Dovely
Planning a wedding yourself doesn't have to feel overwhelming. This guide follows the natural order of decisions — what to lock down early, what to do once guest responses start coming in, and what to hand off to helpers closer to the day.
6–12 months out: the guest list comes first
Before venues, before invites, before anything else — write down everyone who might be invited. Every other number flows from this one. Dovely's guest list lets you add households, assign sides (Side A / Side B), flag plus-one allowances, note dietary restrictions, and tag travel or city groups from the start.
Import a CSV if you already have a spreadsheet. Once every name is in, run a rough count per event — ceremony, mehendi, reception — so you can make venue decisions with confidence.
4–6 months out: send the save-the-date
Pick a design in the invite studio, drop in your couple names, date, and venue, and share a unique save-the-date link with each guest — by WhatsApp, email, or a printed QR code. Dovely generates a personal link per guest automatically. You don't write 200 messages by hand.
At this stage the RSVP form can stay simple: just a "Noted!" acknowledgement. Save the detailed meal and event questions for the formal invite.
3–4 months out: the formal invite and RSVP window
Upgrade your invite page with full event details, RSVP questions, and a deadline. Good RSVP questions to ask at this stage:
- Which events are you attending? (tick-all-that-apply per event)
- Dietary needs or allergies
- Will you be bringing your plus-one? (only show this to households marked as +1 allowed)
- Are you travelling from outside the city? (triggers accommodation info later)
Set the RSVP deadline in Dovely's reminder settings. The broadcast scheduler can send gentle nudges by WhatsApp or email to guests who haven't replied one week before the deadline, and again two days before.
2–3 months out: budget and vendors
With RSVPs coming in you have real numbers. Open the budget tracker in Dovely and add each vendor category as a line item — catering, flowers, photography, transport, music. Log confirmed quotes, deposits paid, and outstanding balances against each entry. Share the budget view with your partner so neither of you is guessing.
Assign tasks to helpers using the task board. Each task has an owner, a due date, and a status — visible to everyone on your squad. "Confirm shuttle count with driver", "Chase caterer for final menu", "Order welcome bags" — get it out of the chat group and into something trackable.
4–8 weeks out: seating
Once the guest count is final, open the seating planner. Dovely's visual layout lets you draw tables, set capacity, and drag guests in. The built-in conflict checker will flag if you've placed two guests who were marked "do not seat together". Export a print-ready PDF of the table plan and per-table labels once you're happy.
Guests can look up their own seat via a password-gated find-your-seat link — one less thing to print.
1–2 weeks out: final broadcasts and logistics
Use Dovely's broadcast tool to send a final details message to all confirmed guests. Segment by event (only ceremony guests get ceremony venue directions; reception guests get the evening entrance details). This is also when to send shuttle departure times, parking instructions, and dress code reminders.
WhatsApp messages cost 1.9 credits for Indian numbers and 5 credits for international numbers. Top up your wallet before sending to avoid interruption mid-broadcast.
On the day: check-in
Dovely's check-in tool lets a helper scan each guest's QR code — or search by name — at the gate. Attendance is updated in real time. If you're running multiple events on different days, check-in tracks each one separately.
After the wedding: archive and export
Export your final guest list and RSVP data as a CSV from the guest dashboard. Keep a copy somewhere you control — cloud storage, email, or a drive. Dovely retains your data as long as your account is active; see our Privacy Policy for details.