Weddings are one of the most special days in a person’s life, and you want to make sure that everything is perfect. Trying to plan the best wedding possible can be stressful, and because there is so much planning to do, you don’t want to wait until the last minute to try and cover everything.
To help make your planning easier, and to give you an idea of how you should pace yourself, here are five things you need to do in advance and five things to do the day before your wedding.
Five Things to Do Before Your Wedding
Before you get down to the wire, there are some things that you should take care of ASAP. These are things that take the most time and shouldn’t be put on the backburner.
1. Book Your Wedding Venue
Wedding venues are one of the most important decisions that you’ll make when planning your wedding. Putting off booking can lead to you missing out on the venue you want and scrambling to find a suitable one. When looking for the right venue, you’ll want to make sure that it’s accessible to everyone, has the capacity you need, and can provide any other services that you might want on your big day.
For instance, some venues may offer on-site catering, bartender services, or waiters. This can help you to ensure that you cover multiple bases all at one location. Even if on-site catering isn’t provided, some may still provide staff to help serve food and manage a bar. Make sure to ask before booking so that you know everything that you’ll be getting.
Similarly, when booking a venue, you’ll want to make sure that it’s within your budget. Some places may have various packages for wedding parties to choose from that can help you choose a price that works best for you. Look online at the venue’s website or call to learn more about what your prospective venue can offer. Taking care of this well before your wedding day is essential to ensuring that everything goes as smoothly as possible.
2. Get Fit
If you have enough time and you want to improve your level of fitness before your big day, make sure to invest in a gym membership well beforehand. This will give you ample time, depending on when your wedding day is, to get into better shape. Look for weekly fitness classes that can help you target any areas that you want to slim down most. If your fiancee is interested, you could even take the classes together!
If gym classes aren’t for you, you could consider booking dance lessons for you and your fiancee. Many dance studios offer special wedding dance options that help couples coordinate their first dances with a song of their choice. This can not only help you get in shape, but it can help you prepare a first dance for you and your guests to remember.
Depending on how early you start learning a dance, you can even get quite creative with your routine.
3. Meet With Your Dentist
If you’re unsatisfied with your teeth, you should also take the time before your wedding to fix any problem you may have. For instance, if your wedding is a year off, you may be able to start a tooth straightening treatment with Invisalign and finish before your big day. Even if you still need to wear the aligners on your wedding day, they’ll be completely unnoticeable up close or in photos.
If you don’t need straighter teeth or don’t have the time, many dentists also offer teeth whitening treatments that can help give you a pearly white smile. These treatments are perfect for those looking for brighter smiles to show off their joy as they tie the knot.
4. Pick Out Your Dress
Picking out your dress is another step that should be done in advance. However, if you’re working towards getting in shape or losing a few pounds and you have time, you should try and wait until you’re close to the size you want to be. This will enable you to pick the dress you want and stick with it, instead of needing to have it altered before the wedding. That said, you should consider how much time you have before the wedding and make sure to have your dress ready at least a month in advance. Giving a bit of leeway can be helpful, especially if you do end up needing something changed.
5. Get Your Vaccines
While lockdown measures and mask mandates are being eased, that doesn’t mean you should let your guard down. Well, before your wedding day you should be sure to get your Covid vaccines. Doing this early will ensure that you won’t catch anything before your wedding, and you won’t be dealing with any side effects on your big day.
If you’re planning on having a maskless wedding, you should also stipulate that all of your guests are vaccinated before they RSVP. Numerous weddings in 2020 fell victim to outbreaks of the virus, and you don’t want to risk anyone’s health.
Don’t Wait
These five things should be taken care of well before the day of your wedding. If you wait too long, you run the risk of not being able to get everything that you want to be done. This can put a damper on what should be one of the happiest days of your life. While this isn’t everything that needs to be done, these can be five of the most important things that you need to keep in mind.
Things to Do The Day Before Your Wedding
When it comes down to the wire and you have only 24 hours left before you walk down the aisle, there is still prep work to be done. However, this work should be more about adding final touches and taking care of yourself than scrambling to buy floral arrangments or order catering.
1. Confirm Your Vendors
Whether you’re ordering Italian, barbeque, steak and chicken, or Mexican cuisine, you’ll want to call and confirm with your caterers the day before. Similarly, if you’re hiring a DJ, photographer, limo driver, or hair and makeup artist, you’ll want to call and confirm when they need to be there. This can help avoid any mixups or miscommunications that could result in them being late. Don’t assume that everything is good to go. Give them a quick call to confirm so you can have peace of mind.
2. Meet with Your Bridesmaids
Your bridesmaids will act as your support network on the day of your wedding, and they will also be in charge of making sure everything comes together. One of the things to do the day before your wedding is meet with them and make sure that everyone is on the same page. Talk about who is going to cover what, and what details still need to be taken care of the next day. Designate someone to be in charge — preferably someone outside of the bridal party — to oversee making sure that last-minute details are completed.
This person should also be the one to contact any vendors who may be running late and mediate situations to ensure the day runs as smoothly as possible for the bride and groom. This can be a huge responsibility, so make sure that whoever you appoint is committed and willing to give it their all.
3. Wedding Dress and Makeup Check
Another of the things to do the day before your wedding includes doing a trial run of your makeup and making sure your dress and shoes are ready to wear. While some brides try out different makeup styles in advance, if you haven’t, the day before is the perfect time to do so. Work with your makeup artist to nail down the look that you want, and don’t be afraid to ask for something different if you’re not satisfied.
Similarly, you should take this time to practice getting into your dress and walking around. If your shoes are uncomfortable or too slippery, you can get inserts or traction pads to help make them easier to move in. Practice walking on different types of flooring, and see how easy it is to get around while wearing your entire wedding outfit.
4. Get Everything Ready
Make sure that your dress, shoes, and any other outfits are laid out and ready to go for the next day. If you’re going to be heading for your honeymoon right after the reception, make sure to have everything packed and ready. You can even pre-order or pre-make breakfast for the morning so that you’re fueled up and ready to go!
The less you have to do on your wedding day the better. This day is supposed to be about celebrating your love, not stressing out over the little things.
5. Take a Spa Trip
Once you have everything settled, the vendors are confirmed, and your clothing laid out, it’s time to relax. Whether you go by yourself or with your bridesmaids, it can be a great way to relax and rejuvenate before your wedding day.
During your spa trip you can get an eyebrow wax, leg waxing, and a Brazilian wax to help you feel smoother and look your best on your wedding day. You may also consider getting a facial to help clean out your pores and give your skin a brighter, cleaner appearance. While you may not have time for other dermatology-style treatments, such as a chemical peel, a simple facial can go a long way towards making you look and feel your best.
Make a Checklist
If you’re just getting started with your wedding planning, it’s a good idea to make a checklist of everything that you need to take care of. Keep in mind what needs to be done in advance and what you can hold off on until the day before. While some things to do the day before your wedding are minute, they are no less important than those you’ve spent months prepping for. Think of them as added icing on the cake.
You may even benefit from making a checklist of things that need to be done before the wedding, as well as separate lists detailing things to do that day before and the day of. A ‘day of’ list can be especially helpful for the person you’ve designated to be the coordinator. It can help ensure that they know everything that needs to be done and it gives them the ability to check off tasks as they go so that nothing is missed.
Tailor The List For Your Needs
Every bride has their own unique ideas about what their dream wedding should be, and you should always take steps to tailor the list to suit your needs. While these ten things to do are important, they aren’t necessarily universal. For instance, when considering things to do the day before your wedding, you may already have your dress completed, your makeup picked out, and your suitcases packed. You could instead spend the day relaxing with your family or with your bridesmaids so that you feel less stressed out for the big day ahead.
Similarly, some brides may opt to host their weddings at a family home and forego the need to book an outside venue. Work with your fiancee and your bridal party to create a plan that encompasses your needs and your unique ideas.
Don’t Stress the Little Things
Wedding planning can be difficult and stressful, but it’s important not to sweat the little things. Ultimately, the day is a celebration of love between you and your partner. By working together as a team and taking time to plan accordingly, everything will fall into place before you know it.
