What to Do After You've Said "I Do"
Congratulations, you’re finally married. All the months of planning out every aspect of your day down to the smallest detail has finally come together perfectly. You said “I do” and celebrated with your loved ones. While I’m sure some of you are glad it’s over and are enjoying the slower pace but I’m guessing there are others that are feeling a little down now that there is less to look forward to. Well, there may actually be a few things you still need to do. Today I’ve compiled a list of things to do after you wedding in the days, weeks and months after your wedding.
Pay and Review Your Vendors
This may seem obvious but as a vendor that’s been “stiffed” after a couple gets married, it’s one to make sure you’ve taken care of. Your vendors (hopefully) did an amazing job to make sure your day was perfect, so you want to make sure you’ve fulfilled your promise to them by paying them. Also be sure to get written confirmation from each vendor that the final payment has been processed. Also be sure to review your vendors. This is an extra special way to return the favor to them for doing such an amazing job on your special day.
Take Down your Wedding Website and Registry
If you are paying to host your wedding website, this is especially important so you don’t continue to pay for it when it renews. This is also good for privacy so it no longer comes up in searches.
Preserve Special Mementos from Your Day
Beyond just the photos and video, there may be certain elements from your day that you’ll want to preserve.
- It’s long been a tradition to save the top layer of the wedding cake to enjoy on your first anniversary. Make sure your cake vendor knows your plans and assign someone before the big day to be in charge of preserving the cake. If you’re not loving the idea of eating a year-old cake, you can simply save the cake topper instead of a portion of the cake.
- Another common piece from the wedding day that couples preserve is the bridal bouquet. You can opt to dry out just a few petals or blooms or have the entire bouquet preserved. Hint: Many brides have a special, smaller bouquet they use to toss to guests so that they can keep their bridal bouquet for themselves.
- Clean and preserve your gown. This can be done through a reputable dry cleaner but be sure they specialize in this sort of thing. They can also have your gown preserved after it has been cleaned.
Be Sure to Say Thank You
As soon after your wedding as possible you’ll want to write and send out those thank you cards to everyone that gave you gifts or helped in some way to make your day the perfect event that it was.
Return or Exchange Unwanted Gifts
Even if you took time to prepare the perfect wedding registry, you may still end up with duplicate items or things that you just don’t want. As guilty as this may make you feel, you just have to deal with it. Speaking from experience, B and I had a registry and still ended up with more than one duplicate and even triples of some items! There is no point in keeping three stock pots or roasters!
Create a Wedding Album
Many photographers aren’t offering traditional albums anymore or they charge extra for them. Sure, it’s fun to share photos on social media but for longevity, you will likely want something physical to enjoy years down the road. Take time with your new spouse to sit down and pick out the photos you want and then order an album that you’ll have for years to come.
Sell Your Stuff
Now that the wedding day is over, it’s time to deal with all the decorations and stuff. Return anything you bought and didn’t use and for everyone else you don’t want to keep, clean it up, take photos and list it in a Facebook resale group or on Craigslist or Ebay. There are lots of brides out there looking for wedding decor for their own wedding that will be more than happy to pay you to buy your stuff. It just takes a little time to get it all listed.
Change Your Name
If you’ll be changing your name, start with getting a new Social Security Card. Visit ssa.gov to fill out the application and see where you need to send your information. Once you have your new social security card, it’s time to change your driver’s license. Visit your local DMV and be sure to take along any for of ID you have including that new social security card. (Pennsylvania Link)
Now that the two biggies are taken care of, it’s time to change everything else:
- Bank Accounts – be sure to get new cards, checks, etc.
- You and your spouse’s employer information
- Insurance providers
- IRS
- Credit Card providers
- Medical Providers
- Passport
- Student Loan providers
- Utilities
- Voter Registration
- Post Office
Plan Something New
If you are still feeling down like you have nothing to look forward to now, plan something. Invite your parents over for a home cooked meal and use your new dinnerware. Invite your friends over for a happy hour to show off your new bar ware. Give yourself something to look forward to again and have fun.
Planning a wedding takes time and effort and often couples feel lost when it’s over because they don’t know what to do next. If you’re feeling a little blue or just don’t know what to do next, it is my hope that now you have an idea of where to get started.
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