Only 1 month before your wedding!

Your organization in the previous 10 months is paying off now with 1 month before your wedding. Almost everything has been done; just a few details left!

Only 1 month before your wedding; you’re almost married! You’ve scouted and booked your venue(s), set your budget, finalized your guest list, and sent your Save the Date cards. You created your wedding website and set up your registries, booked your wedding vendors, and reserved room blocks. You shopped for and ordered your wedding gown, searched, tasted and ordered your wedding cake, finalized your florals, and taken your engagement photo.

You found your hair and make up artists and booked your trials, selected your bridesmaid’s dresses and partner’s attire, and bought your wedding day accessories. You made your wedding night accommodations, booked your honeymoon, searched for and ordered invitations and stationary. You finalized your menu, got bridesmaids’ accessories, chose groomsmen and ring bearer attire, and bought wedding rings.

You updated your registry, searched for favors, planned and invited guests to pre-wedding parties, searched for readings, and confirmed gown fittings. You booked transportation, sent invitations, tracked your gifts on a spreadsheet and sent thank you notes. You checked on room blocks, folded your programs and menu, researched your marriage license, bought a guest book, and selected gifts for your attendants and family.

You have invited guests to your rehearsal dinner, gotten your marriage license, and submitted preferences for music. You’ve gotten all of your last minute accessories, created your wedding day schedule, planned your readings with the officiant, and went to your final wedding dress fitting. You updated your timeline, made a list of floral recipients, confirmed shots with your photographer and videographer, and went over readings with your officiant. You confirmed honeymoon details and itinerary, started packing, and made a list for your receiving line.

That’s it, right? Not quite. With 1 month before your wedding there’s a little more to do.

Check in with Out of Town Guests

See if your out of town guests need assistance with anything. Will they need a babysitter? You could recommend someone who either isn’t attending or has responsible high schoolers to take the stress off. Do they need to rent a car? If your room blocks are at an upscale hotel you can connect them with the concierge to help with last minute details.

At the end of the day your wedding is a party. While the specific intent of this party is to witness and celebrate your union, your guests are an integral part. Knowing they are relaxed and comfortable will go a long way to relieving your stress as well.
Write your vows

You may have already finished this step last month. At the very least you should have gotten a good start if you choose to personalize your vows. Send a copy to your officiant 1 month before your wedding.
Wedding Rings

Pick up your wedding rings and make sure they fit properly. Be sure to check the inscriptions before you leave the store.
Final Head Count

Call guests who have not yet RSVP’d for the wedding and rehearsal dinner to get a final head count. Many of your vendors are relying on the guest count to make sure you have enough food, beverages, favors, cake etc. and may need to adjust your final invoice.

Be sure to notify your florist if you add tables to the reception so additional centerpieces can be made.
Create your seating chart.

If you’re having an informal wedding, you may have fluid seating. Your guests can choose their own seat, get up, sit somewhere else, then somewhere else again. In this scenario, a seating chart is one less thing for you to do.

For more formal weddings you can use the stationary you bought back when you had 8 months to plan. You can make them yourself or give a typed list of names to your calligrapher.

Your caterer, reception venue manager, and wedding coordinator will all get a copy of your seating chart.
Toasts, not Roasts!

Some of the most memorable wedding moments are the toasts. 1 month before your wedding is the time to thank your family, friends, and partner for being in your life. It is not the time to insert a stand up comedy sketch roasting your partner or anyone else. Your drunk uncle or another tipsy guest may do this anyway, as most toasts are done after several glasses of champagne. Let it go! You will look back at the video in a few years and laugh, although it may seem horrifying at the time.
- The first toast is from the best man, friend or close to the bride.
- Then, the best man to the bride and groom.
- The third toast will be the groom’s response to the person or people who made the toast before him. He will offer a few words to his new wife and a thanks to the parents and the bridesmaids.
- The second to last toast is the best man. He will thank the groom on behalf of the bridesmaids and then thank the bridesmaids himself.
- The last wedding toast is from the father of the bride. He thanks everyone on behalf of himself and his wife and will indicate that the party can begin.
Having the toasts planned out in writing can alleviate an embarrassing faux pas. It’s probably a good time to suggest that your dad, partner’s dad, best man, and anyone else who may be toasting your union go ahead and write their toast now.

Others, such as your drunk uncle, may stand up to offer an impromptu toast. If you’re worried about an uncomfortable situation at toast time, designate your dad, the best man or one of the groomsmen to tactfully take charge of the moment.
Confirm Transportation Date(s), Time(s), and Location(s)

Send your transportation vendor the schedule, addresses, and contact phone numbers for the wedding day. Make sure they know how many guests will be on each trip. You want to avoid late arrivals, especially if one (or more) of your guests is left at the hotel.
Final Vendor Payments

Most wedding vendors require advance payment in full. Some, such as myself (a florist), require full payment at least a month in advance of your wedding. Since your caterer and rental company are basing their final invoice on your guest count, your invoice may have changed substantially since your last billing.

Confirm all final payment amounts with your vendors. Mail your payment checks or make arrangements for the wedding day.