Wedding Planning Checklist — Mountains + Moose Photography

Picture this: it’s the week before your wedding. You are relaxed, excited, and calm. Everyone around you feels the same. No one is bothering you with a million questions, and everyone knows their roles and jobs.

Sounds ideal, doesn’t it? It’s definitely possible, but it takes some prep.

In my opinion, one of the worst parts of being a bride was the decision fatigue. Everyone was constantly asking me questions, and it eventually felt like I had to tell people how to put their shoes on, how to get dressed, and when to do everything, including eat, sit, and use the restroom. It was exhausting, overwhelming, and took away a lot of my freedom to just enjoy my day and be in the moment.

I had tried to prep the people around me, but there were definitely things I forgot, overlooked, or just didn’t think about. There are also always going to be those who simply don’t pay attention to your instructions. It’s a large part of why, after my own wedding experience, I truly believe that there’s nothing more important than surrounding yourself with the right people (but that’s an entirely different blog post). But the other essential thing to do before your wedding week is to get organized.

Weddings are complicated. Usually they are essentially a giant theater production, with multiple moving parts, tons of people and personalities to manage, and logistics to figure out. Being organized, along with hiring the correct help (aka a coordinator) is a must-do. Luckily, my own wedding experience was a bit of a nightmare, but I now feel fully prepared to get on my soapbox and give all the advice to future brides so that they can avoid the pain and stress.

This is where the wedding day checklist comes into play! It’s a list of everything that (probably) needs to get done, things you may not have thought about, and what decisions need to be made. By following the checklist and making arrangements ahead of time, you will save yourself so much time and agony, and free yourself to have the absolute best wedding day ever.

without further ado, here she is:

The wedding day checklist:

Hair + Makeup location- they will need a bright space (natural light is preferable) with plenty of outlets and space to set up.

Hair + Makeup prep: have bridesmaids + moms plan their looks ahead of time! Also make sure they are following whatever instructions your HMUAS send over.
Decor: who is getting it to the venue, how is it getting there, and who is setting it up? also important (i forgot this part!): who is picking it up at the end of the night?
Details: have these ready to go for your photographer. Preferably all together and in a designated box. It also helps to have someone (mom of MOH) who knows what is in the detail box + where it is, so that you don’t have to assist the photographer with that if you are in hair + makeup. Here is the list of details I give my brides:
- Bride:
  -Dress (with cute/neutral hanger)
  -Rings (bride/groom/engagement)
  -Shoes
  -ALL bridal jewelry (including ring boxes if you have them)
  -Perfume
  -invitations
  -vow books
  
  Groom Details:
  -Tie
  -Cufflinks
  -Cologne
  -Shoes/socks
  -anything sentimental
Dressing: Bridesmaids + moms typically get dressed first, and you will want to pick one or two people who will be helping you get into your dress. It also helps if you have a place in mind that you will be getting into the dress, and can have that space cleaned up beforehand!
Transportation: Are you getting ready at the venue, or do you need a transportation plan? Make sure everyone knows whether or not they will need to have that figured out!
Food + drink: what are you eating during the day (you need to eat!!! at least try) and how are you getting it.
And most importantly: give everyone a job. The best wedding decision I made was to give away my phone for the entirety of my wedding day. Any issues that came up were handled by my amazing Man of Honor, and I absolutely wouldn’t have made it through the day if I hadn’t done this. Some examples of jobs to assign include:
- phone handler - someone to take control of your phone and answer any vendors who are calling with questions.
- suite cleaner -the bridal suite tends to look like a hurricane blew through, and it takes a lot of time away from getting photos when the photographer + videographer need to clean up the space before we can work in it. Assign someone to help keep the space clean throughout the day to save time!
- food + drink manager: someone to handle deliveries, pick up, and organization of food + drink throughout the day.
- content creator: have someone take photos, videos, and/or polaroids throughout the day! Your photo/video team won’t be there until later in the day, and this also helps get more content from a different POV.
- groomsmen wrangler: someone to check in the boys and make sure they know where they need to be and when.
- family list assistant: it helps the photographer so.much. when we have someone who knows the family members during the photo portion. Family members love to wander away, and it helps to have someone there to assist with herding all those cats.
- detail girlie: someone who knows where your details are, what you have for details, and can show the photographer to the details when they arrive. It is also very helpful if they are the person we hand the details back to, so that you know where your earrings are when it’s time to put them on.
- Timeline + transportation: someone to be the keeper of the timeline + help direct people to where they need to be, when they need to be there, and how they need to get there.

There it is! My comprehensive list to get organized, stay on top of everything, and have the best wedding day possible. I strongly encourage all couples to delegate as much as possible, and rope in the pros wherever you can. Lean on your people, do the prep beforehand, and relax + enjoy your day.

Is there anything here you hadn’t thought of before? Or maybe something I missed that you learned along the way?! Let me know below!

Happy wedding planning!

xo,

ab.

the people I couldn’t have done it without: