Insights · Wedding planning
Planning a wedding looks huge when you see it all at once. Broken into small steps, in the right order, it becomes something much simpler: a list you tick off bit by bit.
This guide covers where to start, a wedding planning checklist by period, how to set up a budget and a guest list, what you need for the paperwork and what to leave for the final week. The timings are only a guide: if your wedding is sooner, you simply take the same steps closer together.
Contents (9)
Wedding planning: where to start
Before you book anything, answer three questions together. How many people do you want around you? What kind of day are you imagining: a big party, a quiet dinner, an island wedding? And what is the total amount you are comfortable spending? The answers shape almost everything else: the venue, the season, the number of invitations, even the time of the ceremony.
Then choose the date together. Everything else is counted back from there.
The wedding planning checklist, by period
12 months or more before
- The date and the style of the wedding.
- The church (or the town hall, for a civil wedding) and the reception venue. The most popular dates go first.
- Photographer and videographer, because each team can only cover a few weddings on the same day.
- A first budget and a first guest list.
- If you want a wedding planner, now is the time to talk to one.
For the order in which to book everyone else, see how early to book a wedding photographer. For venues in our area, see the wedding churches in Patras and the wedding venues in Achaia.
9 to 6 months before
- Music: DJ or band.
- The wedding dress and the groom’s suit. Fittings take time.
- Koumbaroi (best man and maid of honour): who they will be and what they take on.
- Decoration and flowers: colours and style for the church and the reception.
- If the wedding is out of town: accommodation for guests coming from far away.
6 to 3 months before
- Invitations and favours.
- Hairdresser and make-up artist, with a trial.
- Wedding rings.
- Transport: the couple’s car and, if needed, a coach for guests.
- Honeymoon.
- If you want a pre-wedding photo session, this is a good time.
3 to 1 month before
- Send the invitations and keep track of replies.
- The wedding paperwork: marriage licence, newspaper announcement, certificates.
- Menu and tasting with the venue.
- The schedule of the day, with the photographer and the other suppliers.
- Final fittings.
The final week
- Final guest numbers and the seating plan for the venue.
- A message to each supplier with times, addresses and a contact number.
- A bag for the day: rings, whatever the priest asked for, a charger, a small sewing kit.
- Sleep. Really.
The wedding budget
There is no right amount for a wedding. There is the amount that suits you. A simple way to organise it: write down every category of spending, give each one a priority, and share out the money starting from what matters most to you.
- Venue and food, which depend mostly on the number of guests.
- Photography and film.
- Music.
- Decoration and flowers.
- Dress, suit, hair and make-up.
- Invitations, favours, transport.
- A margin for the unexpected.
For photography, our guide to how much a wedding photographer costs in Patras explains what affects the price and how to compare quotes.
The guest list
Start with three columns: the people who cannot be missing, the people you would like there, and the people you feel you “have to” invite. Count the first column first. That number tells you straight away whether the venue you dream of fits your day, and the other way round.
Keep the list in a shared file, with columns for address, reply and table. You will need it for the invitations, for the venue and for the seating plan.
The paperwork: marriage licence and documents
It's the easiest part to forget, because there is nothing romantic about it. For a church wedding, the licence comes from the Metropolis, through your parish; for a civil wedding, from the municipality. Either way, a newspaper announcement is needed and the licence is valid for a set period, so you get it neither too early nor at the last minute. We go through it step by step in our guide to the marriage licence in Patras.
Do you need a wedding planner?
A wedding planner handles the coordination: they suggest and book suppliers, keep the schedule on track and deal with whatever comes up on the day. It is worth considering if the wedding is far from where you live, if you have many guests from abroad, or if you simply do not have the time.
If you are planning the wedding yourselves, choose someone you trust as the point of contact for every supplier on the day, so you are not the ones checking the phone.
The wedding day
However well you plan the months before, the day has its own rhythm. What makes the biggest difference is a realistic schedule with some slack, built around the time of the ceremony and the sunset. We have written about it in detail in our guide to the wedding day timeline, and about decoration in our wedding decoration ideas.
The best checklist is the one that is finished a week before the wedding. Keep the final week for yourselves.
And after the wedding
- Register the marriage at the civil registry.
- Thank-you notes to guests and suppliers.
- Choosing photographs for the album.
- If you want more photographs in your wedding clothes: a next day photo session somewhere you love.
Frequently asked questions about wedding planning
Where does wedding planning start?
With the date, the number of guests and the budget. Then you book the church or town hall, the reception venue and the photographer.
How early should we start planning the wedding?
For the most popular dates, about a year before. A wedding can be planned in less time, as long as you first book what has limited availability: church, venue, photographer.
What do we book first for the wedding?
The date, the church or town hall and the reception venue. Straight after, the photographer and videographer.
When do we send the invitations?
Between three months and one month before the wedding, and earlier for guests who need to travel.
When do we get the marriage licence?
A few weeks before, within its period of validity. Ask your parish or municipality how long it is valid, and see our marriage licence guide.
Planning your wedding?
Tell us the date and where it will be. If it is still free, we will send you a proposal for photography and film, and we'll plan the day's schedule together around the light.
Photographs: Dimitris Stergiou and the studio team