12 Months to go: The ultimate Hunter Valley wedding planning checklist
Congratulations! You're engaged.
Before you disappear down a Pinterest rabbit hole, start a shared spreadsheet with 47 tabs, or find yourself comparing chair colours at midnight, take a deep breath!
Planning a wedding doesn't need to be overwhelming when you have a roadmap.
If you're getting married in the Hunter Valley, Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Port Stephens or beyond, this guide will walk you through exactly what should be happening each month in the lead-up to your wedding day. I’ve tried my best to simplify this roadmap but check my other blog posts for more wedding planning topics around budgets, choosing vendors and other helpful tips!
Let's get into it.
12 - 18 Months
Set your budget
Before you start booking anything, decide how much you're comfortable spending and who will be contributing financially.
Don't stress about getting every dollar allocated right now. The goal is simply to establish your overall budget and priorities. As of 2026 the average wedding cost in NSW is approx. $40k. Please remember that is the average of an entire state. You may sit above or below that figure. For further info on pricing and budgets, please see my blog post “How Much Does A Hunter Valley Wedding Cost?”. I highly recommend sitting down with your partner and having an honest conversation about what aspects of the wedding are more or less important to you, so that you can allocate funds accordingly.
Create a wedding email
This will be one email account for all things wedding! Both you and your partner can access it and your wedding emails won’t get lost in a sea of old subscription emails in your personal email account.
Create your guest list
You don't need every name finalised, but having an estimated guest count is essential before you start looking at venues and catering. A venue that feels spacious for 80 guests can feel very different with 150 in it. You also don’t want to book a space that is too big. A wedding of 30 guests in a venue with capacity for 150 can be near impossible to create atmosphere and intimacy.
Book your venue
Your venue will determine your wedding date and influence almost every other decision moving forward. For help choosing your venue, see my blog post “Choose Your Hunter Valley Venue”.
Popular Hunter Valley venues often book out 12–24 months in advance, particularly for spring and autumn weddings. October is the busiest month of the year for both venues and vendors in the Hunter Valley and these dates will book out first every year. Ideally you will have accommodation on site, check with your venue or book accommodation nearby at this time.
Book Your Celebrant
Your celebrant isn't just there to sign paperwork. They're responsible for creating and delivering one of the most important moments of your day. They set the tone for the rest of the day, so choose wisely. For help choosing a great celebrant see my blog post “How To Choose Your Hunter Valley Celebrant”.
The best celebrants often book out well in advance. The longer you wait, the conversation changes from “who do we love/ connect with?” to “who is left available?”.
Send save the dates and create a wedding website
As soon as your date is locked in, give your guests as much notice as possible. Particularly important if:
• Guests are travelling
• You're marrying during school holidays
• You're planning a destination wedding
For these same reasons a wedding website is a great way to have all the info in one place that your guests can keep coming back to. Lost the invite? No worries, check the website. Not only can you fit way more info on a website than a paper invite for your guests, you can even receive your RSVPs through the website as well as dietary requirements and who needs to catch the organised bus at the end of the night!
Book Your Photographer & Videographer
Your photos and videos will become your lasting memories, so take the time to find suppliers whose style genuinely reflects your vision. Your photo and video team are often by your side from getting ready until kicking off the dancefloor. So, you want someone not only professional, skilled and organised, but also someone who brings a positive energy to your day!
10–11 Months To Go
Book The Rest Of Your Key Vendors
Now is the time to lock in:
• Hair stylist
• Makeup artist
• Florist
• Stylist
• Entertainment
• Content creator
• Transport
• Cake Maker
• MC
• DJ or Band
The sooner your core team is secured, the smoother the rest of the planning process becomes.
Start gathering inspiration
Create mood boards and begin collecting ideas for:
• Flowers
• Styling
• Fashion
• Ceremony setup
• Reception styling
Remember: inspiration is helpful. Comparison is not.
Shop For Wedding Attire
Wedding dresses often require 9month lead times and then possible alterations, so don't leave this too late. It may also take a few shopping days for you to find “the one”.
The same goes for suits and formalwear.
8–9 Months To Go
Choose your wedding party
Now is a great time to officially ask your wedding crew or any other important people you'd like standing beside you. They will no doubt become great sounding boards for your wedding day ideas but remember, the final choice should always come from you and your partner!
6–7 Months To Go
Plan your ceremony
Start thinking about:
• Ceremony style
• Personal vows
• Readings
• Family involvement
The best ceremonies feel personal, relaxed and authentic to the couple.
(Sorelle's Wedding Guides will help with this!)
Submit Your Notice of Intended Marriage
In Australia, your Notice of Intended Marriage must be lodged at least 1-18 calendar months before your wedding date.
Most couples complete this as soon as they are able to. It’s not something you can afford to forget about! If you go over the 1 calendar month mark, you are no longer legally allowed to get married on your chosen date except for extreme extenuating circumstances.
(Sorelle's Wedding Guides will help with this!)
4–5 Months To Go
Book Final Entertainment Details
Start discussing:
• Ceremony music
• Reception entrance songs
• First dance songs
• Dance floor music preferences
Don't worry if you don't have every song chosen yet. Your vendors will usually help you with this! Consider how music will be played at the ceremony, cocktail hour and reception. You may have someone controlling a playlist through a speaker, a live musician/ band or a DJ.
(Sorelle's Wedding Guides will help with this!)
Plan Your Reception Timeline
This is where the day really starts coming together.
Consider:
• Guest arrival
• Cocktail hour
• Reception entrance
• Speeches
• Cake cutting
• Reception Games
• First dance
• Dance floor
A great run sheet creates flow without making the day feel rushed or long wait periods where energy is lost.
(Sorelle's Wedding Guides will help with this!)
Organise Wedding Rings
If rings require resizing or customisation, you'll want plenty of time up your sleeve.
3 Months To Go
Confirm Menu Selections
Work with your venue or caterer to finalise:
• Menu choices
• Dietary requirements
• Beverage packages
• Discuss with your venue when your vendors will get fed. This is important because they need to be eating at a time that no other formalities are taking place. They need to eat whilst everyone else is eating.
Begin Writing Your Vows
Trust me. The couples who leave their vows until the week of the wedding are almost always more stressed than they need to be.
Start early and refine them gradually.
(Sorelle's Wedding Guides will help with this!)
2 Months To Go
Finalise Ceremony Details
Your celebrant will likely have already provided you with questionnaires or wedding kits, now is the time to finalise all the small details and get them sent back to your celebrant.
You'll review:
• Ceremony structure
• Vows
• Legal requirements
• Readings
• Family involvement
(Sorelle's Wedding Guides will help with this!)
Confirm Vendor Timings
Ensure every supplier has:
• Venue details
• Contact information
• Timeline information; you will need to know a bump in and bump out time for every vendor so there are no surprises on the day.
Good communication now prevents problems later.
1 Month To Go
Final Guest Numbers
Most venues will require final numbers around this time.
Finalise Your Seating Plan
One of the less glamorous jobs of wedding planning, but an important one.
Complete Any Outstanding Payments
Avoid spending your wedding week chasing invoices.
Food for the morning of your wedding
Many couples will organise food platters to be delivered on the morning of the wedding for wedding parties and their families getting ready with them. Then everyone can graze in between getting ready, before and after hair and makeup etc. You don’t want to feel faint by the time you get to your ceremony because you forgot to eat and drink!
Review your wedding day run sheet
Walk through the entire day from start to finish.
If someone completely unfamiliar with your wedding can understand the timeline, you've done it well.
(Sorelle's Wedding Guides will help with this!)
1 Week To Go
Confirm everything
Touch base with all vendors and ensure everyone has the latest version of the timeline. You could even send a group email with the final draft of the run sheet and ask all your vendors if everyone has everything they need from you.
Pack wedding day essentials
Include:
• Rings
• Marriage paperwork/ ID
• Vows
• Comfortable shoes
• Emergency kit
Get Excited
At this point, your job is no longer planning. Your job is simply to enjoy the experience!
You have spent the last year or more making decisions about the wedding in every moment of spare time you had. It is so important you reach a stage where you say to yourself “I’ve done everything I could possibly do to make this day perfect. Now it’s time to let go, trust my vendors, and have the best day ever!!!”
Wedding Day
Eat breakfast.
Drink water.
Trust the team you've chosen to take any weight of decision making off you!
Please know, that your guests won't remember whether the napkins were ivory or white.
They'll remember how your wedding felt.
The laughter. The atmosphere. The stories. The dance floor. The people.
Because at the end of the day, that's what weddings are really about.
Need Help Planning Your Hunter Valley Wedding?
At Sorelle Weddings, I help couples create weddings that feel relaxed, personal and downright fun!
Whether you're looking for a celebrant, MC, DJ or someone to seamlessly guide your day from ceremony to dance floor, I'd love to help.
Head to my enquiry form and let's start planning a truly unforgettable day.