With the most exciting time of your life so close, it’s important to develop a simple routine and to-do list to prepare you to look and feel your best self and to ensure that you enjoy your celebration. This will leave you feeling on top of things and organized instead of leaving things until the last minute and stressing. Ten days out, you should make a checklist of the last minute follow-up appointments, people you need to touch base with, personal care and even add a little inspirational note each day to keep grounded. Read below for some key things to remember in preparing all around for your wedding celebration.
Personal Care:
Drink water until you’re sick of it, and then, drink some more. Water increases your metabolism, helps flush out toxins and cellulite and leaves your skin hydrated with a natural glow.
Don’t consume sugary drinks or foods; this leads to bloating, possible headaches and can decrease energy levels.
Use plenty of lotion and moisturizer everywhere. Really, make sure you take care of your beautiful face, elbows, arms, hands, legs and feet.
By all means keep the blood flowing with exercise, but don’t overexert yourself in an effort to drop weight at the last minute. You want to be able to enjoy the days leading up to this, not be exhausted from cardio or weights. The last few days prior to your wedding should strictly be maintaining, toning and losing any bloat you may have.
Go ahead with the tanning and or waxing, but remember, in order to prevent any disastrous effects of tan lines, too orange of a glow or bumps and redness, it’s safest to leave these activities for no closer than four days out from wedding day.
Follow-up Appointments and Tasks:
Look up the requirements to obtain your marriage license; the regulations differ state to state. Also consider the requirements when holding a destination wedding in a foreign country. To legally be wed, a license will need to be acquired at least 72 hours prior to the ceremony. Most licenses expire within 20-90 days of issuance.
Confirm honeymoon plans by checking in ahead of time to online itineraries and flights. Pack your luggage and ensure you have your passports (with color photocopies stored in a separate bag), and make a list of last minute essentials to include in carry-on bags.
The bride and groom should each be sure to break in their wedding shoes. Nothing is worse than having blisters and pain while walking around on such a fun day. Your feet may still be sore for being in the same shoes for so long, so plan on bringing backup options to change into.
Make an appointment for your engagement ring to be cleaned. The wedding bands should also be picked up a few days before and entrusted with someone important, typically the best man, until the ceremony.
Arrange for the final cleanup of the ceremony and reception settings. If you have a wedding coordinator on hand, they will typically arrange these details for you. For example, here at Ellicottville Events, we handle the transportation of decorations from the ceremony to the reception and the teardown of the reception including packing cards, gifts, leftover food and cake for the newlyweds. If there is not a wedding coordinator involved, trusted family and friends can be delegated for these tasks.
Makeup and hair trials are very important and something to not be missed as this is when you tweak last minute details to help you feel comfortable and beautiful on your big day. Some brides choose a more glamorous look, while others prefer to look more natural. Either way, it is up to the bride to communicate to the stylist and makeup artist on these details. These artists should have experience and can help ensure that makeup and hair will last throughout the ceremony and reception for pictures.
Meet with your wedding coordinator within the last week leading up to your wedding to go to your venue for a walk through. This is important to work out any last minute details such as decorations, the order of events, and other logistics.
Meet with your DJ or other hired entertainment to confirm the day of timeline, go over pronunciation of names for those in your bridal party and review acceptable songs to play as well any song requests to stay away from. The DJ is perhaps an overlooked key player attending your wedding. A lively and energetic DJ can help gather excitement for the couple when they are first introduced, get guests on the dance floor and evoke emotions.
Meet with your photographer and confirm the photo lineup and must haves moments that you want to be captured from your day.
About a week out, it is important to confirm the guest list and provide the number of attendees to the caterer. Once this is complete, the seating chart or table arrangements can be finalized.
Practice reading your vows out loud. While many people do not memorize their vows and do have notes to read from, it would be special to lock eyes with your loved one on that day while expressing yourself instead of staring at a sheet of paper.
Check in with the bridal party to ensure they know the event timeline and confirm there are no last minute issues. This is something that can be delegated to the maid/matron of honor and best man to free up the bride and groom.
Create a final vendor list and delegate a trusted family member or friend to coordinate final payments and be a liaison on your behalf. This is a great example of how a wedding coordinator can be of assistance. The team at Ellicottville Events coordinates with every vendor on wedding day to ensure they arrive on time, resolve issues and solve logistic issues if any should arise. This would include delivery of final payments to each vendor.
Pack an emergency kit that includes everything from floss, breath strips, tissues to a sewing kit and band aids. (Plug: Ellicottville Events comes prepared to each wedding with a kit in tow. If working with us, your mind can be at ease knowing we are sure to have the last minute essentials to fix any issue.)
If you need help, don’t be afraid to delegate. This is a way for people who volunteer to assist be a part of the wedding.
Things to Help You Stay Grounded:
Yoga can be an effective tool to center the bride and groom. Yoga helps lower blood pressure, heart rates and stress levels. After practicing, ones mind can often feel more clear, focused and happier.
Clear your mind from unnecessary drama, social media and unwanted stressors. You can never redo this time in your life; do everything you can ahead of time to make it enjoyable. If you need to put certain routines, to-dos, or even relationships on pause until after the celebration, so be it. If something keeps you sane, go for it and implement it in an effort to keep things more peaceful.
Brunch with best friends, dinner alone for solely the bride and groom, or time spent with the bride and grooms’ parents can sometimes be helpful in keeping a couple calm before their wedding. If things seem to be up in the air or extremely stressful, it can be good to take a break and walk away from all aspects of wedding planning, even if for a short while.
If you plan on taking a honeymoon right after your wedding, it could be quite the whirlwind of an adventure. Having a clean house to come back to will ensure that your attention can be on other things and can leave you feeling peaceful, not overwhelmed when returning home. If there is time, declutter and trash any unneeded objects filling your home.
Leave a favorite picture up in sight of you and your love. Find an uncommon place that is sure to catch your eye each day, such as the bathroom mirror to tape up a picture. This is sure to bring a smile to your faces and remind you that in the midst of what seems like chaos, there is a great, simpler reason that this wedding is taking place.
While this is a big and at times overwhelming production, you have worked very hard to make this a special moment in you and your significant other’s lives. Don’t let the stress and seemingly never ending to-do list take away from what really matters: your love for each other.Want to add a caption to this image? Click the Settings icon.
Disclaimer: things will go wrong, not according to plan and important details may fall through. But, if you focus your mindset on enjoying your wedding day, no matter the details, you will be sure to have a great time with your bride/groom.