The iVillage wedding planner

The dress
If you have managed to hold back until nine months before the wedding, now is the time to shop for your dress. Book appointments with bridal shops and department stores and try on as many styles and cuts as you can to find out what suits you best. Some bridal shops may not order dresses in for you after the six-month mark, so do this well in advance.

If you're trying to keep the cost down, one idea is to try on different types of dresses in the shops, and when you've found the right style, commission a dressmaker to reproduce the look. It's often cheaper and in the end you'll have a unique dress designed with you in mind.

Book a florist
Flowers are an important part of the day - they define the colour scheme and theme of your wedding. Make sure you find out in advance which flowers will be in season and enlist the help of a reputable florist - a local one that knows the venue often helps. As well as decorative flowers for the venue or church, think about your bouquet, the bridesmaids? posies, any headdresses, corsages and buttonholes.

Order stationery
Have a browse around for invitations that you like the look of and send off for samples. This isn't as simple as it may first seem because as you open the catalogues to browse at the invitations, you will be hit by a whole menage of matching menu cards, orders of services and place cards.

Alternatively you could get a creative friend to design and organise the stationery, and get them printed up independently. Make sure your friend is given plenty of time however, and keep them informed to any changes that may need to be made as your plans progress.

Other things to do nine months before:
If you haven't been to your local council to give notice of marriage now is the time to call your local registrar to arrange a meeting. Also:

• Choose your wedding rings
• Book the men's formal dress for hire
• Order the cake
• Choose the caterer

Six months before

Your guest list
The tradition is to send out invitations six to eight weeks before the wedding, but to be safe there is no harm in sending them out from now. Alternatively, send an email to all your guests asking them to save the date, and send a more formal invitation later on.

Ceremony details
Think about how you want things to run on the day. Think about your vows, the timings and how the venue will look. It's not too early to think about the finer details.

Other things to do six months before:

1. Arrange your honeymoon
2. Sort out bridesmaid dresses
3. Start planning ideas for the hen and stag nights with your head bridesmaid and best man
4. Arrange hotel accommodation for guests