Celebrate National Wedding Planning Day with Our 90-Minute Action Plan
National Wedding Planning Day, celebrated yearly on March 1, was created as a bit of a “reset” for couples in the midst of the wedding planning process. Its intent is to provide an opportunity across one day to regroup, get organized, and reduce stress.
What better way to recognize the holiday than by actually making some progress in your own wedding planning journey? To help you maximize your time, we’ve put together a 90-minute planning sprint that provides actionable items to make the most of the holiday.
The first thing you’ll want to check off your wedding to-do list is getting a quote for wedding insurance. It’s required by many venues before you can put down your deposit and secure the space, and it will also protect any investments for your day. Once you have a policy in place, all your plans will be protected.
What You Will Learn
- What Is National Wedding Planning Day?
- How to Prep for Our National Wedding Planning Day Sprint
- The 90-Minute Wedding Planning Action Plan
- Still Worried about Making Progress with Planning?
- Why Do You Need Wedding Insurance if You’re Just Starting the Wedding Planning Process?
- Wedding Day Plan FAQs
- Get Started Planning Your Big Day with Wedding Insurance
What Is National Wedding Planning Day?
This unofficial holiday was created by The Knot in 2017 to encourage couples to begin or make more progress with wedding planning.
National Wedding Planning Day is always on March 1 (in 2026, it falls on a Sunday). This date was specifically chosen because it’s right at the end of proposal season, which runs from Thanksgiving through Valentine’s Day. It’s not just for newly engaged couples, though. It’s also a great opportunity for those who’ve lagged behind or feel overwhelmed by the planning process to regroup and restart on a productive note.
How to Prep for Our National Wedding Planning Day Sprint
If you want to use our 90-minute wedding planning sprint to jumpstart or restart your planning process on this National Wedding Planning Day, it’s helpful to know these items in advance:
- The month or season when you’d like to have your wedding
- A rough idea of your guest count and who you’d like to invite
- A rough idea of your budget and how much you’d like to spend
- Your top priorities (food, venue, photos, etc.)
- A short list of potential wedding venues
Having these details in the back of your mind before you begin will ensure you get the most value possible from our activity list.
The 90-Minute Wedding Planning Action Plan
Ready to get started? Here’s a step-by-step plan to make the most of your National Wedding Planning Day — and it just takes 90 minutes to complete.
- Set a timer for 90 minutes, sit down with your fiancé, and agree upon your top three wedding priorities.
- Draft a wedding snapshot including potential dates, guest counts, and cities or regions where you might host the wedding.
- Make a venue and vendor shortlist, with five to 10 options for each. In addition to venues for the wedding ceremony and reception, don’t forget the other vendors you may need, such as a wedding photographer, makeup artists, florist, caterer, DJ/musicians, professional wedding planner or day of coordinator, and officiant.
- Begin building a larger wedding planning timeline and to-do checklist — use our wedding day planning timeline as a guide that takes you from setting a budget to getting your marriage license.
- Decide which three tasks you’ll complete in the week ahead, such as scheduling venue tours, putting together a shared spreadsheet for planning, thinking about backup plans, or creating a coordinator checklist.
And you’re done! You’ve just jump-started the planning process.
Tips for Newly Engaged Couples
If you’re newly engaged and just getting started with the planning process, here’s what to focus on for item #5, or picking out three tasks to complete in the week ahead:
- Draft your budget and a rough idea of the guest list
- Start your venue research and begin scheduling tours
- Create a shared wedding planning system such as creating a shared Google Doc or Google Sheet that each of you can update in real-time
Tips for Couples Stalled in the Wedding Planning Process
If you’ve been engaged for a while but have come to an impasse in the planning process, here’s what to focus on for item #5, or picking out three tasks to complete in the week ahead:
- Complete a contract audit: Check all contracts for details on deposits, due dates, and cancellation terms
- Assign who is responsible for each task
- Come up with backup plans for inclement weather, vendor no-show contingencies, illness, etc.
Missed the Holiday?
If March 1 passed you by, it’s okay. Try it the next weekend you have free — getting your planning into gear matters more than the exact day.
Still Worried about Making Progress with Planning?
If you’re still having trouble deciding which tasks you’ll tackle next, consider these ideas:
| Are you… | Then… | Why… |
| Feeling overwhelmed in general? | Identify your three biggest priorities and start working on those first (for example, if catering is a priority, you’d start interviewing potential caterers) |
Identifying your largest priorities provides clarity and puts the elements you’re most excited about front and center |
| Worried your venue will get snapped up? | Request available dates, pricing, and insurance requirements | You want to lock in your venue as quickly as possible as it will dictate many other decisions |
| Worried about spending a lot on deposits at the moment? | Review vendor contracts and deposit requirements before signing on the dotted line; also consider wedding cancellation insurance |
Wedding cancellation insurance will refund your non-refundable deposits in the event your wedding is canceled or a vendor cancels on you |
Why Do You Need Wedding Insurance if You’re Just Starting the Wedding Planning Process?
It’s ideal to purchase wedding insurance as soon in the planning process as possible, as many venues require that you have a wedding liability certificate of insurance in order to lock in your reservation. Additionally, wedding cancellation insurance can protect your non-refundable deposits as soon as you begin booking other vendors.
A wedding insurance policy is often one of the most affordable costs of the entire wedding budget. Plans start at just $125 and you can get your wedding insurance quote in seconds.
BriteCo’s venue-approved coverage applies to up to four wedding events over a five-day period (i.e. the rehearsal, ceremony, reception, and day-after brunch are all covered), and BriteCo even collaborates with wedding planners and venues to offer partner discounts, making comprehensive wedding insurance even more affordable.
Wedding Day Plan FAQs
When Is National Wedding Planning Day?
National Wedding Planning Day is always March 1. In 2026, it falls on a Sunday — the perfect excuse for embarking on a whole day of wedding planning with your spouse-to-be.
What Can We Realistically Accomplish in One Day?
You can get more done in one day than you might think! For example, in one day, you can realistically decide on your wedding priorities, narrow down potential wedding dates, start thinking about budget and guest list, and begin compiling a list of potential vendors you might like to work with. From there, you can begin sketching out how you’ll get everything else done in the months ahead.
Do I Need a Wedding Planner to Start Wedding Planning?
No, you do not need a wedding planner in order to start wedding planning — and you may not even need one at all! However, if you do anticipate working with a planner at some point, consider holding off on booking your vendors and venue until you’ve signed with a planner. They may be able to bring crucial insights to the process including wedding day logistics and wedding venue logistics — and they may be able to score you a good deal!
What Needs to Be in a Wedding Day Schedule?
You’ll want to include the entire wedding day timeline, from the early prep (such as dressing in the wedding attire with the wedding party) to the final moment you leave the reception. This timeline might include the hair and makeup schedule, the complete photo shot list (getting ready photos, pre-ceremony photos, immediate family photos, first look photos, bride and groom portraits, and all the other intimate moments), as well as the ceremony start time, the cocktail hour, and the reception. The reception may also have its own itinerary.
What Should Be in a Wedding Reception Itinerary?
To make a sample wedding timeline for the reception, think of all the activities during the celebration and leave enough buffer time for each one. Be sure to include the bridal party entrance, first dance, parent dances, the dinner service timeline, toasts, wedding cake cutting, and last dance.
Get Started Planning Your Big Day with Wedding Insurance
As you start to identify your top three wedding priorities, make getting a wedding insurance quote one of them! BriteCo plans start at $125, making it an affordable investment that will set you up for success with the rest of your wedding planning. In fact, many venues will need a certificate of insurance to book your big day.
BriteCo’s policies protect you against costs arising from accidental damages to the venue and any medical costs due to injuries. Policies also include host liquor liability coverage for automatic protection from the risks of serving alcohol at your wedding. This ensures the policy purchaser (e.g. you or your parents) is not liable.
Related Articles:
How to Postpone a Wedding Due to a Natural Disaster
Protecting Wedding Deposits When Canceling a Wedding
How to Get Married in Vegas
Affordable Wedding Insurance: More Coverage, Less Cost!
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