If you’re anything like me, you leave everything until the last minute. Seriously… I could make lists on lists months in advance and still not accomplish 3/4 of it until justttttt before it’s due/has to be done. So, it came at no surprise to me that my husband and I were running around on the day of our rehearsal dinner (day before the wedding) getting things done. I had seen various checklists and was given advice from multiple people on the things I needed to get done and when/how I should do it. Did I listen? NOPE. Well, for most of the things at least.
So now that I’ve been there, done that, I’d like to share a list of my last minute things! My advice to you is to get all of this done as early as possible so that you’re NOT running around the day before your wedding still looking for things!
Pre-Wedding Things
- Hair appointment – a nice trim and gloss two weeks before the wedding will work wonders!
- Nail appointment – don’t forget to book this in advance, and if you can get the works done – spa pedi with parafin wax, upgraded mani… the whole nine!
- Waxing appointments – eyebrow, lips, lady parts, and anything else you need!
- Facial – try to make this appointment about 3 weeks before your big day, just in case.. Also, this is NOT the time to be trying new skin care products/routines/procedures, so if you don’t regularly get them or know how your skin will react, don’t do it!
- MARRIAGE LICENSE! – check your states requirements – you may need to get married within a certain amount of days after getting it but you may also need to wait a few days from getting it to use it, so do your research!
- Any and all things needed for rehearsal dinner/getting ready/day of – i.e. food, pastries, snacks, bottles of water, alcohol – try and get all that as early as possible! The alcohol, water, and packaged snacks can be done well in advance then the day of food – trust me you’ll want something in the room – can be done early in the week on your week of
Day of Wedding Things
- Gifts – this may or may not have been what we were looking for last minute. You’ll need gifts for: both sets of parents on the day of, your bridesmaids, and your groomsmen, and anyone else participating in your ceremony (special readers, grandparents)
- Letters – these cost nothing but time. Write a nice letter to both sets of parents and your fiance. If you’d like to include one for each member of your bridal party, that is nice, too…. we ran out of time LOL
- VOWS – write these early! I wrote them a few weeks in advance & got to practice it so I didn’t lose it on the day of… Dan wrote his the morning of and cried reading them. We got beautiful vow books to write them in, which I highly recommend!
- Rings – don’t forget to pick these up 🙂 take your ring in to get cleaned, too!
- Ring boxes – our amazing photog came with some in her bag of tricks, so we didn’t need to buy them but a nice velvet one in your colors looks great in detail pics!
- Religious/Traditional items – unity candle/sand, ketubah (order this well in advance!!!), kippots/yarmulkes
- Sentimental items – photo broach for bouquet, “in memory of” pictures, something old, new, borrowed, and blue
- Garter – one for you and one if you choose to toss one
- Shapewear – NOT A NECESSITY! If you feel more comfortable in one, great, if not, don’t feel pressured to wear any!
- Dress Hanger – your dress WILL be photographed – so make it pretty! I was gifted the most beautiful hanger from one of my besties with “Mrs. de Oliveira” written in it and coincidentally my MIL bought me one that said “MRS” – both were perfect, as I had two dresses!
- Details – Gather all the details you want shot beforehand so you’re not running around to gather them while you’re doing hair and makeup! I chose my invitation, paper goods (watercolor welcome itinerary/door hanger), my shoes, my jewelry, both our rings, veil, my dress, perfume, and any accessories like a belt or headband. I forgot to add my belt and headband and I’m a bit bummed! We also did not include his shoes – I never really see detail photos of the guys stuff, but it would have been nice to have had his watch, cuff links and shoes in them, too!
- Programs
- Escort Cards – DO YOUR TABLES AS SOON AS YOU GET RSVPS! We waited and then 4 days before the wedding we were rushing around trying to find someone to do them last minute. I, for some reason, thought that I would just do them myself. Don’t do that. Bad idea. Just get them done…
- Ring bearer/Flower girl things – pillow, basket, signs
- Signs – You may want the following: welcome sign, bar with signature drinks, hashtag sign, card table sign, in memory of sign, guest book sign – honestlyyyyyyy if you’re down to the wire these things can 10000% go in the fuck-it-bucket! We had a welcome sign, which I’m not even sure if it was put out, and an in memory sign – the rest I was stressing out about during the last week for no reason – literally ZERO people missed any of those.
- Guest book – this is a great place to get creative! We did vintage Palm Beach postcards and had them put into a vintage suitcase but if you’re doing this last minute, Michael’s is a great place to grab a simple book. But again, this is something no one is going to remember or pay much attn to, so don’t stress about it!
- Card box
- Welcome bags – stuff these as early as you can! We did 2 bottles of water, pack of gum, advil, custom m&m’s with our faces on them, key lime FroPro bars, a hotel room door hanger, and an itinerary/welcome card!
- Favors – if you choose to do favors, don’t forget them 🙂
Miscellaneous
I was so excited to leave for the weekend and had so much other crap, I barely remembered to pack my necessities! Here are some non-wedding-related necessities that sound silly but I wish I would have had a list!
- Face wash
- Toothbrush/toothpaste
- Shampoo/Conditioner
- Hair products/brush
- Clothes for the weekend – pjs, swim suits, cover ups, hang out clothes, rehearsal dinner outfits
- Underwear/Bra
- Medicines or vitamins you take
- Your dress/his tux – we forgot dan’s tux on our first run!
- Shoes for wedding and for weekend
- Static guard
- Lint roller
- Makeup
- Deodorant
- Jewelry/Cuff links
