What to do nine to twelve months before the wedding

No matter how much time you think you have to create your dream wedding, there never seems to be enough! Want to savour the entire experience? Set your date nine months to a year in advance so you prepare adequately and allow for some magical moments.

Official announcements

• Announce your engagement and honour the bride's parents with the courtesy of being the first to hear your happy news.
• If both sets of parents have not yet met, arrange a dinner or other casual occasion for introductions.
• Discuss the preliminary wedding budget and how it will be allocated among the engaged couple, their parents, and any others who may be willing to help fund the event.
• Open discussions with both sets of parents regarding the guestlist count.

Important purchases

• The next thing to do is shop for the engagement and wedding rings and set the wedding date, taking into consideration the availability of your site or venue.
• Investigate possible ceremony/reception sites for suitability and availability and whether your ceremony will be religious or civil.
• Contact your clergy member or other official to determine availability and then schedule an appointment to discuss the wedding service and any religious wedding counselling where appropriate.

Stay-sane tips

• To keep you organized, invest in a wedding planner binder or other organizational tool to keep appropriate papers and notes in order.
• You may want to interview and hire a wedding consultant, especially if your wedding will be formal or on a grand scale.

Notable guests

• Select wedding attendants and ask for their participation based on the selected wedding date and their availability.
• Select the wedding theme, including colours and traditions that are important to the bride and groom.
• It's not too early to start shopping for the wedding dress and bridesmaid dresses as soon as you have selected your attendants.

Final choices

• You'll need to narrow choices of reception site and book it as soon as possible and then interview and book a photographer, videographer, caterer, and musicians or DJ.
• Don't forget the honeymoon — explore honeymoon options with your travel agent to review options based on your preferences.

The above planning calendar is a good guideline for ensuring that all the important elements of your wedding will come together with a minimum of stress.