Asian Wedding Planning Checklist + Free Downloadable Guide

If you’re currently planning your wedding, you’ll understand the extent of wedding planning and how much time goes into organising. In fact, the average Asian wedding takes between 350 and 500 hours to prepare. If you're familiar with Asian weddings, this won't come as a surprise. There are many events that form part of the celebration and these take place over a number days, so planning at least 12 months in advance is advised.

If you give yourself enough time to plan your wedding and take each step at a time, the planning will be far less overwhelming, meaning that you can enjoy those exciting months, pre-wedding. To ensure you're able to enjoy the planning process, we would suggest focusing on only a few tasks per month.

Asian weddings are a beautiful spectacle and differ considerably from any other wedding. We understand the time, thought and planning that goes into making Asian weddings very special.

At Ladywood Estate, we have extensive knowledge and understanding of all aspects of Asian ceremonies, rituals and traditional customs, which is why we have created a wedding planner checklist to help you plan your upcoming wedding.

Weddings are one of the biggest expenses in our lifetime, so it’s understandable that most couples will want to reduce costs wherever they can. Of course, this depends on who’s paying for the big day! Not only is it important to create a budget so you have an idea of how much your wedding will cost, but it’s equally as important to stick to it.

Find out if your chosen venue allows you to bring in your own caterer as this could be a cost saving from the start. At Ladywood, we allow you to choose your own chosen caterer from a long list of preferred suppliers. We also include corkage within the venue price hire, meaning that you can buy your chosen quantity and types of beverages for your guests, without any further charges.

At this point, you’re going to need to work out approximately how many guests you’ll be inviting to your wedding. The number of guests on your guest list will affect later decisions, such as the venue, catering, transportation and accommodation.

Some couples might prefer to choose their own date or may contact the Priest to confirm auspicious dates before booking a venue. Of course, wedding venues become fully booked very quickly, so you might need to be fairly flexible.

Also make sure if your venue is able to provide a Mandap, as you may need to contact a separate designer to hire this for the ceremony.

It’s always recommended to have three venues in mind when you decide, so you can make a carefully inspected decision on which venue is the best for your special day.

Similar to the wedding venue, priests also become fully booked very quickly, so this is something you’ll want to book as soon as you have booked your venue.

Once the date is chosen and confirmed, you’ll want to send out the ‘Save-the-Date’ to your guests. This is important particularly if you have guests travelling from afar or those who will need to book time off work in advance. The ‘Save-the-Date’ is usually a card, magnet or keepsake that lets your intended guests know of your intention to marry and is sent out prior to the formal invitations.

It’s around now that the bride will want to begin arranging appointments for their hair and makeup. This is the perfect opportunity to liaise with stylists and to try different styles to suit the bride’s sari and lehenga. Wedding hairdressers and makeup artists have a busy schedule so be sure to get in touch as soon as possible to book your preferred Hair & Makeup Artist.

Decoration companies get booked up in advance, so it is advised to not only consider what type of decor you want, but also who can provide it for your big day. You should look at different companies portfolio’s to see how they work and what they offer. Some decor company’s offer the full package - mandap, decor, dj etc whereas some only do mandap and reception decor.

As your wedding plans evolve, you might find that you want changes to your wedding decorations and that’s absolutely fine. Your chosen company should work with you for as long as it takes. Until you’ve created a look that you can’t wait to reveal to your wedding guests.

When applying for a marriage licence, you’ll need to make sure you have all the necessary paperwork and documentation. This includes your passports, birth certificate, a utility bill and details of where and when you intend to get married.

You’ll also need to register with your local registrar to inform them that you intend to marry. This will then follow with several questions about the legitimacy of your relationship. After this, you’ll be added to a list which is made publicly available. This allows any objections to be made before your marriage takes place.

Catering plays an important role in your wedding, as the food can really make your special day stand out. You might also want to consider looking into having live food stations as a personal touch for your guests.

At Ladywood, we have a list of preferred suppliers and wedding caterers who can provide some of the country’s finest foods and exquisite dishes.

Our range of caterers include:

Wedding photographers and videographers play a tremendous part in any wedding day. Being one of the most exciting and important days of your life, your wedding day usually flies by, so you’ll want to ensure you have a photographer and videographer to capture every joyous moment of the occasion.

As photographers and videographers book up fast, you’ll want to do your research and book as soon as you can. Check with your chosen photographer to see if they can meet your requirements. Ladywood Estate is set in the most beautiful surroundings and looks great in aerial videos. If you’re considering hiring a drone videographer, ensure they hold the correct license.

Choose from The Directors Cut, UK Frameworks, Ian Bursill, Stark Weddings, Jai Nandha, for the full list click here.

Now that your guests have had the time to sort out travel arrangements and are aware of the chosen date, you’ll want to begin designing your invites. There are millions of companies out there to choose from which offer beautifully designed wedding invites, so choosing your favourite design can be tricky! You won’t need to send out your invites for a few months, due to changes of plans or further details needing to be confirmed.  

With the wedding plans in progress, you’ll need to begin making decisions on your bridesmaids and bestman/men. This is a big step, as your chosen bridal and groom party will have a huge involvement in the wedding events.

Whilst most brides tend to just have the Mehndi ceremony as their bridal shower, modern-day brides might choose to have an additional bridal shower several months before the wedding in the form of a hen-do. This isn’t keeping in usual tradition, but for the bride, it’s an extra excuse to celebrate the engagement with her female friends and family members, in a modern setting. Also at this point, the groom and his party should begin planning the stag-do.

It wouldn’t be an Asian wedding without fantastic entertainment! Popular live entertainment for Asian weddings includes violinists who play bollywood music, bollywood dancers, harpers or pianists.

Hiring your live entertainment nine months prior to the wedding might seem a little premature, however, the best DJ’s, wedding bands and performers will become fully booked very soon into the year. If your wedding is taking place throughout the wedding season (between May-August) then you’ll want to make sure the live entertainment is sorted earlier on.

Every groom wants to show up on his special day in style. Whether it’s a helicopter, horse and carriage or a luxury wedding car - you’ll want to arrange the transport around eight months in advance. Again, this is due to the popularity of bespoke transport around this time of year. Wedding cars in particular will usually have been booked for every weekend over the summer.

As some of your guests are likely to be travelling from a long distance, ensuring that there are transport options available, along with accomodation and local information is always helpful. You might want to consider booking minibuses, coaches and taxis for your guests, especially if your wedding is in-between more than one venue.

As you’ll be sending out your invitations later on, you may want to provide the guest transport companies with exact numbers in around two/three months time. If you’re getting married at Ladywood Estate, we have a useful page detailing all of the local taxi companies nearby should you want to add this to your invitations.

At this point, you’ll want to get in touch with your chosen florist. Hopefully, by now you’ll have an idea of the overall theme and colour choices you’d like at your wedding. This relates to the flowers you decide to have during your special day, as flowers are the perfect way of incorporating colour into your theme. For the more eco-conscious couple, many are turning to paper flowers which are not only a cheaper option but great for the environment as they can be recycled and more importantly - saved as a reminder of your special day.

If you didn’t exchange rings with your partner during your engagement, now is the best time to shop. Choosing your wedding rings together is an exciting step in preparing to bind your marriage.

The most important moment for any bride and groom-to-be is choosing their outfits for the big day. It’s usually recommended to shop for these around six months before the wedding. You’ll also want to think about the outfits for the Roka, Mehendi, Haldi, Sangeet wedding ceremony and reception.

You’ll need to start thinking about your chosen baker to design your wedding cake. This is a time to taste different varieties of cake and discuss your preferred size, colour, design and ingredients. Rose & Violet Cake Company are Ladywood’s prefered wedding cake designers offering to create your bespoke Wedding Cake.

The honeymoon is a special holiday a newly-wed couple embarks on together to signify and celebrate the beginning of their marriage. With Asian weddings, there are several customs and traditions that take place before and after the wedding, so you’ll most likely want to book your honeymoon to start a few days later.

Now is the best time to get in touch with your chosen photographer for a pre-wedding photoshoot. This is the best opportunity to get to know your wedding photographer to feel comfortable in front of the camera ahead of your big day, as well as capture beautiful images signifying your engagement together.

Around four months before the wedding, you’ll need to commence plans for your Mehndi. If you are having your Mehndi at a separate location to your wedding ceremony, then you’ll need to book with your desired venue.

At this point, you’ll also need to start handing out invitations to your guests to invite them to the Mehndi, as well as organising the food, drinks, photographer and even booking the Mehndi artist. Normally, the Bride has her own henna artist, mainly due to the time it takes to do Bridal design on hands and feet.

Start planning the outfit and getting inspiration from Pinterest, which can give you plenty of unique ideas for your Mehndi.

Around four months before the wedding, you’ll want to send your guests their wedding invitations. It’s also key to keep track of who has and hasn’t confirmed their attendance.

Wedding favours are placed throughout your wedding tables as a way of saying thank you to your guests for attending your special day. Very popular wedding favours you could use include organza bags filled with sweet cultural treats, cookies, chocolates, meringues, scented candles, soaps or tea and coffee.

If you’re planning on leaving the country shortly after becoming wed, you will need to update your passports around now. The name on your passport must match the name you use when you book your travel, so you’ll need to take this into account.

It’s worth remembering that you can change the name on your passport three months before the wedding. The new passport containing your new name will be post-dated, meaning that it cannot be used until after your date of marriage.

If you’ve booked your flights and hotel under your new name, but your passport still has your old name, you might find yourself with several problems.

Now that the wedding is just two months away, you’ll be thinking of which table arrangements you’d like to adorn your wedding tables. Whilst Asian weddings comprise several events over the course of a few days, you should also state which type of ceremony the decor is for, to avoid any confusion.

Typical table decorations at Asian weddings include beautiful lanterns, tree-inspired centrepieces and of course, very colourful and vibrant flowers and decorations. You may also need to order place cards and a large seating plan so your guests know which seat is theirs, or alternatively, you can get creative and make your own.

Music plays a huge part in any wedding, but especially an Asian wedding. If you haven’t done this already, you’ll need to start choosing the music for your wedding. Discuss with your partner which songs you would like to add to the musical itinerary and in which order.

You will need to choose daytime background music, entrance songs for bridesmaids, the groom's entrance and the brides entrance along with their grand reception entrance in the evening.

Whilst you don’t want to over-anticipate every detail of the big day, it is best to be prepared. Once you’ve decided on a ‘first song’, practising your first dance is a good idea. It is a key moment of the wedding day with lots of eyes on the newlywed couple.

It’s now time to create a detailed wedding and reception time plans, along with any other wedding events you have planned. You will also need to consider printing off any literature for your guests, so that they are aware of when each event will take place throughout the days.

Organising the seating plan for your wedding is one of the trickiest steps in planning your Asian wedding, particularly as they tend to have around 500 guests. The wedding party will be easy but arranging where the rest of your nearest and dearest are seated can sometimes be difficult. The best way to choose your seating plan is to not be afraid of changing your mind. Weddings are a time to bring two families together, so a table plan which seats guests together who haven’t met before isn’t a big deal.

With just two weeks to go before the big day, it is recommended to get in touch with your venue, suppliers, and contacts from your transportation hire and entertainment. This will give you peace of mind that everything will be running smoothly.

Make sure that all speeches have been written and that guests who are speaking are aware of when they are giving their speech and which microphone they will be using.

One week before the wedding, arranging to collect your Lehenga, Sari and Sherwani should be on your agenda. This is an exciting day for any bride and groom. It is recommended to have a dress rehearsal after collecting your outfits and accessories.

If the bride is wearing heeled shoes on the wedding day, a top tip is for her to practice walking in her shoes, as she will be wearing them for a long time.

If you’re embarking on your honeymoon shortly after the wedding, you’ll most likely want to pack around now. This is also the best time to pick up any travel essentials which you might need for your trip.

In the days leading up to a wedding, the bride and groom typically schedule time for necessary hair and beauty treatments ahead of the big day. This includes having the final haircut for the couple.

With the guests who are arriving during wedding week, you will need to greet them. This is a sign of respect and is a way of thanking them for their long travels.

Now that the wedding celebrations are well underway, enjoy your Sangeet or Mehndi!