The Wedding Planning List: The Big Day and What Happens Next
On your wedding day there are just a few more things for you to handle, then it is all about enjoying the big day! Your wedding party, parents, wedding coordinator, and anyone else you have put in charge will take care of the final details and payments. Here are the last few things to take care of on the wedding day. There are also some final steps for after the wedding included as well.
Your Wedding Day!
Allow plenty of time to get ready.
You will be thankful you gave yourself the extra time. You can put on three different shades of lipstick or re-apply your eyeliner until it is perfect.
Present parents and each other with gifts.
Show your parents how thankful you are for their help and contribution by presenting them with gifts before the ceremony. Don’t forget to give gifts to each other too!
Give wedding bands to best man and maid of honor to hold during the ceremony.
This is one less thing for you to take care of for the rest of the day. One quick hand off and you will see the rings again when you are getting married!
Give best man the officiant’s fee envelope to be handed off after the ceremony.
Make sure the best man knows this is his responsibility and hand off the officiant’s payment.
Introduce your reception site manager to your consultant or maid of honor.
If any problems or questions arise during the reception the site manager will not need to come to you. Your consultant or maid of honor will handle everything.
Assign family members or attendant to be the photographer’s contact so he/she knows who is who.
This is an important step to remember. If you gave the photographer a list of people you want to make sure you have pictures of and with, they will need to know who is who to get the photos taken for you.
Do the rounds at your wedding – Greet and thank everyone.
There is so much going on it can be hard to talk to everyone. Make a point to go to every table and greet your guests. They will be happy you did.
Post-wedding:
Prearrange for someone to return all rentals.
You will most likely be heading off for your honeymoon, so get this set up in advance.
Preplan for attendants to take the bridal gown for cleaning and return the grooms tux to the rental shop.
You will want to have your gown cleaned right away, and you won’t want extra rental fees for getting the tux back late. Most often a parent, family member, or someone from the wedding party will be happy to return the tux and take your dress to be cleaned.
Write and sent thank you notes to gift-bearing guests and vendors who were especially helpful.
Don’t procrastinate. The sooner you get this taken care of, the better.
Complete your registry and return or exchange any duplicate or unwanted gifts.
After you open all of your gifts you can decide what needs to be exchanged or returned. This is much easier and runs much more smoothly if you do it right away. The longer you wait the more the stock in the stores changes and can make returns or exchanges tricky.
Keep in touch with the photographer / videographer as they work on albums.
Your photographer and videographer hold many of the memories from your wedding day. Keep open communication about the process, when you will receive pictures, and when the final copies will be completed.
Last but not least – enjoy wedded bliss!
You made it! Congratulations on your recent marriage. Enjoy spending time together and experiencing life as a married couple.
Keep an eye out for the other wedding planning steps from Waterfront! Check out the Ultimate Wedding Planning Checklist for a complete list of how to plan your wedding!