The Countdown Is On: Your Wedding Checklist

There’s a reason that people remember their wedding day as the best day of their lives. Family and friends coming together to celebrate your love is the very best reason to have a party. However, there’s a lot of organisation that goes into such an occasion and it can be very stressful to plan. Don’t call off the big day just yet though! We’ve put together a simple wedding checklist to help you get on top of things.

First Things First

Before you do anything else, you’ll need to sit down with your partner and decide on what kind of wedding you want. Remember, the number of guests and the month that you choose will inform the type of venue that you go for. At this stage, you’ll need to consider the type of ceremony you’d like to have as well.

Lock Down that Venue

Don’t be disheartened if you’ve found the perfect place for your big day and it’s not licenced for a wedding ceremony – you can contact the HSE to seek approval on new venues. Make sure you leave yourself plenty of time if this is the case.

Pick A Celebrant

Whether you choose a civil, religious or humanist ceremony, they all book up fast! It’s a good idea to meet the person that will be performing the ceremony ahead of the event so that you get to know them a little and you’re comfortable with them on the day.

Pop the Question – Again!

Now’s the time to ask your bridesmaids and groomsmen to be a part of the wedding. Enjoy this special stage of the planning because it will be a huge source of pride for anyone you ask to be involved. From there, it will be up to your chosen few to organise any hens, stags or the increasingly popular ‘sten’ parties, which combine the two.

Organise the Legal Side of Things

You’ll need to have a Marriage Registration Form to make it official on the day, and you should book your appointment with the HSE at least three months ahead of your wedding date. This might not seem like the most exciting part of wedding planning, but it’s certainly one of the most important.

Say Yes to the Dress – or the Suit!

Wedding outfits: exciting for some, terrifying for others. If you’re worried, allow yourself plenty of time to find the perfect frock and you’ll seriously cut down on stress. Alterations can take some time, so get on top of this early too. When it comes to picking out the wedding party’s outfits, make a day of it and indulge in some pre-wedding bonding with your friends. Who knows, you might even have some fun!

Sort Out Your Suppliers

With so many bits to organise, it’s not surprising that suppliers are one aspect of wedding planning which often has people tearing their hair out. Make it easy on yourself by ticking off the biggest tasks first. First, you should be organising a photographer, as you’ll want to shop around and compare prices and portfolios. Next, decide what kind of transport you want and book any entertainment such as a DJ or a band. Once that’s sorted, you can get into the nitty gritty of everything to the kind of flowers you want to the number of tiers on your wedding cake.

Narrow Down Your Guest List

Your guest list will likely be a hotly contested topic between you and your partner, and there’s a good chance someone who shouldn’t have an opinion on it will feel very strongly too. Ignore that ‘someone’ if you can and send out invitations in good time. You can decide later whether you’d like to play matchmaker with a table plan or let guests run free with unallocated seats.

The Fun Stuff

Take time as a couple to savour those enjoyable planning moments along the way: making food and wine choices, deciding on personal wedding favours, the hair and make-up trial, finalising the ceremony and perhaps the most enjoyable part – planning the honeymoon.

Pace yourself and tick these boxes off as a team. The most important part to remember is that this is your wedding. Do what makes you and your partner happy – compromise for each other and nobody else.

Want to find out about Wedding Loans?

No matter how well you have planned your big day, there are often unexpected costs that can cause stress. If you’d like to make the financial side of wedding planning easier, apply for a wedding loan online and we can offer approval in just three hours.*

Use our loan calculator to find out how much you could borrow comfortably. And if you have any other questions on getting a loan for a wedding, you can also ask us on Twitter or Facebook.

Allied Irish Banks, p.l.c. is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. Copyright Allied Irish Banks, p.l.c. 1995.

* 3 hour loan decisionapplies to fully completed new personal loan applications processed within 3 hours 9am-5pm, Mon-Fri excl. bank holidays. Loans from €1,000-€30,000. Excludes applications: to restructure or clear existing AIB credit facilities; received through Branch and referred to a lender for review, from customers in financial difficulty; for Student and First Job loans; applications through Business Centres; or where total borrowings exceed €100,000 (excluding Home Loan debt up to €600,000).