№ 01
The budget reckoner
Destination × guests × tone
№ 02
Guest travel estimator
Flights + lodging, by city
№ 03
The planning timeline
Reverse-engineered calendar
№ 04
The checklist
Atelier notes, downloads to PDF
Tool № 03·The reckoners·Revised 19 April 2026
Free · no account
The reckoners — planning timeline

Wedding planning
timeline.

Enter your wedding date; leave with a thirty-five-milestone schedule backed from the day to today. Eight phases, colour-coded by priority, downloadable to Google, Apple, or Outlook calendars.

Based on
412 real weddings
Destinations
24 covered
Time to result
~30 seconds
Accuracy
±12% typical
Timeline · 36 milestones · 16 May 2027
36 milestones.

Eight phases from 18 months out to day-of. The pattern matters more than the calendar — move earlier lines right if the date shifts.

Do something with this figure
Nov 202518 months out
Critical
Set overall budget with a 15% contingency.
Nov 202518 months out
Critical
Shortlist three destinations, visit or Zoom-walkthrough, pick one.
The hardest decision; the rest waits on it.
Nov 202518 months out
Important
Draft the guest list (oversize by 15%).
Jan 202616 months out
Critical
Book the venue and planner in the same week.
Premium venues book 14–20 months ahead.
Jan 202616 months out
Critical
Lock the date.
Mar 202614 months out
Critical
Send save-the-dates.
Fourteen months is right for destination timelines.
May 202612 months out
Critical
Book photography, florals, and music as a unit.
May 202612 months out
Important
Open the hotel room block at 15–20% below published.
May 202612 months out
Critical
Start legal paperwork — or commit to a symbolic ceremony.
Jul 202610 months out
Important
Finalise floral design, menu draft, ceremony script.
Jul 202610 months out
Important
Plan welcome events, farewell lunch, any guest activities.
Aug 20269 months out
Important
Book the officiant (or agree on the symbolic ceremony leader).
Sept 20268 months out
Critical
Send formal invitations.
Include the travel information and hotel block link.
Sept 20268 months out
Important
Order wedding-day attire, with time for alterations.
Nov 20266 months out
Important
Finalise ground transfers, airport pickups, shuttle schedule.
Nov 20266 months out
Important
Round-two vendor meetings — pay second deposits.
Nov 20266 months out
Nice
Order welcome-bag contents (keep them modest).
Jan 20274 months out
Important
Book the rehearsal-dinner venue.
Jan 20274 months out
Nice
Design day-of stationery (menus, place cards, ceremony programme).
Feb 20273 months out
Critical
RSVPs close. Chase stragglers.
Feb 20273 months out
Critical
Legal paperwork complete and filed (if applicable).
Feb 20273 months out
Important
Run the in-person menu tasting.
Feb 20273 months out
Important
Draft the seating chart.
Feb 20273 months out
Important
Final dress and suit fittings.
Mar 20272 months out
Critical
Pay final vendor balances.
Mar 20272 months out
Nice
Print stationery, signage, welcome-bag cards.
Mar 20272 months out
Important
Confirm wedding-party travel and accommodations.
Apr 20271 months out
Critical
Final walkthrough with your planner (video or in-person).
Apr 20271 months out
Important
Write your vows.
Apr 20271 months out
Nice
Pull local-currency cash for day-of vendor tips.
May 20272 weeks out
Critical
Confirm all vendor arrival times in writing.
May 20272 weeks out
Important
Pack — wedding-day outfit in carry-on.
May 20272 weeks out
Critical
Confirm final head count with caterer and venue.
May 20272 weeks out
Nice
Release any unused room-block reservations.
May 20271 week out
Critical
Arrive at the destination three to four days ahead.
May 20271 week out
Important
Rehearsal and rehearsal dinner, two nights out.
Atelier note · what most couples miss

Save-the-dates go out 14 months ahead on a destination timeline, not eight. Every couple who sent at eight months regretted it. The guests who decline a destination wedding almost always cite time-off-work as the reason, and they needed the runway you did not give them.

What’s behind these figures

412 real weddings. Refreshed quarterly.

Every number in these tools is derived from the atelier’s own survey of vendors and venues, not pulled from the open web. We revise baselines every quarter and re-survey the top three destinations annually.

Data source
Atelier vendor survey
Last refresh
April 2026, Q2
Next refresh
July 2026
Accuracy
±12% typical
Sample size
412 weddings since 2024
The full set of reckoners

Four tools, quietly kept.

№ 01
The budget reckoner
A destination-aware estimator built on real weddings Aisle has planned.
Open →
№ 02
Guest travel estimator
Price the flights and lodging for each guest by their departure city.
Open →
№ 03
The planning timeline
Backs from your wedding date to today with 43 milestones across eight phases.
You are here
№ 04
The checklist
44 items across eight phases with an Atelier note on each — the one thing most couples miss.
Open →