Planning for after your wedding day: What you need to know

All the months and months of planning, and what now? Here are a few of the things that should be done when planning for after your wedding day. Some of them might seem obvious, but others I didn’t really think of until it was too late. I hope this post can help you make some post-celebration preparations.

Get dress (and suit if you bought one) dry-cleaned

This one was a must for us! My dress was a bit dirty around the hem from the mud. Justin’s suit jacket had an odd smell after the dew settled on it. Sending things to the cleaners was super important to us. My mom was a big help in this department. She drove us to the airport for our honeymoon and we left our wedding clothes with her. She then took them to the cleaners for us. Don’t be afraid to delegate to someone you trust so you can get those clothes taken care of as soon as possible. 

Open gifts and start on thank you cards

I know this is obvious, but etiquette states you have three months to get this done. We created a Google Sheets spreadsheet of all the gifts we received as wedding presents. We then used a photo from our wedding to create a postcard for our thank you notes. It had been exactly 6 weeks after our wedding that we received more than our one sneak peek photo – so that left us 6 weeks to get all the thank you notes out.

Have a plan for your flowers

This one! We had no idea what to do with all of our gorgeous table decorations after the ceremony. Many nursing homes or assisted living facilities would love to have your flowers after the wedding. (You might check beforehand what their procedures are with COVID regulations.) We wished we had some kind of plan for what to do with all of our amazing arrangements before we were suddenly cleaning up on Sunday with no clue about what to do.

Create a memento from programs and invites

The little things from the day are all a part of the larger story, and finding some way to display those is a great way to remember your big day. Scrapbook, shadowbox, or even just a memento box where you keep everything in one place can be nice. 

Review your wedding vendors

While not necessary, many vendors really appreciate this. Reviews are a great way to show your appreciation and they help your vendors book future clients. When you consider buying something or hiring someone, you almost always read the reviews. So do other potential clients, and vendors really appreciate when they get new reviews.

Order an album or photos

I love the photos from our wedding. We have an album to tell the story of our day, and 8 canvases to make a gallery wall in our living room. Plus, I printed a ChatBook from the photos I took that day. 🙂 Because yes, I carried my camera around at my wedding reception.

Wanna save planning for after your wedding day for later?! Pin the image below!! 📌

VENDORS

HOST | ASHLEY ICE PHOTOGRAPHY

VENUE | THE VINTAGE HOUSE

EVENT PLANNER | THIRTYONE:THIRTY EVENTS & DESIGNS

FLORIST | ADORN FLORAL DESIGN

CAKE/SWEETS | CRUMBS AND CONFECTIONS LLC

COTTON CANDY | COTTONTALE KC

HAIR STYLIST | MAE DAY STUDIO

MAKE UP ARTIST | SHANI ANDERSON OVERFELT

STATIONARY | THE INK CAFE

GOWN | GOWN GALLERY

DESIGNER | OLHA POTAPENKO

BRIDESMAID DRESSES | BELLA BRIDESMAIDS

TUX | MIA’S BRIDAL

VEILS & CUFFLINKS | OVER THE MOON BRIDAL

JEWELRY | HAPPILY EVER BORROWED

BRIDE | KELSEY MURPHY

GROOM | SHANNEN MCCRAY

BRIDESMAIDS | JASMINE, TONYA AND KENZIE 

Planning for after your wedding day originally published November 10, 2017 as “Things to do after your wedding.”