The Complete Wedding Planning Checklist: 43 To-Do’s Before Saying Your “I Do’s”

The congratulatory calls and engagement parties have waned. Now what? It’s time to get down to serious wedding planning. Fun? Yes! Overwhelming? Oh, yes. But don’t fret. We’ve compiled this pre-wedding timeline and wedding planning checklist for soon-to-be brides and grooms.

16-9 months before your wedding day

1. Create a file or binder to keep wedding information organized and together

• Wedding planning sections should include the following:
  

  Budget	Date
  Venue	Guests
  Wedding party	Vendors
  Attire	Styling
  Ceremony	Reception
  Entertainment	Menu
  Pre-wedding plans: rehearsal dinner, bachelor party, bridal shower etc.	Post-wedding plans: honeymoon

2. Plan your budget. TheKnot.com’s budget allocation chart can help:

Reception	48-50%
Attire	8-10%
Flowers/Décor	8-10%
Entertainment/Music	8-10%
Photography/Video	10-12%
Favors and Gifts	2-3%
Ceremony	2-3%
Stationary	2-3%
Wedding Rings	2-3%
Transportation	2-3%
Miscellaneous	8%

When planning your budget, it’s a good idea to avoid piling up bills that you’ll be paying back for years to come. Here are some wedding financing tips to help you avoid going into debt. 3. Set a date and reserve a venue for the ceremony and reception

3. Set a date and reserve a venue for the ceremony and reception

Research listings and compare features, cost, size, etc. Arrange visits and bring a list of questions to ask venue planners. Also, consider wedding insurance for protection in case of a cancellation or damage to the venue.

4. Create the guest list

• Draft the list based on your budget and venue size.
• Use Google Docs or similar resources to keep the list organized and easily editable.
• Make sure guests’ names are on the RSVP card to avoid any confusion.

5. Choose your wedding party

6. Hire a wedding planner to help with details

7. Have the engagement ring appraised

You will most likely be able to have your ring appraised for free at the jewelry store where the ring was purchased. In the event your ring is lost or damaged, it’s a good idea to keep the appraisal and receipts in a safe place.

8. Insure the engagement ring for protection

Research your options when it comes to insuring your ring. You can contact your agent for more details on the steps you should take.

9. Choose an officiant for the ceremony

8 months before your wedding day

 10. Select a photographer and videographer

• Decide on a photography style – candid, classic, edgy?
• Read client reviews.
• Interview prospective photographers and view their work.
• Compare photo packages.
• Inquire about your rights to the photos, since many photographers own the rights to all wedding images.
• Find out post-production details, such as how long it takes to get your photos, how many you’ll receive, and whether the photographer offers retouching options.

11. Decide on entertainment

When choosing between a band or DJ, consider the following:

• Vibe – Music sets the tone, theme and ambiance of your wedding
• Variety – Make sure the entertainment can play the mix of genres you desire
• Budget – While a DJ generally costs less than a band, the price of a band often depends on the number of musicians
• Space – Check with the venue about restrictions. For example, is there a limit to the number of musicians or pieces of equipment you can bring in?

12. Choose a caterer

Schedule a tasting of what you want to serve and find out exactly what’s included, such as plates, silverware, table linens, etc.

13. Plan attire for the bride, groom, bridesmaids, groomsmen, flower girl and ring bearer

Schedule fittings and keep track of dates. Don’t forget jewelry, bag, shoes, bridal veil and other accessories.

14. Reserve a block of hotel rooms for out-of-town guests

15. Register for gifts with at least three retailers

Print out a wedding registry checklist to avoid missing any essentials.

16. Look into coverage options for any new gifts you receive

Check your homeowners or renters policy to find out if new gifts are already covered. If not, look into different property insurance options that could insure your new items.

7-6 months before your wedding day

17. Design invitations

• Choose text and colors that are legible.
• Order at least 25 extra invitations in the event of re-sends.

18. Plan your honeymoon

Planning your honeymoon well in advance can help avoid any last minute problems and can save you money. It’s also a good idea to get travel insurance so you’re protected if an incident affects your trip.

19. Send save-the-date cards

20. Reserve things like portable restrooms and outdoor lighting if needed

21. Book a florist

22. Create a music playlist, including a list of no-play songs

23. Arrange transportation for guests

• Book transportation for the wedding party, as well as for you if you plan to arrive separately.
• Hire a shuttle or bus to take guests to and from the hotel.

5-4 months before your wedding day

24. Finalize the menu

25. Choose a wedding cake

Schedule a tasting with bakeries so you can try different types of cakes, ask questions and review the bakery’s portfolio.

26. Address wedding invitations

Consider hiring a calligrapher to make your invitations more elegant and consistent.

3 months before your wedding day

27. Map out the ceremony with your officiant

28. Choose wedding favors for your guests

29. Create a list of who will be toasting at the reception

Be sure to allot time for speeches in your day-of schedule.

30. Purchase bride and groom wedding bands

2 months before your wedding day

31. Confirm times with all vendors

Send your day-of schedule to vendors and confirm appointments for hair and makeup.

32. Buy gifts for your wedding party

33. Send invitations

1 month before your wedding day

34. Get your marriage license

35. Separate RSVPs as you receive them by “attending” and “not attending”

The RSVP date should be 2-3 three weeks before your wedding in order to give the caterer a head count and set your seating chart a week ahead of time.

36. Schedule the timing for all day-of activities, such as the cake cutting and the first dance

A wedding planner or coordinator can help.

37. Put together gift bags for out-of-town guests

Week of the wedding

38. Assign seating for the reception

Create a seating chart at least a week before the big day. A site like seatingarrangement.com can help with the task.

39. Confirm honeymoon details

40. Deliver gift bags to guests at the hotel

41. Put tips and final payments for vendors into separate envelopes

42. Pack for your honeymoon

Check out our tips for efficient packing, and our guide to following TSA carry-on rules so your honeymoon isn’t derailed at the airport.

43. Breathe and enjoy as all your planning comes together!

How to Save Money on Gas

Your car payments and auto insurance payments may stay the same each month but gas prices can fluctuate wildly during the same period. Gas prices differ by state, by city, by season and by gas station, just to name a few variables, but consumers who shop wisely can trim their monthly car expenses.

These easy tips can help you find the best gas prices and save money:

Figure out what you’re currently spending on gas

The first step to finding cheap gas is to track what you’re currently paying to create a baseline. For example, if you traditionally get gas at the same station because it’s convenient, your habit may be costing you extra money.

Start looking at gas prices when you drive by different stations so you can see the variations. Notice whether the prices change on weekends versus weekdays, and which brands have higher costs than others.

Download a gas app

Many people like to use gas apps on their phones, especially when on vacation in unfamiliar areas. The apps may let you plug in your zip code, or it can automatically find your location using GPS tracking. These apps show gas stations nearby and their prices, as entered by other app users. Some will also show the average gas prices for the state or city. To find the best gas app, check your phone’s app store and look at reviews.

Try different locations

Gas stations often charge more if they’re in a prime location, like close to a freeway exit or at a major intersection. People will pay more for that convenience, especially if they don’t know the area. If you can wait, it’s easier to find cheap gas farther away from a main drag.

Only get premium gas if your car needs it

You may think getting premium gas will improve engine performance, but that’s not necessarily the case for all cars. In fact, some higher performance cars actually do just fine with regular gas. Learn more about whether premium gas is right for your car, so you aren’t wasting money with no return.

Pay with cash

Some stations offer a discount for cash versus paying with a credit card. Over time, this can add up. It can be worthwhile to keep extra cash on hand for gas purchases to pay the best gas prices.

Use a station loyalty credit card

Some gas stations offer loyalty credit cards, giving you a discount on gas prices when using that card. If you tend to shop for gas at the same station frequently, it might be worthwhile to use a loyalty card. Consider if you have to pay a yearly fee for the card and the interest rate if you don’t pay your credit card off in full each month.

Shopping smartly for gas can help you spend less on your car. Finding the right auto insurance policy can also save you money – especially if you qualify for a car insurance discount.

Safe Driving Tips During Deer Season

With deer season upon us, your chances of hitting a deer are much higher during the fall and winter months. Stay safe while on the road with these tips from the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center.

Be cautious while driving during dusk or dawn

Deer are most active during sunrise and sunset, especially during mating season, which is in full swing from October through December. Ensure that you and your passengers are wearing seat belts at all times, even in the back seat, just in case you have to make a sudden stop.

Pay attention to deer crossing signs

Be alert and observe your surroundings for any signs of wildlife while on the road. Deer are abundant in forested areas, but may wander into suburban neighborhoods in search of food, so it’s important to drive cautiously even if you’re no longer in a deer-crossing zone.

Stay alert if you spot a deer

Deer tend to travel in packs – so if you see one deer, slow down and proceed with caution. Even if you spot a deer on the side of the road or surrounding areas, remember that there could be others about to cross your path.

Take precautions when driving in the dark

Nighttime driving can put a strain on the eyes, so be safe by driving at a moderate speed. If there is no oncoming traffic, turn on your high beams: You’ll not only be able to see clearer, but you’ll have a greater chance of spotting a deer from a distance

Don’t swerve to avoid hitting a deer

Do not swerve to avoid a deer collision. By swerving you put yourself at risk for a worse collision with another vehicle or running off the road. Stay in your lane and try to slow down.

Get comprehensive coverage for your car

Did you know that physical damage to your car as a result of something other than a collision with another vehicle might not be covered by standard car insurance? With comprehensive car insurance, you will receive additional coverage and protection when the unexpected happens. For more information on common road hazards that can lead to accidents, head over to the Nationwide Learning Center.

Report the deer collision

If you’re involved in a deer accident, contact your local authorities and insurance company to file a claim.

Now that you know what steps to take to minimize deer accidents while on the road, be sure to check out our roadside emergency checklist for more helpful tips!

7 Easy Home Storage Hacks

A place for everything and everything in its place is a great maxim, if you have plenty of space. Closets and drawers fill quickly, though. These innovative storage hacks will help you detect and use overlooked corners and surfaces, especially for hard-to-store items.

1. The over-the-door shoe caddy

The inside of doors – the surface you see when you’re inside the room – are blank slates for storing small unbreakable items. An uncannily useful piece of gear is the inexpensive over-the-door shoe caddy, which is a hanging panel of small pockets.

While it’s smart to avoid heavy and breakable items on a moving surface like a door, these caddies can corral a multitude of small things in nearly every room.

• In the bathroom: Store cotton swabs, specialty combs, cotton balls, specialty towels, facecloths, unopened toiletries such as toothbrushes and razors.
• In the hobby or craft room: Store interfacing, patterns, rolls of binding, skeins of yarn, bags of floss, packets of needles and small quilting templates and tools.
• On the back of a pantry door: Store rags, clean towels, plastic grocery bags, specialty cleaning cloths like silver polishing cloths, new sponges, rolled-up placemats, folded cloth napkins,
• On the back of a laundry or utility room door: Store folded clean microfiber floor-mopping pads; feather dusters, dust cloths, mini-blind cleaners, boxes of dryer sheets; specialty ironing supplies such as press cloths.
• On the back of a coat closet door: Store gloves, mittens, earmuffs, small scarves, and winter socks.

2. Slivers of space in the bathroom

Declutter the medicine cabinet by finding a new home for small or rarely used items.

• Slip ring-and-clip curtain rings onto the shower rod and hang small bottles of specialty products, such as shaving cream, inside the shower.
• Install slide-out drawers beneath the bathroom sink to easily access cleaning and paper supplies.
• Install plastic hooks inside the vanity doors and hang rarely used appliances and tools, like specialty brushes and curling irons.
• Install inexpensive wire spice racks inside the vanity door and store bandages and first-aid supplies.

3. More space in the kitchen

Kitchen gear can overwhelm counters and drawers. Move some of the clutter out of sight to simplify work surfaces.

• Install a wall-mounted paper towel holder inside the sink cabinet and use it for rolls of trash bags.
• Create note-boards inside kitchen cabinets by sticking on magnetic strips to hold pens and clips for grocery lists and freezer inventories.
• To free up the junk drawer for more kitchen gear, attach magnetic strips to the insides of several cabinet doors and use small clips and bins to hold keys, markers, tape, and other useful items.
• Use rollout shelves under the sink to store cleaning supplies.
• Mount small bars on the exposed sides of cabinets and hang tools from the bars.

4. Hang it up

A rod and a hook: This simple combination can transform closets, garage and basement space. For the bars, use tension rods (as for curtains or shower curtain); inexpensive towel bars; or storage rods supported with hooks.

• For the hooks, use S hooks from the hardware store; shower curtain rings; or clips.
• Things to hang from utility hooks on garage or basement walls: Wreaths, umbrellas, brooms, mops, rakes, loops of holiday lights.
• Things to hang from S hooks or shower curtain rings in clothes closets: Daily lingerie, tank tops, bathing suits, belts, scarves, lightweight purses and totes.
• Things to hang from S hooks in the laundry room: Lingerie (by straps), hose, yoga wear – all items that should air-dry.

5. Book it with custom shelves

Books and decorative items add warmth and style to rooms but can quickly overwhelm. Here are three ways to merge in more shelf space for functionality and fun.

• Build in bookshelves overhead: Run a single shelf around the perimeter of a room, eight to 10 inches below the ceiling. Make sure it is sturdy enough to hold books. Make sure that only unbreakable, light things are above doors, just in case an items falls when a door slams.
• Triangular shelves set in corners of hallways and entryways can hold an astonishing number of things: keys, mail, lists, sunglasses, gloves, hats.
• Install a shelf above the bathroom door, inside the bathroom, to hold towels.

6. Corral toys

Toys are only fun when you play with them, which is why they are always underfoot. Use these techniques for quick pick-up.

• Use large plastic picnic tablecloths (from the dollar store) as play mats. Kids can scatter Legos, blocks or puzzles across the mats; when it’s time to clean up, pick up the corners of the tablecloth, folding the little pieces inside, and drop the whole thing in a plastic bin.
• Store library and borrowed books in book bags that belong on the coat closet doorknob; it will be easier to remember them when it’s time to return them.
• Lay old open-wire CD racks on their sides to organize children’s picture books.

7. Craft creative storage

Craft and creative inventories need to be clean, easy to find and ready to use when inspiration strikes. These tactics open the way for crafting success.

• Stack spools of ribbon on an inexpensive freestanding paper towel holder.
• If you need to store fabric in bins where it’s hard to see and access, create a quick-reference swatch notebook. Staple a swatch of each fabric to pages of the notebook and jot down how much of each fabric you have. Take this with you when you shop – so you can buy complementary fabric or yarn and won’t buy more of what you already own.
• Hang a tension rod in your craft closet and use S hooks or shower curtain rings to store clear ziplock bags of fragile supplies, such as beadmaking wire and beads, templates and patterns, and specialty rulers.
• Pick up a wine rack at a thrift or dollar store. Nestle found and repurposed containers into the rack and use them to sort and store buttons, beads, notions, markers, stickers, tools and other crafting and sewing supplies and tools.

Small organizational and storage projects can fit into corners of your schedule, too. Pick a couple of small projects for each weekend and you’ll be organized in no time! Want to deep clean your space once it’s organized? Check out these 20 spring cleaning hacks to simplify your life.

Why You Need a Financial Planning Date Night

Aside from the yearly reminder sometime before April 15 you need to gather up your financial documents and actually look at them, it’s easy to forget they exist the rest of the year.

One way to keep it at the top of your mind is to schedule a financial date night with your partner. Make it after you’ve filed your taxes; you’ll have a better idea of where your investments stand then, and you’ll be motivated to keep your financial house in order for the rest of the year.

To keep the tax-season momentum going, make a plan about what you need to discuss and analyze regarding your personal finances. Enjoy an evening out over dinner or cocktails to discuss your finances.

Here are some personal finance areas to put on the list:

IRA beneficiaries

Your IRA beneficiaries are not covered by a will. You have to name beneficiaries on the designation form. Each year, it’s a good idea to see who is on that form. Did you name the sibling you’re no longer talking to? Did you forget to remove your ex-spouse after the divorce? Did you have kids in the last year and you want them to receive the IRA proceeds? Would you rather support a charity with a portion of the money?

“You can name a charity as the beneficiary of your IRA, regardless of the account size,” said Dan Mathews, CFP in a post for the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards. Talk to your partner during the date night about who you want to receive your IRA, and make any appropriate changes.

Life insurance

 Life insurance protects the living and ensures that your family can survive – and thrive financially — if one of the main providers dies. Life insurance proceeds can be used to pay for housing, school tuition, outstanding debt, household expenses, taxes, funeral costs and childcare.

It’s helpful to analyze your life insurance needs each year, because circumstances can change. Perhaps you’ve moved into a more expensive home or a city with a higher cost of living. Maybe the kids are now in private school. Your income might have increased. All of these affect your family’s financial needs. Talk to your insurance agent about what you should have in life insurance, or check a financial life insurance calculator online.

Disability insurance

 According to the Social Security Administration, slightly more than one in four Americans who are currently 20 years old will be disabled before they’re 67. Disability insurance provides a portion of your salary should you become unable to work due to illness or an accident. Without disability insurance, could you cover your living expenses if you couldn’t work? Check to see if you have disability insurance through your employer. Find out how much it covers and whether you should supplement it.

Loans

The yearly check-in should include a look at your outstanding debts. It’s helpful to know what you owe, whether it’s student loans, mortgage, car loans, credit cards or anything else. How much of your debt are you paying off each year, and is there a way to pay off the loans with the highest interest rates first? Or perhaps you can adjust your budget to cut back on spending, applying that savings to pay off your debt.

Mortgage

 If you’ve had your home for a long time, it’s possible that your mortgage rate is higher than it needs to be. See what you’re paying now and what the current rates are for refinancing. You might be able to save money by refinancing to a different, lower-priced mortgage.

Investments

 A yearly review of your investments will help you understand how your investments are doing and whether you need to rebalance them. Make a spreadsheet to discuss during your date, noting your retirement account balances, investment accounts and available cash. Are your investments diversified? Do you have a good mix of stocks, bonds and cash, depending on your age? Make a plan with your partner about what you need to change in your investment mix in the next year.

Credit report and credit score

 Every year, it’s a good idea to look over your credit report and make sure it’s accurate. You can get a free credit report from all three major reporting agencies from AnnualCreditReport.com. It’s helpful to look at your credit score, especially if you’re planning to make a big purchase requiring a loan, such as a car. This gives you time to make adjustments to improve your credit score.

Going over the finances each year with your partner can be a bonding experience. By making it a date night, you enjoy each other’s company along with some food and drink. Prepare all the paperwork ahead of time to ensure that it will be productive as well, understanding your joint finances and what you can do together to improve your financial future. Visit the Nationwide Bank Resource Center and use our helpful calculators to help you and your partner plan your savings, credit card payments, mortgage and more.