Wedding binder/physical planners?

I have a binder with tabs in it for each vendor and the contract in a clear sheet. Also have various emails sent to the venue, catering company, DJ, etc. My thought is what if something happens to my email and it crashes or something like that. I want to physical copies of stuff in case I need to look back at it.

I have a wedding binder that I bought with like the lists of things that need to be done month by month, just so I don't forget anything. Then I bought a binder at Walmart with the little separating tabs and labeled them ( addresses, dresses, suits, amazon orders, etsy orders, contacts, venue, caterer, dj, you get the hint lol). Everything I have purchased off of amazon or Etsy I print off the receipts and keep them, I typed up and printed off all the addresses, all the contracts are printed up and put under the appropriate tab and I have a blank piece of paper under each vendor tab with the total amount, final payment date and a list of all the payments I had already made. And so on. I'm super OCD lol.

I have one but it’s just a duplicate of everything that’s in my google drive. I don’t find it super useful.

I have a binder with physical copies of all of our contracts, invoices, and timeline so that we can have them on hand the day of the wedding, but other than that, it's not super useful.

I got a binder and pocket dividers for each vendor/category.

I also made my own binder. I have a calendar section, which is redundant for what’s already in my google calendar. I have sections for the different vendors including their contracts and receipts. I also included information on everyone’s outfits and tux rentals. I used it a lot initially, now I barely use it. I’m sure it will be helpful the day of to keep track of everything. If it’s not a huge stress to make one it can be fun to decorate and make it your own!

I didn't have one. I had a small notebook I carried in my purse so I could write things as I thought of them if I wasn't near my computer or phone. But other than that, everything was done on a google sheet or google doc.

I LOVE hard copies, but I'm kind of actively avoiding printing things for our wedding. There's never really a time (with the exception of some work meetings) where I'm without my phone or not near a computer, so our wedding email and google drive have been my go-to's. I'm not worried about Google crashing, and I like that both I and FH can access everything at any time. And it keeps everything current so I don't end up with multiple to-do lists at various degrees of completion. For me, running spreadsheets are the way to go.

Daughter had a hardcopy binder that looked almost identical to Courtney's, where she kept all hard copies, fabric and paper samples, etc. As time went on and she made final decisions, we also had a whole folder of Google docs that allowed us to update and work on stuff in real time. Toward the end, the most critical Google docs were the budget spreadsheet, the guest list/RSVPs/table assignments, and the to-do list. In the last six weeks or so, we shared a master to-do list that probably grew to about 12-15 pages by the week of the wedding. It was organized into dates and events, and we highlighted and color-coded stuff as it was completed. Obviously, daughter has a huge need for structure and organization, but it worked well for us. Every detail was covered and the wedding/reception went perfectly. Her vendors also loved her because she was so organized and detail-oriented. (The week of the wedding she gave her DOC/venue coordinator and MOH thin notebooks with copies of the most important contracts, contact info for all the vendors, etc., with the understanding that unless lightening struck, we trusted them completely to handle anything that came up.)

We didn't have a physical binder and kept all our contracts (and master timeline) in a Google Drive folder that was shared between us and our month-of coordinator. She did show up with a binder though. 😉

I bought "TheKnot" wedding planning binder, it's really cute and helpful. It made me think of a lot of things that hadn't even come to mind; my favorite thing is the page entirely of color swatches where they tell you what color goes best with what to help you choose. I would say they are a little outdated because everything has become paperless, but for me being able to physically write and visualize everything helped me get a grasp on planning.

I also bought TheKnot wedding planner at my local bookstore. I can store all of my information neatly in one place. Sure my Apps can do the same thing but I don’t have to worry about the battery life of my book.

I had a grad school planner (The Happy Planner) that I added an extension pack to. I love it. I saved the planner portion with some other wedding items in a box.

So, I tried doing it without one, then realized I really needed one. I purchased 2 that just werent very helpful because there was no room to personalize anything or make any comments. I bought this one in May off Amazon and my only regret is not buying it sooner!


Sorry for all the pics but when someone asks about a planner I just can't say enough tips stuff about this one. It has tons of space for everything too.

I attached a few pics of mine. Excuse the childlike drawings lol.

I have 2 wedding apps and a wedding planner binder. I need more than just apps. I got mine at Barnes n Noble. They have a decent wedding section.

Google drive has a free wedding planning template on google sheets. It was a great way to have everything in one spot so my husband and I could both be looking at the same time on our laptops. Plus, it was free!

Hey! I bought The Knot’s Wedding Planning binder at the suggestion of a friend who is also currently planning a wedding. It’s helping me get a feel for the ropes since I won’t be hiring a wedding planner. It has good tips in it, a timeline, budgeting spreadsheet, and space for vendor contracts, etc. I got it on amazon.

I really like it because I used to teach and I’m an old school hard copy person. So I have that binder than just a hard copy planner that I use daily but it’s kind of turning into my wedding planning planner.

Hope this helps! If you’re like me and completely lost I would recommend The Knot planner! (: Good luck!