It's the final countdown before your happy day. YOU'RE HERE. Cue all the feelings because it's a very exciting time but speaking from experience, I know it can also feel overwhelming and you may not sure what to hit first!
Here's a quick checklist to help you get started:
1. Make sure you have all the gifts ready to go. Those cute gifts you bought to thank your bridesmaids for all their hard work? Be sure to wrap them up and include a nice, personalized note with each. It's nice to get those handwritten notes to the people blessing your day done WEEKS prior to wedding week.
2. Get your detail box ready to go! Don't forget the essentials: Ready for the list?
- Your shoes
- Your perfume
- Your hanger for your dress (bonus points if it’s not plastic)
- Your dress & veil
- Bouquets (& boutonnières)
- Vow books/letter from finance
- Extra florals for flat-lays and detail photos
- Hair accessories / deodorant / any makeup
- Any jewelry you might have / rings
- Bridal robes
- Food for breakfast (eating is essential)
- Invitations
- Gift for your bridesmaids
- Water (stay hydrated friends)
- & a playlist to play some favorite tunes.
3. Reach out to see if your bridesmaids have any last-minute questions and confirm when/where they should meet on the day-of. Bonus points if you can organize a fun ladies brunch or coffee date that week.
4. Make sure that you have all of the signage that you will need for the wedding. This includes table signs, welcome signs, name tags, introduction signs, seating charts or any signs you may need to direct your guests to the reception or ceremony.
5. Make sure you have all your packing done for the week of the wedding/honeymoon! It's nice to lay out the outfits you plan to wear throughout the week for the days leading up towards the wedding day. It's easy to get lost in piles of pajrphenilia if you also plan to move out after your wedding.
6. Sort your decor’ - make sure it’s in boxes ready to go. Lil tip for this: put decor for certain areas of your ceremony & reception in individual boxes and label them. (for example: guest book area, Polaroid table, bridal table, guests table etc) Another idea that helped me was: going ahead and decorating places of wedding that I had an opinion on & taking a photo so when day of set up came I could easily explain to people what I wanted the area to look like. This helped me not feel like I had to be in 32500 places at once!
7. Send the detailed timeline to vendors and the entire wedding party (don’t forget ushers, family that are supposed to be at the rehearsal, guest book attendants, parents of the flower girl and anyone else you’ve asked to have a role on the wedding day).
8. Finalize seating chart & last minute instructions to coordinators.
9. Spend time with your future husband! Your love story is what this day is all about!
10. Rest! Drink lots of water & get plenty of sleep.
The big day is nearly here, and while it’s natural to feel like you have a lot on your plate, but don't forget to take care of yourself! You’ve been busy wedding planning for months and have earned a well-deserved break. Take a deep breath and remember that everything will be just fine. When you’re well-rested, you’ll look and feel your best, which is exactly what you want on your wedding day.
(AND BONUS - don't forget that marriage license!)