Mauritanian wedding planning checklist, step by step

What exhausts couples is rarely the cost — it is the ordering: what has to be booked first? This checklist runs on a timeline, furthest out to nearest.

Six months out

• Set the total budget and rough guest count; every later decision depends on both.
• Book the venue. The sought-after halls in Nouakchott go very early.
• Lock the date with both families before paying any deposit.

Three months out

• Book the photographer and the caterer — these two calendars fill fastest.
• Start choosing decoration and flowers.
• Build the real guest list and share it between families.

Two months out

• Book the makeup artist and henna artist, and set the trial date.
• Settle the car rental.
• Begin the lemrsa if you have not already.

One month out

• Send the invitations.
• Confirm every booking in writing: time, duration, what is included.
• Walk the venue one last time: lighting, power, parking.

One week out

• Confirm the final headcount with the caterer.
• Give every supplier the day's run sheet: arrival time, location, who to contact.
• Prepare cash payments if any supplier expects them on the day.

On the day

• Appoint one person to handle suppliers — not the couple.
• Start henna and makeup an hour before the planned time as a buffer.

One last piece of advice

Write every agreement down. Most wedding-day problems trace back to a verbal understanding about arrival times or what the price covered.

Start here

Browse venues and wedding services, or read venue prices in Nouakchott to frame the budget first.