The Checklist- Save this one
Two weeks to go. This is where the wedding starts to feel very real, but it is also the moment to stop adding things to the to do list and start tying up the loose ends.
The big decisions should be made, the suppliers should know where they need to be, and your focus can slowly shift from planning to actually enjoying the fact that you are about to get married.
From final supplier confirmations to breaking in your wedding shoes, here is our ultimate two week countdown, save it, screenshot it, and work your way through it.
The final supplier sweep
Now is the time to make sure everyone is working from the same version of the plan.
• Send a final sign off email to every supplier with timings, locations and the main on the day contact
• Confirm arrival, set up and departure times with each supplier
• Make sure your venue or coordinator has the final supplier contact list
• Confirm the final guest numbers with your caterer and venue
• Confirm supplier meals, and make sure they are included in the final numbers
• Double check any outstanding balances, deposits or invoices
• Confirm transport arrangements for you, the wedding party and any key guests
• Confirm your wedding car and check the pick up and drop off timings
• Make sure your photographer, videographer and content creator all know the key moments you want captured
• Send your photographer a final list of must have family and group photographs
• Confirm your ceremony music and finalise your aisle song
• Give your band or DJ the final playlist, do not play list, and any special songs
• Make sure your celebrant or registrar has everything they need
The golden rule, if you have had a conversation with a supplier that changes the plan, get it in writing. Your future wedding week self will thank you.
Finish the personal bits
These are the little details that can easily get pushed until the final week, so get them done now.
• Finish your vows
• Finish your speech
• Have final versions of readings being read
• Buy gifts for your bridesmaids
• Buy your partner's wedding gift
• Write any thank you notes you want to give on the day
• Prepare cards, letters or gifts for anyone special
• Label any gifts so there is no confusion on the day
• Finalise any signage wording
• Proofread menus, cocktail menus, place cards and table plans
• Print anything being produced at home or locally
• Prepare your guest book and guest book signage
And if you are writing your vows yourself, do not aim for perfect; aim for personal. You can always edit a heartfelt first draft; getting started is the hardest bit.
Your dress and accessories
If your dress is not already safely hanging at home, this is a big one.
• Pick up your wedding dress
• Check the dress one more time for any alterations or last minute issues
• Order or buy a garment steamer
• Check your shoes fit comfortably
• Walk around the house in your wedding shoes
• Practise walking up and down stairs in them if you will encounter stairs on the day
• Check your underwear, shapewear and anything worn underneath
• Check your jewellery
• Check your veil or hair accessories
• Gather your perfume
• Decide what you are wearing for getting ready
• Pack your wedding day emergency kit
And yes, wear the heels around the house. Ideally while making a cup of tea, walking up stairs, and standing around for an unnecessarily long amount of time. Your feet will be grateful later.
Beauty, your final brief
You do not need to be reinventing your beauty look two weeks before the wedding. This is about confirming, not experimenting.
• Send your final hair inspiration to your hairstylist
• Send your final makeup inspiration to your makeup artist
• Confirm the number of people having hair and makeup
• Confirm the final timings for hair and makeup
• Tell your beauty team exactly where you will be getting ready or more importantly, what time you want to be ready for, and work backwards.
• Confirm whether anyone needs to provide their own products or tools
• Book or confirm nails
• Schedule any final waxing, brows or beauty appointments
• Have your final hair colour appointment if needed
• Avoid trying any completely new skincare, treatments or products
The biggest beauty rule. Nothing new. This is not the moment to discover that a new facial, fake tan or serum has a personality of its own.
The wedding day master plan
This is the document you will be very glad exists. Create one final, easy to read version containing.
• Ceremony timings
• Reception timings
• Supplier arrival and set up times
• Wedding party timings
• Hair and makeup schedule
• Transport timings
• Meal timings
• Speeches
• First dance
• Cake cutting
• Any surprises or special moments
• Contact details for all suppliers
• Main on the day contact
• Venue or coordinator contact
• Emergency contact
• Who is responsible for gifts, cards, personal items and decor at the end of the night
Then hand it over. Your coordinator, maid of honour, best man or trusted family member should know where this document lives. You should not be the person answering where does this go on your wedding morning.
The little logistics that make a big difference.
These are the things nobody puts on the Pinterest board, but they are often what make the day run smoothly.
• Finalise the table plan
• Finalise the ceremony seating plan
• Make sure music know what time certain songs need to be played / at what moment
• Create a clear layout or plan for where tables, chairs and key furniture go for each part of the day
• Confirm where the cake, guest book, cards, gifts and signage will be positioned
• Confirm where personal flowers or bouquets will go after the ceremony
• Confirm who is moving decor between spaces
• Decide where your overnight bag will go
• Decide who takes your wedding dress after the wedding
• Decide who takes gifts or cards home
• Decide who is responsible for collecting personal belongings at the end of the night
• Confirm where suppliers can park, load or unload
• Give someone responsibility for your phone on the wedding day
That last one is not negotiable. You do not want to spend your wedding morning replying to messages about parking.
If you are getting married abroad
If you are flying to your wedding, the two week mark is also when you need to think about what is travelling with you, and what is being sent ahead.
• Check your passport is packed and valid
• Confirm flights and airport transfers
• Check luggage allowance
• Make a list of everything travelling in hand luggage
• Keep your dress, veil, wedding rings and important jewellery with you
• Separate anything that absolutely cannot be lost in checked luggage
• Confirm what has already been shipped to the destination
• Check that anything being delivered has arrived
• Pack any last minute stationery that needs to travel with you
• Save digital copies of key documents, supplier details and your wedding schedule
Your hand luggage should contain the things you cannot replace. Everything else can be figured out.
Start the wedding week packing pile
You do not necessarily need to fully pack yet, but start creating one dedicated wedding area. Keep together.
• Wedding dress
• Veil
• Shoes
• Jewellery
• Wedding rings
• Getting ready outfit
• Wedding day underwear
• Emergency kit
• Beauty products
• Steamer
• Vows or speech
• Any stationery
• Gifts
• Wedding perfume
• Accessories
• Something old, new, borrowed and blue, if you are doing them
And make a do-not-pack pile for anything you still need before leaving. It sounds obvious, but it is surprisingly easy to pack something three days early and then forget you need it.
One week to go, stop planning
By the time you reach one week out, the goal is not to keep perfecting the wedding. It is to enjoy the wedding you have already planned.
• Have your nails done
• Collect or pick up any final stationery
• Have your final beauty appointments
• Finish packing
• Check in for your flight if applicable
• Put your wedding rings somewhere safe
• Give your coordinator the final master plan
• Give your maid of honour or best man any items they are responsible for
• Put supplier tips or gratuities into labelled envelopes if you are giving them
• Have some time completely away from wedding admin
• Get an early night where you can
• Remember to eat properly and drink plenty of water
And one more thing
At two weeks out, there will almost certainly be something that is not quite finished. That is okay.
The napkins might not be folded exactly how you imagined. Someone may change their dietary requirements. The weather might look questionable. You might suddenly decide your seating plan needs moving around for the seventeenth time.
Your wedding does not need to be perfect to be brilliant. The things that matter most, the people, the food, the music, the atmosphere, and the fact that you are getting married, are already there.
So make the list. Tick the boxes. Hand over the logistics. And then, as much as you possibly can, stop planning and start getting excited.
Two weeks. You are nearly there.
If you are looking for suppliers to help tick any of this off, on the day coordinators, photographers, hair and makeup, browse the Directory, every partner listed is there because we would recommend them ourselves.
