Create Your Own Wedding Schedule

All my little precious bridies, let me introduce you to your wedding LIFE. SAVER.

Being organized makes everything run smoothly and leaves zero question to where everyone and everything is to be and when. 

This simple tool will be what you can send to your wedding planner, venue planner, photographer, DJ, Bridesmaids, family....everyone really...which will give you more time to focus on important things like finding your dress and sipping  mimosas. You're a few steps away from worry-free planning!

1. Create an Excel Spreadsheet.

I literally use excel for EVERYTHING in my life. It's just so easy to organize and reference.

Create the following tabs: 

-Guest List

-Invites (For list of invitations you'll need to get ready)

-Vendors

- Music

-Wedding Week Check List

-Rehearsal Day Schedule

-Wedding Day Schedule

Naturally, edit this list to fit your own needs and you can make it as organized or as basic as you'd like.

2.Add Details

Guest List:

 I color-coded mine and added columns for other events like bridal brunch and rehearsal dinner so all of your events are in one spot and you can use the same list of names/ addresses. I made a separate tab for addresses as it was the solution to simplifying the couples and families with the 'one lives here, but the other lives there' issue. Add a column for addresses here if it makes more sense for you to do so.

Yes, I'm the OCD human who put a key to categorize our guests, but we wanted to see the breakdown of family to friends and so-on for planning reasons. You obviously don't have to go that far lol.

Invites/ Prints:

I was very DIY and did all my own design and prints. Even if you're outsourcing your printables, it's good to have a list of deadlines and when they're completed. Trust. The 'P Party' was a sleepover I threw for my sweet bridesmaids (Pinterest, Pizza, and Pj's!) since they offered to help put programs and wedding projects together. We all honed our bow-tying skills for sure lol. 

Vendors:

Self-explanatory pretty much. Keep all your vendor's info in one place and you'll never have to go searching for numbers or addresses.

Music Preferences:

You'll send this to your DJ/ band. First dance, garter/ bouquet toss, intro/ exit music will all need to be chosen. We also had a handful of songs we didn't want to be played even if requested and some we definitely HAD to have which I included as well. 

Wedding Check List:

The week before my wedding is what I focused on here, but I would suggest to list as far out as possible to make sure you're not missing anything. TheKnot.com has an excellent timeline of when to do what here.

Rehearsal Day Schedule:

My favorite of the tabs thus far because anyone involved can easily see when and where they're you'd like them to be. You don't have to plan minute-for-minute (despite what you plan something will run under/ over your time plan), but I suggest planning a gentle timeline that conveys meeting times or points of interest. These were included in the welcome bags at check-in for out-of-town guests who were involved in the rehearsal.

Wedding Day Schedule:

This was given to my venue planner, DJ, bridal party, house party, parents, and photographer. They were all very happy to not have any confusion on when to be where and everyone was on the same page. Big weight off your shoulders so you can focus on having fun with your gal pals. With everyone having this schedule, they ended moving me around when I needed to be somewhere which was nice because I didn't even have to think about it lol. 

Address Book:

Yall, I use this to this day. No lie. You're wedding is when you'll be collecting your nearest and dearest's addresses and, if you didn't already have a list of addresses like me, is your master list for all future Christmas cards, party invites, change of addresses, and general correspondence. If someone moves/ changes addresses or we get new friends and add their addresses, I update it here so I will always have a running list of who to send cards and things to. At some point, I had a column for thank you notes, so consider adding that to help you track who you've thanked for your awesome gifts. Also, invest in an address stamp or some labels to print your return address as it'll save your time (and hands) in the long run.

There you have it! Super easy, but will save you so much worry and time during your wedding adventures and beyond. If you amend anything, let us know in the comments for others to see your awesome ideas :)

Cheers!