The complete Muslim wedding planning checklist: 12 months to the wedding week

A Muslim wedding in the GTA is rarely a single event. There may be a dholki or two, a mehndi, the nikah, the baraat and the walima, often hosted by two families over a few busy weeks. That is a lot to keep track of, especially in one family group chat.

This checklist breaks it into seven stages, starting a year or more before the wedding. Use it as a guide rather than a rulebook. If your date is closer, start at the top anyway and move through the early items quickly. Most of them still apply.

12 months or more

This is the stage for the big decisions. Almost everything after it depends on them, so take the time to agree on them as a family.

• Agree a total budget as a family. Decide who is contributing and what each side is covering before anyone books anything. Our budget planner can help you see a sensible split.
• Decide which events you’re hosting, and which family hosts each one.
• Choose your season and shortlist dates. Check them against Ramadan, both Eids and any dates your family prefers to avoid. Ramadan moves about eleven days earlier each year, so check the calendar for the year you’re planning.
• Draft a rough guest count for each event. Ask both families for numbers now. Guest count shapes the venue and the budget more than anything else.
• Decide which events will be segregated. Separate halls, one hall with a partition, or separate events. This changes which venues will work, so settle it before you visit any.
• Book your planner or coordinator, ideally before the venue, so the venue suits the plan.
• Shortlist and visit venues. Peak-season Saturdays tend to go first.
• Book venues for your largest events, usually the baraat or reception and the walima.

9 to 12 months

With dates and venues held, book the people who will shape how each event looks and feels.

• Confirm your imam for the nikah. Ask whether they are registered to perform marriages in Ontario. If they are, your nikah can also be your legal marriage, as long as you have a marriage licence.
• Decide where the nikah will take place: a masjid, at home, or at the venue before the baraat or walima.
• Book your photographer and videographer. If you would like women photographers and videographers for the ladies’ side, ask for them now.
• Choose a decor direction and book your decorator. Gather inspiration for each event and settle on a colour palette.
• Shortlist caterers, or check exactly what your hall’s in-house catering includes.
• Agree the walima date, venue and guest count with the groom’s family.
• Start shopping for bridal outfits. Custom bridal wear, especially from overseas, can take several months.
• Book your hair and makeup artist. Bridal artists fill peak Saturdays early.
• Send save-the-dates to family abroad. Overseas guests need time for visas, flights and leave from work.

6 to 9 months

Now the individual events start to take shape, especially the mehndi and the baraat.

• Book your bridal henna artist, and ask about guest henna for the mehndi at the same time.
• Choose a venue and theme for the mehndi. Home, a backyard tent or a hall. Pick colours that work with the outfits.
• Plan your dholki nights: how many, where, and who is hosting each one.
• Book DJ, sound and lighting. For segregated events, plan separate audio for each side.
• Book cars for the bride, groom and family, including comfortable transport for elders.
• Order outfits for the groom and close family. Sherwanis and coordinated family outfits need time for fittings.
• Design your invitations. One card for every event, or separate cards for each family’s events.
• Book catering and attend tastings.
• Turn guest counts into a named guest list. For segregated events, note who will be on the men’s side and who will be on the women’s side.

3 to 6 months

The nikah details belong here, while there is still time to talk them through calmly with both families.

• Agree the mahr between both families, including whether it is given at the nikah or deferred, so it can be written into the nikah contract.
• Choose your nikah witnesses and confirm who will act as wali. Your imam will tell you who can serve.
• Approve decor concepts for each event: stages, florals, entrances and any floor wrapping.
• Plan the floor layout for segregated events. Partitions, entrances, washrooms, and where the bride and groom will sit.
• Plan the baraat entrance: the dhol, the timing, who walks with the groom, and what the hall allows.
• Finalize the walima menu and stage design.
• Book security for large events. Ask whether your venue requires licensed security.
• Order printed invitations and signage.
• Book your hair and makeup trial.
• Arrange hotel rooms for out-of-town guests.

1 to 3 months

Paperwork and timings. This is where the wedding moves from ideas to a schedule.

• Apply for your Ontario marriage licence. You apply at a municipal office, and you will need government ID for both of you. A licence is only valid for a set period after it is issued [TODO_CONFIRM: Ontario marriage licence validity period, believed to be three months], so time your application around the nikah date.
• Confirm the nikah paperwork with your imam: who prepares the nikah contract, what ID to bring, and who signs.
• Send invitations and track RSVPs by event. Many guests will attend some events and not others.
• Book final outfit fittings.
• Draft a run-of-show for each event: arrivals, entrances, speeches, dinner and the rukhsati.
• Share a shot list and a family photo list with your media team. Mention any guests who prefer not to be photographed.
• Decide whether your nikah will be unplugged. If so, add a line to the invitation and plan a sign for the entrance.
• Plan mehndi performances and music, and send song choices to your DJ early.
• Set your bridal henna appointment for a day or two before the event where you want the colour at its deepest. Henna darkens over the day or two after it comes off.
• Give family members their roles: who greets guests, who looks after elders, who keeps the gifts safe.

The final month

Fewer new decisions now. Most of this month is confirming what you have already planned.

• Confirm final guest numbers with the venue and caterer.
• Finish the seating chart for each event, with a separate chart for each side where needed.
• Confirm arrival and setup times with every vendor.
• List the final payments and who in the family is making each one.
• Confirm walima seating and timings with the groom’s family.
• Prepare the mahr, if it is being given at the nikah.
• Order mithai or dates to share once the nikah is done.
• Confirm where you are getting ready, with enough time for hair, makeup and getting-ready photos.
• Pack an emergency kit for each event: safety pins, a small sewing kit, tissues, phone chargers and something to eat.

The week of

Your job this week is to rest and hand things over.

• Have your bridal henna applied, and keep it on as long as you comfortably can.
• Reconfirm the time and place with your imam.
• Pack your marriage licence and ID for the nikah.
• Hand over decor items, favours and gift lists to whoever is managing each venue.
• Steam, pack and label every outfit by event, with its jewellery and shoes.
• Send pickup times and addresses for every car.
• Pack an overnight bag for after the rukhsati.
• Choose one person to take calls for you on each event day.

If your timeline is shorter

Plenty of families plan a beautiful wedding in six months or less. Lock in the venue, the imam and your media team first, since those are the hardest to move. Then work down the list in the same order, doubling up stages where you need to.

The same list lives in our free wedding checklist, where you can tick items off as you go and pick up where you left off. If you would rather hand the whole list to one team, you can plan your wedding with us.