Wedding Planning Checklist NZ: Month by Month

If you've got longer than a year, great: do the first two rows early and relax. If you've got less, skip to the six-month version further down.

The checklist at a glance

When	What to do
12+ months	Agree a budget (here's how) and who's contributing. Draft a rough guest count. Pick a season and a few possible dates.
11–12 months	Visit and book your venue. Book your celebrant. Book your photographer.
10–11 months	Send save the dates (earlier for guests flying in). Book caterer, band or DJ, videographer.
9 months	Start looking for outfits. Hold a block of rooms if guests are travelling. Ask your wedding party.
7–8 months	Book florist, hair and makeup. Start your wedding website: travel, accommodation, koha or gifts.
5–6 months	Book transport, hire gear and styling. Order rings. Book wedding-night accommodation and the honeymoon.
4 months	Finalise the guest list. Plan the ceremony with your celebrant. Read up on the marriage licence and when to apply.
3 months	Send invitations. Hair and makeup trials. Order cake.
2 months	Apply for your marriage licence (check BDM's current timing first). Write vows. Order signage and place cards.
5–6 weeks	RSVPs close. Chase the stragglers. Final numbers and dietaries to the caterer.
3–4 weeks	Seating plan. Final dress fitting. Make sure your celebrant has your licence. Confirm times with every supplier.
The last week	Last message to guests (parking, timings, wet-weather plan). Pack an emergency kit. Hand over to your coordinator or MC.
After	Order your marriage certificate. Change your name, if you're changing it. Thank-you messages.

12 months and more: the big three

Before you look at venues, agree on three things: how much you'll spend, roughly how many people you'll invite, and what time of year. For real numbers to start from, see the average wedding cost in NZ.

The season matters more in New Zealand than people expect. Summer and early autumn (December to April) are the most popular months for weddings, and the good Saturdays at popular venues go first. Spring is wetter in most of the country but can be easier to book. Winter is quiet almost everywhere except Queenstown, Wānaka and the ski towns, where it's peak season and beds fill up early.

While you're choosing a date, check it against the long weekends: Waitangi Day, Easter, Anzac Day, King's Birthday, Matariki, Labour Weekend and your region's anniversary day. A long weekend can help guests travel, or it can mean they're already away at the bach. Either way, give more notice.

10 to 12 months: lock in the people who only do one wedding a day

Your venue, celebrant and photographer can each only do one wedding on your date, so they come first. In summer, popular ones book out a year or more ahead.

When you book your celebrant, make sure they're registered. Only a registered celebrant can legally marry you, and DIA has a public search of registered celebrants you can check.

Save the dates go out now too. Six months' notice is fine for a local crowd. Guests flying from Australia or further need closer to a year, so they can book flights before fares climb. Our guide on when to send invitations has more on timing around holidays and trans-Tasman guests.

7 to 9 months: the rest of the team

Book the caterer, music, florist, and hair and makeup. Start looking for outfits now, as made-to-order dresses can take months.

If people are travelling, hold a block of rooms or at least send them a list of places to stay. In Queenstown, Waiheke and small coastal towns over summer, accommodation can run out before your guests think to book.

This is also a good time to set up your wedding website, so save-the-date recipients have somewhere to look for travel details, accommodation and how you'd like to handle koha or gifts.

4 to 6 months: details and paperwork reading

Finalise the guest list. Book transport, furniture and lighting hire, and wedding-night accommodation. Order rings, which can take a while if they're made to order or need resizing.

Sit down with your celebrant to plan the ceremony: readings, music, who walks in with whom, and whether you'd like a mihi, a karakia or te reo in the vows.

Now is also the time to read up on your marriage licence. You get it from Births, Deaths and Marriages (BDM), part of Te Tari Taiwhenua, the Department of Internal Affairs. A licence is only valid for a limited time, so the trick is applying late enough that it's still valid on the day and early enough that it arrives. Check BDM's current processing time and how long a licence lasts, and ask your celebrant when they suggest you apply. Our guide to getting a marriage licence in New Zealand explains what you'll be asked for.

3 months: invitations out

Send the invitations (wording you can copy, with te reo Māori lines). If you're posting printed ones, allow extra time: NZ Post now delivers letters on fewer days than it used to, and rural and overseas mail takes longer again. Many couples now send the invite by email or text, and post a printed copy to grandparents and anyone else who would love one.

Set your RSVP date about five or six weeks before the wedding, working back from when your caterer needs final numbers.

2 months: the licence and the words

Apply for your marriage licence when BDM's current timing and your celebrant say so. Write your vows. Order signage, menus and place cards. Plan the running order of the day with your MC or coordinator, including speeches and any mihi.

The last 6 weeks

• 5 to 6 weeks: RSVPs close. Text or call anyone who hasn't replied. Send final numbers, dietaries and supplier meals to the caterer.
• 3 to 4 weeks: do the seating plan. Final fittings. Make sure your celebrant has your licence. Confirm arrival and set-up times with every supplier, and send the photographer your list of family photo groups.
• 2 weeks: settle the bar tab arrangements. Agree who sets up and packs down.
• The last week: send guests the final details: parking, start time, the wet-weather plan and what to wear if it's cold. Pack an emergency kit (safety pins, plasters, sunscreen, insect repellent if you're anywhere near sandflies). Give every supplier one phone number to call on the day that isn't yours.

After the wedding

The form you sign on the day isn't your marriage certificate. Your celebrant sends it to BDM to register the marriage, and you order the certificate separately. You'll need it if you're changing your name with your passport, driver licence, IRD, bank and KiwiSaver provider. Then write your thank-yous: for koha and gifts, and for the people who set up, packed down and lent you their trailer.

Only six months? The short version

Six months is enough if you're flexible on the date or the venue. Do it in this order:

1. This week: budget, guest count, venue. Ask venues about Fridays, Sundays and the shoulder seasons.
2. Next two weeks: celebrant and photographer. Send save the dates the day the venue is confirmed, or skip them and send the invitation straight away.
3. Month one: caterer, music, outfit. Start your website.
4. Months two and three: everyone else, then send invitations if you haven't already.
5. From two months out: follow the last rows of the table above. The licence timing doesn't shrink just because your engagement did, so check BDM's current timing early.

Under six months, smaller works better: fewer guests, a venue that does food in-house, and suppliers who can bring a package.

Keep it in one place

If you add your wedding date to Online Wedding Invitation, your dashboard builds this checklist for you, counted back from your date, with reminders for your marriage licence. It sits next to your guest list, RSVPs and a vendor tracker that shows what you've paid and what's still owing.

Start your free checklist

Quick questions

What should we book first for a New Zealand wedding?

Your venue, celebrant and photographer. Each can only do one wedding on your date, and in summer the popular ones book out a year or more ahead.

When do we sort the marriage licence?

Read up on it around four months out and apply around two months before, after checking BDM's current timing. Make sure your celebrant has it a few weeks before the day.

Which months are busiest for weddings in NZ?

Summer and early autumn, December to April. Good Saturdays at popular venues go first, so book early or look at Fridays, Sundays or winter.