A 12-month event planning timeline you can actually follow

The order you book in decides how much choice you get. Date and venue constrain everything else, and the vendors who only take one event a day go first. Everything after that is fitting pieces into a frame that already exists.

12–10 months out

• Set the total budget and allocate it by percentage before contacting anyone.
• Draft the guest list. The number, not the names, drives every quote you'll receive.
• Choose a date range rather than a single date, and shortlist venues against it.
• Book the venue. Read the catering, alcohol and vendor-access policies before signing — they quietly decide half your remaining choices.
• Book the planner or coordinator if you're using one. Earlier is cheaper.
• Send save-the-dates once the venue is signed, especially for destination or holiday-weekend events.

9–7 months out

• Book photography and video. Good ones go 9–12 months ahead in peak season.
• Book catering if the venue doesn't provide it, and schedule a tasting.
• Book music: ceremony, cocktail hour and reception are three separate problems.
• Book officiant, hair and makeup.
• Order attire — alterations need 8–12 weeks and nobody remembers that.

6–4 months out

• Book florals and décor, with the setup and strike labour written into the quote.
• Book rentals for anything the venue doesn't own.
• Sort transport and room blocks.
• Order invitations and build your event website so the RSVP link is ready.
• Confirm licences and permits: marriage licence, alcohol, amplified sound, road closure.

3–2 months out

• Send invitations 8–10 weeks out, or 12 for destination events.
• Build the run-of-show hour by hour and share it with every vendor.
• Finalise the menu and confirm dietary requirements from RSVPs.
• Confirm every vendor's arrival time, access route, parking and power needs.
• Buy insurance if you're using it.

6–2 weeks out

• Chase non-responders directly. Expect 20% of your list to need a nudge.
• Give the venue and caterer the final head count on the date in their contract.
• Build the seating plan once numbers are locked, not before.
• Pay outstanding balances and prepare vendor gratuities in labelled envelopes.
• Confirm the weather plan and the time the call gets made.

The final week

• Send every vendor the final timeline, the site contact and a phone number that will be answered.
• Pack a kit: contracts, licence, cash, chargers, safety pins, painkillers, stain wipes, a phone battery.
• Delegate three jobs — who receives deliveries, who carries the rings or documents, who handles the unexpected guest.
• Decide who is allowed to bother you on the day. Ideally one person.

On the day, your only job is to be present. Anything you're still deciding at noon should have been decided in week 50.

EventCloud generates this timeline against your real event date, keeps every vendor's status beside the task that depends on them, and switches to Day-Of mode automatically when the date arrives.