The question’s popped, the ring is on, stars are in your eyes…but now what? With so many tasks to take care of and details to arrange, planning a wedding can seem overwhelming. But, if you give yourself enough time to plan and sort the tasks month by month with a wedding-planning checklist, the job becomes more fun and less stressful.

“By breaking down the year month by month, you are taking on the planning process in bite-size pieces and it will be far less overwhelming,” says Tessa Lyn Brand, the creative visionary behind Tessa Lyn Events. “You can enjoyeach step.” (Trust her! Brand has helped more than 120 brides create the weddings of their dreams.)

The ideal engagement length, in terms of planning, is 12 to 14 months, according to Brand. With a year or more to plan, brides will usually be able to book their venue of choice. That’s not to say you can’t get your dream venue with less time; it just gets trickier, of course, as popular venues book up quickly.