Wedding Planning Checklist Philippines: Month by Month

Most checklists count back from the date and stop there. In the Philippines the date also starts clocks you do not control: the parish calendar, a ten-day posting period, and a marriage license that lasts 120 days. This list runs in the order tasks should start, with the paperwork placed where those clocks force it. The last 30 days have their own page, our last month checklist.

Church or civil: two tracks, one calendar

Decide this first, because the church track adds steps that only a parish can schedule.

Step	Catholic church track	Civil track
Date	Parish calendar first	Officiant's availability and the posting period
Extra papers	Baptismal and confirmation certificates, parish forms	None beyond the license file
Interview and seminars	Canonical interview, Pre-Cana and the family planning session	Family planning session, plus counseling at 18 to 25 if your city asks
Banns	Three Sundays; your parish tells you where, often each partner's home parish	None; the license application is posted for 10 consecutive days instead (Family Code Art. 17)
Marriage license	Needed	Needed
Papers to the officiant	Complete set to the parish about a month ahead (one parish's rule)	License and IDs, as the officiant instructs

Details are in our church wedding requirements and civil wedding requirements guides. Not sure which fits? See civil vs church wedding.

The paperwork clocks

Document	The clock	Source
Marriage license	Valid 120 days from date of issue	Family Code, Art. 20
License notice	Posted ten consecutive days before issue	Family Code, Art. 17
Certificate filing	Officiant sends copies within 15 days	Family Code, Art. 23
Application pack, one each	PSA birth certificate, CENOMAR, valid ID, 2x2 photo, family planning certificate. Your city may add more	our civil requirements guide
Church documents	"in original form and six months old inclusive of the wedding date"	Christ the King Parish
CENOMAR	Receiving offices set their own cutoff	our CENOMAR guide

Ten posting days plus 120 days of validity is 130 days, about four months. That is our arithmetic, and it is why the license goes in at month four: file much earlier and it can lapse before the wedding. Christ the King is one Quezon City parish, so ask yours directly.

12 months and earlier: foundation

Nuptials.ph says most planners believe you need at least a year, and that vendors you want may be booked or charge more if you rush.

• Agree a total budget and who contributes.
• Set a guest count range. Cutting the list is easier now.
• Choose church or civil, or civil first and church later.
• Pick two or three possible dates.
• Ask the parish which Saturdays are open, how far ahead it books and its document list.
• Shortlist venues with our venue checklist.
• Read the contract for corkage and fees, then book.
• Decide on a full, partial or on-the-day coordinator.
• Start one shared sheet for vendors, payments and guests.
• Keep one folder for contracts and receipts.
• Write your top three must-haves.

10 to 11 months: the vendors who book out

• Book your photographer and videographer.
• Book the caterer, or confirm the venue's in-house menu.
• Book the florist or stylist. What to ask vendors.
• Book hair and makeup, and ask how many artists will work.
• Book the host or emcee.
• Ask your ninong and ninang.
• Ask the rest of the entourage.
• Choose your motif before anyone buys fabric.
• Ask the gown designer for their lead time.
• Book an officiant if the venue does not supply one.
• Book any add-ons you want, such as a photo booth.

8 to 9 months: guests and logistics

• Send save-the-dates to guests who must travel.
• Book the band, DJ or sound supplier.
• Reserve rooms for out-of-town guests and the entourage.
• Book transport for the couple and entourage.
• Draft the guest list with a phone number per household. See contact details.
• Order the groom's and the entourage's attire.
• Decide how you will share gift preferences. See GCash gift etiquette.
• Pick a hashtag, if you want one.
• Book a prenup shoot, if you want one. See prenup photo tips.
• Shop for the veil and accessories.
• Book the wedding-night hotel.
• Start honeymoon plans and check passports.

6 to 7 months: papers and design

• Ask the parish how it counts document age.
• Ask your local civil registrar which extra forms it wants.
• Book the cake tasting.
• Buy the rings.
• Buy your shoes.
• Choose readers, if your parish lets you.
• Choose an invitation theme.
• Draft the invitation wording.
• Book Pre-Cana, or ask which program your parish accepts.

5 months: documents and entourage

• Order PSA birth certificates and the CENOMAR, one each, so they fit a six-month rule.
• Request baptismal and confirmation certificates, only inside the parish's age window.
• Fix the entourage roles with the free entourage list maker.
• Give the entourage the motif as a color family.
• First gown fitting.
• Hair and makeup trial.
• Book beauty appointments for the wedding week.
• Plan ceremony music with the parish.
• Plan the reception program.
• Choose favors within a souvenir budget.

4 months: the license month

• Attend the family planning session and keep the certificate.
• Get the counseling certificate if your city asks it at 18 to 25.
• Gather parental consent or advice papers if either is under 25.
• File the license at the registrar where either of you lives.
• Count the ten posting days on your calendar.
• Finalize the guest list, and freeze the invitation design.
• Ask when the canonical interview should happen.
• Order the wedding cake.

3 months: interview and menu

• Attend the canonical interview. Christ the King asks three months ahead; ask yours.
• Claim the license and check its stamped expiry date against your wedding date.
• Give the parish your sponsors list with complete addresses.
• Hold the menu tasting and choose the final menu.
• Ask the parish for a rehearsal slot.
• Confirm each vendor's payment schedule in writing.
• Set deadlines for any DIY projects.
• Confirm honeymoon bookings.
• Make a shot list with your photographer.
• Start printing, if you are printing.

6 to 8 weeks: invitations go out

Our invitation timing guide gives six to eight weeks with a save-the-date, 12 weeks without one, and 10 to 12 for guests who travel.

• Send the invitations.
• Print an RSVP deadline three to four weeks before.
• Have banns published, if your parish requires them.
• Final gown and entourage fittings.
• Buy gifts for parents and sponsors.
• Write your vows.
• Brief your host with the emcee script.
• Send the song playlist to the DJ or band.

1 month: lock the details

• Give the parish the complete document set.
• Chase missing replies with RSVP follow-up.
• Draft the seat plan.
• Write the day-of schedule from a sample timeline.
• Confirm arrival times with every vendor.
• Prepare envelopes for final vendor balances.
• Confirm transport and hotel rooms.
• Collect the entourage attire.
• Pick up the gown.
• Book final salon and beauty treatments.
• Give readers their parts.

2 weeks to the day before

• Give the caterer the final headcount by its deadline. We plan on two weeks ahead; ask yours.
• Confirm arrival times again with every vendor.
• Hand day-of tasks to a coordinator or a trusted entourage member.
• Pack an emergency kit: safety pins, stain remover, blister pads and makeup.
• Break in your wedding shoes.
• Pack for the honeymoon.
• Drop off the cake, favors and decor.
• Attend the rehearsal.
• Reconfirm details with entourage members.
• Prepare cash tips for suppliers.
• Check in at the hotel.
• Put the license, IDs and rings in one place.
• Lay out attire for the morning.
• Eat properly and sleep.

On the day

• Eat breakfast.
• Give the officiant or parish coordinator your license as instructed.
• Give your coordinator the vendor envelopes.
• Assign someone to carry the emergency kit.
• Hand the run sheet to your host and photographer.

After the wedding

• Ask your officiant for the registrar's receipt. Art. 23 allows 15 days.
• Order the PSA copy. How long it takes.
• Send thank-you messages.
• Update your name on IDs and records, if you are changing it.
• Pay final vendor balances.

Where a digital invitation fits

A link removes print lead time, and a venue or time change reaches guests who already have it. Imbitasyon Ko gives each guest a personal link that you send yourself, so start the invitation at month six and finalize it at month four.

Work back from the parish date, then the license, then everything else. If time runs short, drop the optional rows and keep the clocks.