Now that you’ve said ‘Yes’ to the proposal and have been planning your perfect wedding for months, it’s now come down to the final week before you say ‘I do’. You and your soon-to-be-hubby and other family members have been slogging over the guests’ lists, choice of caterers, venues, bakers, creating song list for the DJ, finalizing the flowers for decoration; the list is endless. But being the bride, you have to make sure that you take extra care during this week because you want to look perfect for everyone, especially for your soon-to-be husband.

There are multiple tips and advice that are given by elders, friends, wedding planners, and other experts. You don’t have to go anywhere as we have created a list of such tips that you can follow to have a relaxed week.

1. Check-in with all the vendors

Even though you have booked all the important vendors months before the wedding day, it is necessary to check with them. Make sure they know the location and the arrival time at the said venue. The caterer should be informed about the guest list and the extra plates that would be served. The DJ should be given the song playlist, finalize the flower that would be used for decoration, contact the car rental company to confirm the pickup time; you should make sure that everything is on track.

2. Confirm the venue logistics

Booking a venue is one of the biggest hassles when planning for your wedding so you obviously do not want any issues arising a few days before your marriage. Call the venue manager and make sure to convey the details of the vendors that will be arriving. Also, provide them with the final guest list so that they can be well prepared.

3. Last Minute Fittings

The bridal dress that you spent years dreaming of and have spent months searching for should now be ready after being altered. Pick up the dress and try it on to make sure that no further changes are required. The dress should be neatly pressed and packed in a garment bag. And don’t forget the shoes! Wear them for a few hours every day so that you get used to wearing them and the shoes adjust to your foot size.

4. Salon and Spa Appointments

You’ve got to be glowing on the day of your marriage and what better way than booking a few massages and spa treatment to get you relaxed. These days there are umpteen bridal packages offered by the salons for you to choose from. The services in these packages start a few months prior but make sure the essential services such as manicure-pedicure or gold facial are kept for this week. Also, go for some relaxing spa treatments or massages  2-3 days before your marriage. However, you should avoid any experimental beauty treatments such as any hair removal lasers, facial peels, or any drastic hair cuts.

5. Honeymoon packing and logistics

While making all the arrangements for the wedding, you surely must have finalized your honeymoon plans. If you’ve decided to leave immediately after the wedding reception, now is the time that you should start packing for this trip. Pack your clothes as per the destination and its weather, keep a few formal wears for a date night, goggles, hats (if going to a sunny place), sneakers or sandals and a few heels, light jewellery, toiletries, and basic makeup kit. Keep your passport and other important travel-related documents ready so that you don’t have to run around your place to look for them. Check your flight schedule, call the hotel to confirm the booking, and keep checking the weather of the place you are traveling to. 

5. Emergency Kit for D-day

You never know what goes wrong on the final day and you should be prepared for some adverse circumstances. Prepare an emergency kit for such situations and keep it handy. The kit can contain a small sewing kit, bandaids, tampons, pain killers, extra makeup essentials, safety pins, hairpins, chocolates, or any other essential that you may think can be useful.

7. Single Point of Contact

You’ll be busy getting dolled up for your wedding and you wouldn’t want the caterer to call you up to ask to have a look at the table setting. All the vendors and event planners should be made aware of the Point of Contact person (POC) in case of any consultation or questions that need to be asked on the wedding day. They should have the POC’s number so that you don’t get extra nervous on top of the usual wedding jitters.

8. Designate a family member to take care of gifts or cash envelopes

A lot of times, the guests directly hand the gifts or cash envelopes to the newlywed couple. Since you are busy attending to the oncoming guests, you can’t take care of all of this by yourself. Assign any one of your trustworthy family members to manage this collection. That way you will be assured of them being safe and being delivered to your home safely.

9. Be ready with the payments

When booking the vendors and venues, you do not pay the lump sum amount at the time of booking. After paying the initial down payment, you decide when the remaining amount will be paid, and generally, for some, the payment is made soon after the ceremony is over. For such cases, you have to make sure that all payment has been kept separately for each of the vendors in a safe place. You can handover these cheques or cash envelopes to a family member or the Point of a Contact person so that they can take care of it post the ceremony.

10. Pack all essentials

As most of the weddings are being held in hotels or resorts these days, it is essential that you pack all your necessary items carefully. Your bag should have a change of clothes for every day you’ll be staying there, all basic makeup items, comfortable shoes, emergency kit, phone charger, etc. You also need to make sure that all the pre-wedding and wedding ceremony-related dresses, jewellery, shoes, makeup have been carefully packed. You would not want to regret leaving any important item of your ensemble back home.

11. Finish off any pending office work

Being a modern bride is very tough. Not only do you have to oversee some of the arrangements of your own marriage, but also make sure that your office work has been well taken care of before you take the leave. If there are any assignments or projects that are pending, finish them off earlier in the week. Or rather, assign them to a colleague whom you trust to finish it on your behalf. You should be as relaxed as possible on the day of your wedding, instead of worrying about completing an assignment.

12. Arrange for help for outstation guests

Ensure that all the guests who are staying at the hotel are comfortable. Checking in with them is important to show your gratitude and care for them. All these guests should be informed about the location of all the functions, their mode of conveyance, and other logistics on time. Assign a person who can be contacted o your behalf for any questions or concerns they may have. If you have made welcome baskets, make sure the concierge of the hotel delivers them on time to the guests on the day of their arrival.

13. Assign someone to handle your social media

Social media has become an integral part of our lives so why not show off some of the beautiful clicks that will be captured during all your functions. Delegate this work to a person who is social media savvy to come up with a hashtag or uploading some pictures on the day of the event. 

14. Sort out any last-minute shopping

Wedding shopping is something that never gets finished even a day before the wedding. Ensure that any final shopping for decoration, costumes, or gifts has been sorted earlier in the week. Ideally, you shouldn’t be venturing out, so once again you can assign a few family members to take up the job.

15. Relax and Eat healthy

Do not forget to keep your mind and body as relaxed as possible. Drink plenty of water, eat healthy food, take out some time to do yoga, get the right amount of sleep, spend some time with your best friends and family members; these are the only things that’ll help you keep afloat once the wedding functions start. 

Follow these tips and I’m sure that you’ll have that perfect wedding that you’ve always wanted. However, you shouldn’t be so involved in all the preparations that you don’t get time for yourself and your close ones. Delegate the work and make sure that everything is going smoothly. Take as much time to spend with your family members and relatives. Make sure that you’re exhausted by the end of the week, you don’t want to miss enjoying your own wedding! We @VenueMonk will be waiting to hear from you about your wedding week schedules and the preparations that you made to organize your dream wedding.