Things to do one week before your wedding!

Things to do one week before your wedding!

Hey, it’s almost time for your wedding and you’re probably feeling a little stressed🤯. Don’t worry! I’ve got you covered with this list of things to do one week before the big day. These are all essentials plus some fun things that will make the last few days go by much more smoothly. Let’s get started with your last-minute wedding checklist!

Prepare the gifts you’re giving.

Wedding gifts 🎁 are typically given to loved ones on the day of the marriage or at your rehearsal dinner. Now’s the time to wrap presents and put them with the rest of the day products for safekeeping. Get together with your bride tribe/groomsmen as your personal event bag creators to make the process go faster.

Organise final payments.

Check for the contract terms from the vendors well before your wedding date! Final payments are typically due during the month leading up to the big day. Personally, I recommend paying your vendors via bank transfer before the wedding day eliminating any risk of losing big wads of cash on the day! More about keeping your wedding vendors sweet later on.

Practice your vows and speeches.

If you don’t finalise your speeches before the ceremony, now is the right time. Practice and read them in your own head at least once before you marry. Even if you plan on vowing with your partner the butterflies could get behind you on the big day. Most people feel more at ease if they have rehearsed their vows the day before if you do not want to remember to do this at the upcoming ceremony.

Assign someone to grab gifts and decorations.

Choose a family member to take the card bag, any wedding gifts the guests brought and any accessories you may want to preserve and take them home for you. Assign this task to someone different and accountable will help you be prepared to bring everything home safely and properly. I have a wedding Cheat Sheet that really helps with this and the other 101 questions you’ll be getting asked as you get ready on the morning of your big day (that you could well do without). There is a link at the end of this blog where you can download it for free.

Try your attire.

Try the dress/suit one last look with your shoes and accessories as a final touch. Take off makeup to prevent the dress from staining or losing its appearance. If possible, have someone else prepare you (with you) on the morning before the wedding to assist with tricky details. When finished packing away your clothes and accessories, put them safely away.

Guys, if you are getting kilted up and used to wearing one great. However, if you are out of practice putting your Scottish attire on and if you are not used to wearing one, put it on around the house for an hour or two so you feel comfortable in it before the big day.

Ladies, if you have Bustles in your dress, make sure you assign one of your bridal tribe the task of clipping these up for you.

If you aren’t sure what Bustles are, click here and book a wee chat with me. Regardless if I’m involved in your wedding or not.

Break-in your shoes.

Your wedding shoe is likely to be brand new and you’ll be wearing them for quite some time on your big day. Wear them at home and test them on different surfaces in different directions. Wearing comfy shoes one day will help. If you are planning any sort of dancing in the evening, bring a spare pair with you- have them at the venue so you don’t have to worry about remembering to bring them with you.

Confirm last-minute RSVPs.

Reach out to late-night stragglers who haven’t told you if they’ll be coming to your wedding. A final headcount will help you prepare how many plates to make, what order to seat them in, which tables are available for guests… The list goes on. Your caterer may well need this ten days before your big day anyway.

Check with your wedding vendors.

This is also a good time to contact your vendor concerning any last-minute details. If you have a wedding planner, that person should definitely handle follow-ups for the vendors. Check-in with them so that your day runs smoothly plus this acts as a gentle reminder to your supplier that your wedding is just around the corner (I’ve heard horror stories of suppliers getting the date wrong…)

My couples have a touch base call about three months before and another one a couple of weeks before. Want to know what’s involved with this, then click here and give me a shout.

Pack for your honeymoon.

Double-check your itinerary of a honeymoon and double-check that you have the necessary documents (passport, identification, confirmation numbers) Double check your itinerary before you go on the honeymoon not as you are on the way to the airport! A word of caution though, don’t let your Best Man anywhere near your suitcases. Loose cornflakes when you open that case will bring a smile to your face but the crumbs get everywhere😲.

Ensure you’re getting enough sleep.

Without a doubt, weddings are full of emotion, adrenaline and more than a few tears. It’s not uncommon, for happy couples to find themselves totally exhausted come early evening. Prepare your body with some early nights before the wedding night.

Plan getting ready.

Decide how long you think it will take you to get ready and then… add another hour! You’ll be glad of the extra time when something crops up on the day and you’ll wish you planned ahead. Your hairdresser or MUA will guide you with this, adding that extra golden hour in though will be sooo worth it.

Make a backup.

If you’re making a speech, make a backup and pop a digital version on your phone. Whilst you are there, record yourself making the speech and watch it back.

Be ok with not everything going to plan.

Don’t beat yourself up with a feeling of guilt if something doesn’t go exactly to plan. It’s very possible that your wedding day will be filled with hilarious moments and memories that you’ll cherish forever. Embrace this fact and you’ll have a fantastic wedding day. Trust in your Bridesmaids and Best Man, they want you to have your best day ever. Use the Cheat Sheet I’ve created (link at the end of this blog) so they know what happens when; who sits where and have important numbers written down. There are loads of what if’s, make use of your wedding suppliers- they will have seen it all be fore and be able to handle when things don’t go to plan.

Plan a surprise for your other half.

Of course, it’s not essential, but if you’ve got all the above in good order, how about planning a little surprise for your other half. Pack his/her suitcase in advance, enclosed is a hand-written letter explaining how much you’re looking forward to spending the rest of your lives together.

Clean the rings.

Bring your rings to a jeweller for professional ring 💍 polishing so that they’ll sparkle even more in the ceremony!

Pack a snack.

Weddings are indeed, super long days so bring along some snacks so you don’t end up feeling like you’re on the verge of passing out. A well-timed mars bar will keep you going at just the right time! 

Victoria Green, a Natural Storytelling Photographer based in Kent has a great blog titled Your Wedding Day Essentials Bag – The Ultimate List. To quote Victoria, “It’s instantly grabbable if anything uneventful happens. Drama over!” Well worth a read once you’re finished my blog.

Set aside time for you both.

Before you know it, the day will have rushed by so it’s important that you make time for yourselves. Make a pact to enjoy the first few moments of your wedding day together with no one else around before you’re being whisked here, there and everywhere for photos, cake cutting and more photos. This could even be as simple as seeing where your wedding breakfast has been set up, before your guests decent on it, or just parking up for five minutes peace on the way to your venue after the ceremony.

Conclusion.

This post has given you some insight into what to do before your big day. Remember, the more time and effort that goes into preparing for it now, the better off you’ll be on your wedding day! You’ve got this – with a little bit of planning today, all those worries will disappear in no time at all.

For my couples, I send them this Blog about 10 days beforehand so these reminders land in plenty of time and, so they tell me reduces their stress levels🤯

With the blog, I send my Wedding Day Cheat Sheet.

Imagine- it’s the morning of your big day.
Your getting ready- MUA, Hairdressers, bubbles😍

And 101 questions on who sits where, taxi numbers for the church, where do the presents go- all this before 9. am 🤯
AND
You know fine it’s going to be like this for the whole day!

You can have a free downloadable version by clicking this link

Wedding Day Cheat Sheet

This gets all the info in one place, printed out and given to those helping you on your big day.