors later on in this checklist, but if you’d like recommendations for wedding planners here in Chicago check out this article.

Planner vs. Coordinator

You may have heard the terms wedding planner as well as wedding coordinator before and thought they were the same, but there’s actually quite a bit different between the two. A planner as I mentioned is a vendor who will help you through all the planning aspects leading up to your wedding day, AND will be there the day of to ensure your wedding runs smoothly. Coordinators on the other hand only help with a small amount of the leadup to your wedding, as their main strength lies in the coordination and execution of the wedding day itself. This is great for couples that want to handle the planning themselves, but if that isn’t you I strongly suggest getting a wedding planner if it’s within your budget! Speaking of which…

Set Your Budget

Another important step in your wedding planning checklist is setting the budget of your wedding itself. It’s no secret that weddings in Chicago can get pretty expensive, check out my article on the cost of a wedding in the Windy City to get an idea. With that in mind, it’s important to be realistic with your partner about the plans of your wedding day. Are you paying for it yourselves? Are either of your parents or relatives helping, and if so do they want a say in parts of the wedding day? Everyone’s answer will be different here, the important thing is to know your budget early so that you can plan accordingly!

Have a Headcount for Your Day

Weddings today can be anything from a handful of guests to hundreds. This guest count dramatically impacts your budget, the feel of your day, your venue options, and more. This is why having a rough headcount for your wedding is such an important part of your pre-wedding checklist. Decide on this together with your partner so that you can then tackle the next item on this list!

Book Your Venue

One of THE most exciting parts of planning your wedding day is choosing your venue! There are so many fantastic venues to choose from, especially here in Chicago, so it’s true that there is really something out there that’s perfect for everyone. When looking at wedding venues be sure to ask yourselves these 10 questions to help find the space that will best fit your day and your vision!

Book Your Ceremony Space

If the venue of your choice can only host receptions, or you want your ceremony to take place at a separate location, you’ll have to book that space as well. Don’t be afraid to get creative with your vision here and choose the space you’ve always dreamt of!

Go Look for Wedding Dresses

Another fabulously exciting item to cross off on your wedding planning checklist is to start looking for your wedding dress! Schedule a day for you, your wedding party, and your family to go to different bridal shops together to try on wedding dresses. Having your hype crew there not only helps you get even more excited for your day, but also helps to reassure you in choosing the dress that’s right for you! Don’t be afraid to schedule a second visit if you’re not completely set on the right dress, but once you are be sure to order it so that you have time to get in your fittings before your wedding day.

Book Your Photographer

I’m a little biased here, but one of the most important vendors of your wedding day is the photographer who will be documenting it from start to finish! This is why this item is SO important on your wedding planning checklist. Your wedding album is what lets you relive one of the best days of your lives together exactly as it happened, and why choosing the right photographer is a huge deal. Read a bit about my different photography package options here, as well as a bit about what my process is like to see if I’m the right fit for you!

Book Your Videographer

Much like photographers, videographers provide you with a way to relive some of the best moments from your wedding day. While I do believe that some couples can skip out on this and put their budget elsewhere, if a wedding video is something you’ve always wanted then you should take this booking process just as seriously as your hunt for the perfect photographer!

Schedule Your Engagement Photos

Once you’ve got your wedding photographer booked I suggest booking your engagement session with them as well! As you can tell I am a VERY strong proponent of booking the same photographer for both your engagement photos and your wedding. It helps provide a consistent feel throughout your photos, and really lets you get to know your photographer early so that when your wedding day rolls around you’re comfortable in front of the camera and excited to have your photographer at your side!

Tell Your Wedding Party

Next on the wedding planning checklist is to tell your wedding party members that they’re in the wedding party! Have some fun with this, and let the people you love most know that you want them there at your side on your wedding day.

Send Your Save The Dates

A very important piece of your wedding planning checklist is to send out your save the dates to your guests! This is done around 6-12 months in advance of your wedding day, and the sooner the better. The earlier you give people a heads up the more likely it is they’ll be able to make it to celebrate with you!

Choose Your Wedding Suits

Similarly to the wedding dress, you’ll also want to choose and order your wedding suit early so that you have time to get it tailored prior to the big day. Find the style and brand that best fits the look and feel you’re after, and place your order early. 

Choose Wedding Party Attire

Another part of the wedding planning checklist is to decide on the attire that your wedding party members will be wearing. Are they adhering to a specific color palette? Will they be matching? Are they ordering through the same company? The choice is yours, but again let them know what you need early so they can begin the process, and be sure to remind them if you have forgetful friends!

Get Your Dresses and Suits Fitted

Once you have your dresses and/or suits it’s time to schedule your fittings. This is especially important to take care of ahead of time if you’re wearing a dress as you’ll likely need multiple appointments leading up to the wedding day to get things just right. If you’re wearing a suit things are a little simpler, though handling things earlier is usually always better!

Book Your Florist

Whether you only intend on having a bouquet and a few florals here and there, or you want a wedding bathed in extravagant flower arrangements, finding the right florist for your wedding is essential. As with any vendor, and honestly much of the planning that goes into a wedding in general, I recommend booking your florist early so that you can be sure to get the one that best fits you and your style.

Book Your DJ or Live Band

Another hugely important vendor for your wedding day is the DJ or live band you’ ‘ll have at your reception. The right DJ can make or break a reception, so finding the right one for the day is a big task. Live bands on the other hand are generally a surefire way to have an epic dance floor, though they aren’t always allowed at every venue. Decide together on the option that fits you best and find the right entertainment for your day!

Book Transportation

If your wedding day has a lot of travel built into it, consider booking outside transportation services. This can be a lifesaver, especially in Chicago as the last thing you want to be thinking about is the traffic. Let a professional handle it as you enjoy your time with your wedding party traveling from location to location on your wedding day!

Book Any Other Vendors of Your Wedding

There are still more wedding vendors to book like caterers, dessert specialists, hair and makeup artists, décor rentals, and more! Check out my full list of wedding vendors needed to make the best wedding day possible here, as well as some of my favorites to recommend here in Chicago!

Book Your Rehearsal Dinner

Your venue may have this built into your wedding package, but if not booking a space for your rehearsal dinner is an important piece of your wedding planning checklist! Ideally this location will be somewhere you love and also relatively close to your ceremony venue to make things simple after rehearsing the ceremony.

Purchase Outfits for Wedding Events

In addition to the attire for your wedding day itself, you may also want to get some new outfits for your rehearsal dinner and any other events related to your wedding! If that’s the case, do so well ahead of time, and be sure to let your family members, wedding party members, and any other guests of these events know roughly what to wear.

Break in Your Shoes

Please please PLEASE break in your shoes before your wedding day! There’s nothing worse than being uncomfortable on the dance floor from stiff shoes, and that discomfort can then last for weeks afterwards. Trust me, your feet will thank you later!

Let Your Loved Ones Know If You Want Speeches

If you intend on having any of your loved ones give speeches during your wedding day, or your rehearsal dinner, let them know well in advance. Be sure to tell them how much this means to you, how excited you are to have them be a part of your day, and at what point they’ll be giving the speech.

Finalize Your Timeline

This is a part of the wedding planning checklist that either your wedding planner or photographer (or both) can help you create. I also have an article on my blog that covers how to create your wedding day timeline that you should definitely read over. As your wedding date approaches be sure to finalize all the details of the timeline as it will be your map and lifeline throughout the day!

Send Your Invites

You’ll want to send your wedding invites out around 6-8 weeks before your wedding date to give people time to RSVP. Know that you’re likely going to have to hound a few people to get their answer, don’t worry everyone has somebody like this! 

Get Your Marriage License

Inarguably one of the most important parts of the wedding planning process is acquiring your marriage license. It’s the document that makes your marriage legal after all! For anyone getting married in Chicago I have this article that covers everything you need to know in order to apply for your marriage license. Those getting married outside of Chicago be sure to do your research on the requirements of wherever it is that you intend to get married.

Pack for the Day

The day is almost here, which means it’s time to start packing. Make sure you have your wedding attire, rehearsal attire, whatever it is you sleep in, your toiletries, items for your flat lay, additional decorations, and anything else you need to make your wedding day happen. If you’re not sure about what’s all needed for a wedding day check out my list of packing tips here!

Have Your Wedding!!

You did it! Your wedding day is here! It’s time to relax, let loose, and enjoy it as ALL this hard work is about to pay off in the best way possible!

Phew, that was a LOT! As you can see wedding planning is no joke, which is why having a checklist like this is so important to keep track of things. Be sure to check out some of the resources I’ve listed throughout this article to help you throughout the process, and if you are interested in having me document your day be sure to send me an inquiry through my contact page today!