Before you run to the alter and say, “I do,” there are dozens of items on your wedding planning checklist you’ll need to cross off. Don’t have one? No problem!

Here are 12 tips to help you start building the ultimate wedding planning checklist.

1. Choose Your Budget

About a year before your wedding, you’ll want to decide on your budget. This will determine how the rest of your wedding checklist goes.

How much money you can spend will alter things like your vendors, how much you can spend on a honeymoon, or whether you’ll need to do your hair and makeup yourself.

2. Buy the Rings

While you may have an engagement ring, you still need to buy your wedding bands. Every part of the engagement ring is unique to the person. The earlier you have your ring purchased, the sooner you can check it off the list.

3. Hire Vendors

Next, it’s time to start thinking about your vendors. You don’t want to call and hire someone based on one Google Review. Give yourself plenty of time to meet with several different vendors in person.

4. Get Your Wedding Dress or Suit

The dress or suit is typically purchased about nine months in advance. This is because it takes time to decide on the right outfit for your special day. Not to mention the bridal shop you’re purchasing from needs time to have your order ready for you.

Not every dress is available in person. They may need to order them from the designer or company who makes them.

5. Book Your Honeymoon

Celebrating your nuptials also includes your honeymoon after the wedding. To avoid spending more money, book your travel ahead of time. Planning in advance not only helps you save money but also ensures a smoother and more enjoyable trip. Before you jet off, create a packing checklist for a honeymoon to make sure you have all the essentials, from travel documents to appropriate attire for your destination. Staying organized will allow you to fully relax and savor this special time together.

Get your plane tickets, hotel, and rental car squared away. Figure out how you’ll be getting to the airport if you’re flying. If you’re taking a road trip, make sure your car has all the necessary repairs done, and don’t forget an oil change.

6. Decide on Hair and Makeup

Depending on your budget, you may be doing your hair and makeup yourself or hiring someone to do it. Either way, you’ll want to consider this well in advance.

Spending hours trying to figure out the perfect up-do isn’t how you want to spend those precious few hours getting ready with your bride tribe. Have a plan set in place and try out a few ideas with your stylist or a friend ahead of time.

7. Select and Purchase Your Cake

The cake tasting is one of the sweetest parts of your wedding checklist. Whether you’re buying a large cake or offering small dessert plates at the reception, you’re going to need to talk to different bakers ahead of time.

Schedule tastings for you and your spouse-to-be. Make it a grand event for yourself to enjoy the process instead of feeling like it’s another obligation to add to the list.

8. Write Your Vows

Do yourself a favor and write your vows weeks, even months in advance. Some people want to wing it, thinking it’s more romantic and heartfelt that way. But the moment you get up on the altar in front of hundreds of people to talk, your mind can go blank.

Avoid this wedding mistake by writing down your vows or typing them out. Read from the paper instead of trying to memorize a monologue. Your loved one will know it’s coming from a special place in your heart even if you read it from a paper.

9. Send Invitations

Thanks to technology, sending invitations is easier than ever before. You won’t have to write out hundreds of envelopes or pay for a ton of postage.

Set up a wedding website to email all of your guests. They can RSVP through your website, choose the type of food they want, and even go through your wedding registry to purchase their gift online.

10. Create a Seating Chart (If You Need One)

If you’re planning to have open seating on the day of your wedding, skip right over this step. However, if you need a little more control over where your aunts, uncles, and cousins will be sitting, you might need a seating chart.

Start working on this around one month before the wedding. It’s not a crucial element that will be as impactful as the venue or photographer, so it can wait until closer to the wedding.

Plus, you’ll know exactly who is coming because the RSVPs should all be in by this time.

11. Get Your Marriage License

Getting your marriage license is relatively easy but is sometimes a pain to get. This is because you have to go to your nearest clerk of the circuit court office to obtain your marriage license.

Set an appointment with them about a month before your wedding. Have a safe and secure space in your home where you know you won’t lose it. This piece is critically important to make your marriage official.

12. Final Dress or Suit Fitting

One of the last things on your wedding checklist will be to get your dress or suit fitted. You may have been starting a weekly wedding workout and have lost a few pounds to prepare for the big day, changing how the dress fits.

Make sure to talk to your tailor to find out how much turnaround time they need. It’s better to have it closer to your wedding day because a lot can change in a year.