Book your venue. Set a date first. Almost everything else depends on this. Popular Irish venues are typically booked 12 to 24 months in advance for the peak season from May to September. So this is the one step worth rushing.
If you are marrying in Ireland, both a civil ceremony and a religious ceremony that's also legally binding require giving notice to your local HSE Registrar at least three months before the wedding. This notice is a minimum, not a formality, and it applies no matter if you have a church, civil, or humanist ceremony. Put a reminder in as soon as you have a date.
Start enquiring with photographers, videographers, and bands. Photographers for peak-season Saturdays typically book out 12 to 18 months ahead, and in-demand bands even further, 18 to 24 months, so reach out as soon as your date and venue are locked in.
Lock in your ceremony details. For a Catholic ceremony, most parishes require a marriage preparation course booked well ahead. Check with your parish early, as courses fill up fast. For a humanist ceremony, start talking to your celebrant about the structure and readings now, since the celebrant usually writes the ceremony with you over several months.
Confirm catering, get your invitations designed, and start your guest list in earnest. You will need a headcount before you can finalise seating or catering numbers.
Send invitations with an RSVP deadline. Give yourself at least four to six weeks of buffer before you need final numbers for the caterer.
If a chunk of your guests are travelling, sort a hotel room block now, not the month before. Availability and the group rate disappear fast.
This is also a point to start a rough seating draft, even a messy first pass. Awkward groupings will surface while there is still time to solve them.
Confirm your headcount and lock the seating plan. Most venues need numbers two to four weeks out.
If you haven't already, this is your absolute deadline to complete the marriage notification appointment, at least 3 months' notice is a legal minimum, not a guideline. You'll get your Marriage Registration Form (MRF) at that same appointment, often on the spot, and you cannot legally marry without it. Bring it to the ceremony and give it to whoever is solemnising your marriage beforehand.
Chase down any balance payments. Many Irish suppliers invoice deposit-then-balance, with the balance due shortly before the day.
Confirm timings with every supplier directly, not via a group chat. Confirm with the venue, photographer, band, and hotel.
Delegate day-of jobs to people you trust. Have someone manage vendor arrivals and another handle any last-minute questions. That way you are not the point of contact on your wedding day.
One step people miss entirely: for a religious or secular ceremony (civil ceremonies are handled for you), the signed MRF has to be returned to a Civil Registration Service within 1 month of the wedding for the marriage to actually be registered, no certificate without it. Decide now who's taking care of that.
This is what MarryHQ's task checklist is built around. It seeds a working timeline, like this one, automatically from your wedding date, so due dates adjust to how much time you actually have left rather than a generic template.
Tasks, guests, budget, and suppliers in one place, free to start.