Are you getting married soon and trying to figure out what you need to do after your wedding? We’ve made a list of the top 10 things to include on your post-wedding checklist.
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LEAVE REVIEWS FOR YOUR VENDORS
Wedding vendors rely on reviews from happy clients to help future couples find them. If your vendors knocked it out of the park, make sure to leave five-star reviews on their Google, Facebook, or WeddingWire pages. Doing it right after the wedding means that you’ll have all your happy memories freshest in your mind!
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FREEZE YOUR WEDDING CAKE
This is potentially the most urgent item on your post-wedding checklist. If you want to save part of your wedding cake to eat on your first anniversary (more a sentimental tradition than a culinary one), be sure to freeze it right away. We recommend placing it in a freezer-proof container and labeling it so you can identify it later.
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TAKE INVENTORY & RESELL UNWANTED DECOR
Take an inventory of everything you brought to the venue and make sure you have all of your belongings and that you have returned everything you rented. Especially when friends and family are helping clean up, it’s easy for something that belongs to the venue or another vendor to get swept up and thrown in your car, or for your items to get left behind. Contact your venue as soon as possible to get everything back where it belongs.
Check in with your wedding party too. Very often at the end of the night, things that were once well organized as you were getting ready earlier in the day end up in bags of other bridesmaids or groomsmen. Make sure everyone has the things that belong to them that may have been taken mistakenly by someone else.
And unless you have a specific, concrete plan to reuse it, now is the time to resell or give away any decor you acquired for your wedding. Many couples have good intentions about reusing these items, then end up storing them for years. We recommend letting go of these items now in a local wedding resale group so another couple can benefit from them.
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MAKE A THANK YOU LIST & FINALIZE YOUR REGISTRY
According to traditional wedding etiquette, you have one year to send thank you notes (although that does seem a bit long in the Amazon Prime era). While the thank you notes don’t need to be sent immediately, make sure to open everything and make one central list recording who gave each gift. This will enable you to personalize your thank you notes later. Once you’ve opened your gifts, you’ll want to return duplicate or unwanted items.
This is also a good time to review the items you didn’t receive and purchase anything you still need. You may also want to resell or give away items you’ve upgraded or replaced, or duplicate items if you are combining households.
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CLEAN & PRESERVE YOUR WEDDING DRESS
Many people put off getting their dress cleaned after their wedding, which can lead to stains getting set in and leaving your dress ruined. For this reason, we suggest putting a time on your calendar even before the wedding to choose a cleaner and schedule a time to bring your dress in. Whether you’re selling it or holding on to it as a keepsake, you’ll be glad you did!
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START THE PAPERWORK
If you or your partner is changing your last name, start the process before inertia sets in. First, you’ll likely need certified copies of your marriage license to change your name with the social security office.
You will likely also need to update HR and financial information. For example, now that you’re married, you might choose to file taxes jointly with your partner. Consider talking to HR to adjust the amount withheld from your paycheck. If you plan to get on the same insurance plan, you’ll likely have a certain amount of time after your wedding when you can make that change.
You will probably also want to make other changes to your finances. Consider whether you want to make your partner your beneficiary on life insurance, retirement accounts, and other financial assets. If you have a will, now is the time to update it. If you don’t, now is a great time to make one!
Bonus tip: It might seem romantic to book honeymoon tickets in your married name, but this will cause travel snafus. Be sure to use the legal name that’s on your passport or ID.
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PRESERVE YOUR BOUQUET
Before the wedding, consider whether you want to have a keepsake made from your wedding bouquet. You can press the flowers yourself, or send your bouquet to an artist who can preserve them for display. As a heads up, some of these services need to be reserved before your wedding.
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JOURNAL YOUR FAVORITE MEMORIES
While the day is still fresh in your mind, make a note of your favorite wedding memories. This is a fun way for you and your spouse to reminisce and preserve these memories for years to come.
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GIVE YOURSELF TIME TO REST
This should probably be number one on your post-wedding checklist. Even if you don’t have the time or funds for a full honeymoon right away, take at least a couple of days off before going back to work. Planning and hosting a wedding is exhausting, and you deserve a rest!
With a bit of preparation, we hope this post-wedding checklist helps you get through this time stress-free! If you’re still planning your wedding, read our list of 7 things to do the week before your wedding. And make sure you don’t forget any of the top 25 things brides forget on their wedding day!
Photos by Ameigh Photography, Ashley Paige Photography, Stefanie Kamerman Photography, Meredith Sledge Photography, Maddy Williams Photography, Rebekah J Murray Photography, Emma Anne Photo, Maddy Williams Photography, Toa Heftiba
48 Fields Farm is a Leesburg VA barn wedding venue for celebrations of all sizes.
Our countryside barn and vast fields are peacefully set in the heart of Northern Virginia wine country.
