Now you are a bride. You have just been proposed! Our congrats! To plan the perfect celebration in Crete, use this comprehensive wedding checklist based on the 14 months’ timeline schedule, created by the professionals.
14-8 months before
- Start a wedding folder.
Begin leafing through bridal, lifestyle, fashion, gardening, design, and food magazines for inspiration. - Work out your budget.
Determine how much you have to spend, based on your families’ contributions and your own. - Pick your wedding party.
As soon as you’re engaged, people will start wondering who’s in. - Start the guest list.
Make a head count database to use throughout your planning process, with columns for contact info, RSVPs, gifts, and any other relevant information. - Hire a planner. Crete Within Wedding is here for you.
A planner will have relationships with—and insights about—vendors. - Reserve your date and venues.
Decide whether to have separate locations for the ceremony and the reception, factoring in travel time between the two places. - Book your officiant.
Research photographers, bands, florists, and caterers. - Hire the photographer and the videographer.
No need to talk specifics yet, but be sure that the people you hire are open to doing the shots that you want.
6 months before
- Book the entertainment.
Attend gigs of potential acts to see how they perform in front of audiences, then reserve your favorite. - Confirm menu with caterers/taverna
Some of your guests are vegetarians , the others prefer fish. Try to combine all the details together. It makes sense to do the list now. - Purchase a dress.
You’ll need to schedule time for at least three fittings. Veil shopping can be postponed for another two to three months. - Reserve a block of hotel rooms for guests.
The best solution is to pick three hotels at different price points close to the reception venue. - Launch a wedding website.
Create your personal page through a free provider such as weddingchannel.com. Note the date of the wedding, travel information, and accommodations. Then send the link to invitees.
5 months before
- Select and purchase invitations.
We advise you to hire a calligrapher. Addressing cards is time-consuming, so you need to budget accordingly. - Start planning a honeymoon.
Make sure that your passports are up-to-date, and schedule doctors’ appointments for any shots you may need. - Shop for bridesmaids’ dresses.
Allow at least 5 months for the dresses to be ordered and sized. - Check the documents.
Map out the ceremony and confirm that you have all the official documents for the wedding (these vary by county and religion). - Send save-the-date cards.
- Reserve structural and electrical necessities.
Book portable toilets for outdoor events, extra chairs if you need them, lighting components, and so on. - Book a florist.
Florists can serve multiple clients on one day, which is why you can wait a little longer to engage one. Plus, at this point, you’ll be firm on what your wedding palette will be. - Arrange transportation.
Consider limos, minibuses, trolleys, and town cars. - Start composing a day-of timeline.
Draw up a schedule of the event and slot in each component (the cake-cutting, the first dance).
4 months before
- Check on the wedding invitations.
Ask the stationer for samples of the finished invitations and revise them to suit your needs. - Select and order the cake.
Some bakers require a long lead time. - Send your guest list to the host of your shower.
- Purchase wedding shoes and start dress fittings.
Bring the shoes along to your first fitting so the tailor can choose the appropriate length for your gown. - Schedule hair and makeup artists.
Make a few appointments with local experts to try them out. Snap a photo at each so you can compare results. - Choose your music.
What should be playing when the wedding party is announced? During dinner? To kick off the dancing? Keep a running list of what you want—and do not want—played.
3 months before
- Finalize the menu and flowers.
You’ll want to wait until now to see what will be available, since food and flowers are affected by season. - Make a list of the people giving toasts.
Which loved ones would you like to have speak at the reception? Ask them now. - Finalize the readings.
Determine what you would like to have read at the ceremony—and whom you wish to do the readings. - Purchase your undergarments.
And schedule your second fitting. - Finalize the order of the ceremony and the reception.
60Print menu cards, if you like, as well as programs.
No need to go to a printer, if that’s not in your budget: You can easily create these on your computer. - Purchase the rings.
This will give you time for resizing and engraving.
2 months before
- Meet on Skype with the photographer.
Discuss specific shots, and walk through the locations to note spots that appeal to you. - Review the playlist with the band or deejay.
Though you probably won’t be able to dictate every single song played, you should come prepared with a wish list. - Send out the invitations.
The rule of thumb: Mail invitations six to eight weeks before the ceremony, setting the RSVP cutoff at three weeks after the postmark date. - Enjoy a bachelorette party.
Arranging a night out with your girlfriends generally falls to the maid of honor.
1 month before
- Enter RSVPs into your guest-list database.
Phone people who have not yet responded. - Get your marriage license.
- Mail the rehearsal-dinner invitations.
- Visit the dressmaker for (with luck!) your last dress fitting.
For peace of mind, you may want to schedule a fitting the week of your wedding. You can always cancel the appointment if you try on the dress then and it fits perfectly. - Stock the bar.
Now that you have a firm head count you can order accordingly. - Send out as many final payments as you can.
- Confirm times for hair and makeup and all vendors.
- Assign seating.
Draw out table shapes on a layout of the room to help plan place settings. Write the names of female guests on pink sticky notes and the names of male guests on blue sticky notes so you can move people about without resketching the entire setting. - Purchase bridesmaids’ gifts.
You’ll present them at the rehearsal dinner. - Write vows, if necessary.
- Get your hair cut and colored, if desired.
- Pick up your dress
- Pack for your trip to Crete.
Week of the Wedding
Welcome to Crete!
- Don’t stay too long on the sun. It s a pity if your skin will be sunburned before the wedding,
- Check in one last time with the photographer.
Supply him or her with a list of moments you want captured on film. - Set aside checks for the vendors.
And put tips in envelopes to be handed out at the event. - Book a spa treatment in Crete.
Make an appointment for a manicure and a pedicure the day before the wedding. (You might want to get a stress-relieving massage, too.)