A 12-Month Wedding Checklist for Egypt

A year sounds like plenty of time, until the venue you loved turns out to be taken on your date and the photographer you follow is busy until next season. Calm planning is not about doing everything early. It is about doing each thing at the right moment: whatever can only be secured once comes first, and whatever can be bought any time waits.

This checklist assumes a wedding twelve months away. If you have less time, the last section shows how to compress it.

12 to 10 months before: foundations

• Agree the budget and who contributes what from each family. Every later decision rests on that figure.
• Draft a guest list. You do not need every name yet. A rough count per family is enough.
• Pick an approximate date. Check Ramadan, the Eids, school and university exams, and the travel plans of relatives working abroad. Many families wait for the summer holidays so that everyone can attend.
• Visit venues and secure one. The venue is what fixes the date, and summer Thursdays and Fridays go first.
• Decide whether you need a planner. For a large wedding, a busy couple, or a wedding in a governorate you do not live in, a planner saves time and nerves.

9 to 7 months before: the people who cannot be in two places

These vendors work one wedding a day. Latecomers get whoever is free, not whoever is best.

• Photographer and videographer. Watch a complete wedding they have shot, not only the highlights.
• Makeup artist and hairstylist. Reserve the day and agree on a date for the trial.
• The dress. If it is being tailored or designed, start now, because making and fitting take months. Ready-made and rental can wait a little longer.
• DJ or band and the zaffa (the musical procession), unless the venue includes them.
• Begin furnishing the flat in stages, so that spending does not pile up in the final months.

6 to 4 months before: details take shape

• Décor, flowers and the kosha. Agree on colours and the overall look, and ask for photos of past work in your venue if possible.
• Food. If catering comes from outside the venue, choose the caterer and ask for a tasting.
• The groom's suit. Tailoring needs time for at least two fittings.
• Honeymoon. Settle on destination, length and budget, and check passport validity if you are leaving Egypt.
• Henna night. Decide where it will be, what it will look like and who is organising it.
• Outfits for mothers and sisters, and for the children in the procession.

3 months before: paperwork and invitations

• The maazoun (marriage registrar) or the marriage formalities. Ask early which documents are needed and how long they take to prepare. Requirements vary with your circumstances, so do not leave this to the last week.
• Invitations. Approve the design and wording, and finalise the list with names.
• Giveaways. Ordering early leaves time for packing and personalising.
• Rings, and engraving if you want it.
• The cake. Choose design and flavour.
• The car and its decoration.
• Skin and hair care. Any new routine starts now, not days before the wedding.

2 months before

• Send the invitations. Digital ones go out four to six weeks ahead; visits to invite senior relatives in person come before that.
• Makeup and hair trial, with the veil and accessories if you can.
• First dress fitting, in the shoes you will wear on the day.
• Write the running order: arrival, zaffa, first dance, dinner, cake, close.
• Song lists for the DJ: what must be played and what must not.
• Must-have photo list for the photographer: grandmother, university friends, the whole family together.

1 month before

• Confirm numbers by calling those who have not replied, and give the venue and caterer the final count by the agreed deadline.
• Arrange the tables, if seating is assigned.
• Final fitting for dress and suit.
• Review contracts and the remaining payments with their dates.
• Appoint a trusted relative or friend to deal with vendors on the day, so that nobody rings the bride or groom.
• Wear the shoes at home a few times to soften them.

The final week

• Call every vendor to confirm date, address and arrival time. Send everyone the running order and the contact person's number.
• Put remaining payments and tips in envelopes, each labelled with a name.
• Pack an emergency kit: needle and thread, safety pins, tissues, pain relief, plasters, the same lipstick, a phone charger and comfortable shoes for dancing.
• Pack for the honeymoon, with any travel documents.
• Collect the dress and hang it somewhere safe.
• Have the last beauty appointments a few days before, and do not try a new product on your skin this week.
• Sleep. It is not a luxury. It is what shows in the photographs.

On the day

• Eat a proper breakfast and drink enough water. Many couples eat nothing until dinner.
• Hand your phone and the envelopes to your appointed person.
• Start getting ready earlier than seems necessary. Traffic does no one favours.
• After that, simply enjoy it. Whatever is not done by now, nobody but you will notice.

If you have less than a year

Plenty of Egyptian weddings are organised in six months or less, and they go well. The order stays the same. Only the pace changes.

1. First two weeks: budget, guest count, venue.
2. First month: photographer, makeup artist, dress.
3. After that: merge each pair of stages on this list into one.

Be flexible on two things: the day of the week, since midweek dates are easier to find, and the dress, since ready-made or rental is quicker than tailoring.

Common mistakes

• Buying the dress before choosing the venue, then finding it wrong for an outdoor summer wedding.
• Sending invitations before the venue and date are confirmed in writing.
• Leaving everything to the bride. Share out the tasks from day one.
• A crash diet or a dramatic change of look in the last few weeks.
• Having nobody but the couple in charge on the day.

How Gawazy helps

Gawazy brings wedding vendors together in one place, so at each stage you can search the category whose turn has come, compare, and contact the vendor directly. The agreement and the booking are between you and the vendor.

• Wedding venues
• Photography and video
• Beauty and care
• Occasion wear
• Event planners

Save what you like as you go, and you will have a shortlist ready whenever a decision comes due.