Today on the Wedding Planning Podcast, we’re running through a short, actionable wedding to-do list for when you reach the final 4-6 week countdown before your wedding day.
While some of the items in today’s show are pretty standard, others are much less obvious – and sadly are not commonly discussed.
Overlooking just one of these important action-items can tip the scales towards a stressful, frantic celebration – and I don’t want that for you!
Missed it? LISTEN NOW!
Final Month Countdown! Wedding Planning To-Do List, 4-6 Weeks Before
Let’s start with some relatively standard 4-6 week countdown items that will apply to most couples:
1. Do a final walk through of your venue.
Your final venue walk-through will likely feed into a long sub-list of to do’s that are specific to your space, package, set up, and accommodations.
If you’re working with a day-of planner, they will hopefully do a lot of the leg work here for you.
If you’re NOT working with a professional coordinator, you’ll need to be on point with keeping organized in whatever way suits your circumstances. I would also HIGHLY recommend that you have your day of “point person” along with you on this final walk through so that they are aware firsthand of everything that needs to happen between now & wedding day.
And yes, you absolutely must have a day of point person who is NOT YOU OR YOUR PARTNER to manage the minute-by-minute logistics of your celebration unfolding seamlessly.
2. Confirm with all vendors and make final payments.
Same as the first item, this will likely lead into lots more sub-lists of to do items.
For example, getting a master shot list to your photographer. Submitting final head count and meal selections to the catering team. Giving your DJ a detailed play list of songs for the reception.
My best advice for not missing anything here?
If you don’t already have it in one central location, make a list of every single vendor you’re working with. Then call every single vendor, and ask – what do you need from us in the next 4-6 weeks? AND, Do you have any advice for things that couples miss or forget that you can share with us?
Yes, this is going to require a very high level of organization from you. I know we all fall somewhere different along the master sliding scale of being a naturally very organized person or a complete walking disaster who can’t keep anything straight.
Know yourself, and don’t be shy about asking for help from your partner, your friends, and your family if you feel like you need a little (or a lot) of oversight in the organization department.
3. Finalize dress fittings, accessories, shape ware, and shoes.
That sounds pretty straightforward, right? Moving on,
4. Confirm fittings, shoes, and accessories with all wedding party members.
If you imagine everyone wearing the same {fill in the blank}, now is the time to make those arrangements. Whether it’s ordering flower crowns, shopping for costume jewelry at the mall, or ordering custom accessories from Etsy, give yourself 4-6 weeks lead time so you’re not pinched for time.
5. Chase any outstanding RSVP’s
6. Plan, shop, and assemble gift bags and / or favors.
If you’re ordering custom favors or gifts, that needs to happen now. I speak from 12+ years of personal experience as someone who sells custom wedding favors on Etsy.
Colors and materials go out of stock, popular stuff sells out, the post office makes mistakes, and sometimes it shows up and just isn’t what you expected.
Be proactive, and leave yourself some cushion time for everything to get delivered. Amazon has ruined all of our expectations of feeling entitled to having something we order magically show up the next day. I can assure you that ordering quality, custom, personalized stuff from a small business runs on a very different timeline that an Amazon Prime order.
Now we’re going to shift gears into some things I mentioned at the beginning of the show that you’re NOT going to find on a generic “wedding planning checklist” but are just as important, if not MORE important than every single other thing we’ve reviewed today.
These 4 mantras or themes can literally be the difference between a stress-filled, hectic wedding weekend and a flawlessly executed one. Important stuff!
7. DO MULTIPLE, MENTAL WALKTHROUGHS OF YOUR CELEBRATION, FROM START TO FINISH.
My foolproof formula for making sure you don’t forget anything in the month and days before your wedding starts with carving out the time to do a mental walk through of your entire celebration. Yes, you’re going to start with any pre-parties, and walk step by step through every single event, from start to finish.
Take note of all areas where there are outstanding questions or unresolved logistics, and circle back to them with your partner and / or anyone helping you.
Remember, your unique wedding celebration will come along with a very unique set of planning considerations that may or may not be on a generic countdown checklist that your wedding planner gives you, or that you find online. A mental walk-through is a fool-proof way for highlighting the things that YOU need to be hyper-focused on in the coming weeks.
8. ALWAYS BE PROACTIVE
A magical question to ask yourselves:
What problems could we avoid in the future, if make the time to talk about / manage / delegate them NOW?
Delegate is a word that we’re going to come back to, but first let’s focus on being proactive.
How do you tap into a magical crystal ball and trouble shoot the things that might come up and / or go wrong between now and the day after your wedding?
This is an exercise that demands your time, attention, and focus, and you get out what you put in.
A real life example?
You show up at your wedding weekend camp venue to check in on Thursday and prep for the weekend of fun to come.
What happens next?
Who will direct your vendors?
Where will they check in, and with who?
Where will your guests park?
Do they know that they need to supply their own bedding and towels?
You’re doing a pot luck style BBQ welcome party with help from your Aunts & Uncles on both sides – is everyone clear on exactly what they need to bring?
The welcome party ends with a bonfire, who is responsible for smores stuff? Peanut butter whiskey hot chocolate stuff?
Marshmallow roasting sticks? Plenty of bug spray? Blankets?
Again, a million little sub-lists of to-do items are going to pop up. You’ve got to be ready to detail every single one of those “to do’s” in a running list, and keep it all documented and organized.
This is the tip of the iceberg with one very specific wedding example, and yours will have all unique nuances and concerns and to-do’s. But it’s all those little things that don’t get done if you don’t PROACTIVELY plan for them, PROACTIVELY ask for help. Which leads perfectly into our next mantra,
9. DELEGATE.
I bet you have a group of loved ones who are constantly asking you how they can help with the wedding. Do ALL of you a huge favor, and don’t be shy about delegating!
Ask someone to be in charge of purchasing all the s’mores things. Give them a detailed list, tell them you’ll Venmo them, and let them handle it from there.
Ask someone else to compose an email reminder to your guests with a last-minute check-in, confirmation, packing list of things to bring.
Don’t be shy! There are not a ton of universal certainties in wedding planning, but as someone who has been doing this for over a decade, I can tell you with one thousand percent certainty that the less you have on your plate in the final few weeks, and the less stress you have hanging over your head, THE BETTER.
Yes, it’s truly that simple.
But that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Most couples don’t EVER take the time to slow down and pay attention to this stuff. And it’s a huge miss, and I don’t want that for you.
So to recap, you’re going to stay in a mindset of BEING PROACTIVE, and you’re going to DELEGATE, DELEGATE, DELEGATE. And our final key point for today,
10. FOLLOW UP
This is the last piece, and whether it’s a simple, quick text or a brief phone call, don’t put off an easy communication that if handled right now is no big deal, but if swept under the rug and left for later can evolve into a complicated mess.
Text your cousin, “Hey just making sure we’re good on the s’mores stuff – NOT trying to be bridezilla, LOL, will you please shoot me a text when you’ve got everything, so I can Venmo you the total?”
Call your aunt and ask if she was able to reach the last 5 people who hadn’t RSVP’d.
Email your DJ to confirm receipt of the play lists, and ask if they have any questions.
I set little reminders for stuff like this on my phone in the calendar, with a reminder set to ping me 1 day before, 1 hour before, 5 minutes before.
It’s so simple, and it can be the difference between putting out 12 annoying little fires on the day before your wedding.
I hope you loved this week’s episode, and we’ll meet again next week!