As the clock ticks down and your wedding day approaches, the final two weeks before your wedding are both thrilling and critical. It’s time to fine-tune the final details and ensure everything is perfectly in place. Our detailed checklist will guide you through essential tasks like finalizing your guest list, confirming arrangements, and taking care of last-minute touches so you can enjoy the lead-up to your big day with confidence and ease.
From the Archives
By: Denise Schipani
Planning a wedding can be daunting, and the bride-to-be can often get swept by the immense number of decisions and details it takes to plan a wedding in the months leading up to the day. From choosing the perfect venue to the meticulous arrangements of seating charts and guests’ attire, each step is exciting and challenging to the testament of the couple. While early decisions like setting the date and selecting locations set the stage, the months leading up to the big day can be a blend of anticipation and ensuring details are in place. That said, you can make a hectic time smoother, says Leah Ingram, a certified etiquette and protocol consultant and author of “Plan Your Wedding in No Time” (Que, 2005). “Try to avoid procrastinating throughout the planning process,” she advises. “That’ll just make you crazed at a time when you should be wrapping up your wedding plans.”
It’s just the nature of the beast. You get engaged, and toasts, parties, and gifts give way to a flurry of wedding planning. These first-on-the-list items usually have to do with big-picture stuff, like when and where the wedding will take place. Once these big decisions are out of the way, however, many brides are left with a handful of fallow months. While spreading out planning tasks so you’re not left with a heap of things to do at the 14-day-and-counting mark is smart, there are inevitably some things that must wait until that time, such as getting your license and making a final guest headcount.
Are you nearing the homestretch?
Whether you’ve been Miss Organized all along or are just now breaking out pen and paper (and breaking into a cold sweat), you can complete your wedding planning without completely losing your mind. And now, without further ado, here’s what there is to do:
- Make a list…and check it every day. Be as detailed as you have to be, writing down everything from “call caterer” to “pack nail file.” Notes bride Joelle Klein of Denver, “I’m a naturally disorganized person, and I was constantly writing things on a list. The problem I had toward the end was that my list kept getting longer!” That can easily happen as the big day approaches and details, small and large, occur to you. That’s why it’s important to…
- Delegate! Been a one-woman (or, OK, one-couple) planning show until now? Time to share the joy. Bridesmaids, moms, friends, and whoever’s been asking to help should be pulled off the bench. These eager helpers can help make phone calls, write out place cards, assemble and wrap favors, assemble programs, and lots more.
- Take care of business. Changing your name? Call your town or city’s courthouse to find out the process (there is usually a form you can download). Don’t forget to make the change on your driver’s license, passport, social security card, and credit card. Also, change your beneficiaries for investment accounts and insurance. If you (or he) are moving, mail in a change-of-address card at the post office (you can do this online!)
- Make it legal. It would be great if you could get your marriage license any old time in the planning process and check it off your list early on. But in Houston, as in many cities, a marriage license must be purchased at least 72 hours before the wedding and is valid for 90 days from the date the license was issued. Visit the Harris County City Clerk’s office online for more information.
- Get guest-ready. If you are hosting out-of-towners, reconfirm any hotel or transportation arrangements. Assemble gift baskets for hotel rooms (another great task to delegate!)
- Speaking of guests… It’s a pain, but it happens to almost every bride: There are always going to be guests who don’t respond by the RSVP date on your invitation. Someone (you, your groom, or a helpful parent or sibling) has to get on the horn or the computer and nudge an answer out of everyone. Which leads us to…
- Give your caterer a final headcount. This generally needs to be done a week to several days prior to the wedding so that the caterer can order the right amount of food and tally the final bill.
- Double-check attire extras. Your dress is probably top-of-mind, but don’t forget all the other stuff that transforms a gown into a wedding ensemble. If it helps, write it all down, even things you’re sure you couldn’t possibly forget. (I know of a groom who packed all his underwear for his honeymoon and did not have one clean pair on the day of his wedding!) Bring the undergarments you’ll wear for your wedding to your fitting (or try everything on at home if you already have your dress), just to be sure that there are, for instance, no unsightly panty lines under a clingy dress. Tip: walk around in your wedding shoes a few times (inside so they don’t get dirty to avoid big-day blisters.
- Seat ’em. With that final guest list in hand, you can begin the delightful (ha!) task of creating your seating arrangements. Start with the easy tables—parents, aunts and uncles, and close friends in natural groupings (work, college, etc.). Then, gather up the hard-to-place guests (single pals, odd relatives) and sprinkle them throughout. Repeat the process until you’ve got everyone in place.
- Get honeymoon-ready. Call to confirm travel arrangements, pack (or even just pull out the necessary clothes for your destination, if you’ll have time post-wedding to pack), and be sure travel documents are in a safe place.
- Envision the day. Sit down with your fiance, your parents, and your officiant, if possible, and map out the “flow” of the big day. If you can see it unfolding in your head, you may be able to catch and correct potential glitches. When I did this, I suddenly realized that the chapel we would get married in had no foyer, leaving no natural spot for my dad and me to “hide” while guests were seated. We quickly came up with a plan: We’d linger as long as possible in another location that was within walking distance until we got a signal from an usher that everyone was ready.
DON’T FORGET… YOURSELF
It may feel funny to put “pamper myself” on the same to-do list with “assemble favors” and “buy a marriage license.” But in this whirlwind period, you can very easily find yourself unraveling faster than a pair of snagged stockings. So take some time- even half a day here and there- to relax and rejuvenate. Some ideas:
- Date your fiance. Not kidding—most couples are so busy with wedding tasks and wrapping up work projects they forget to spend time together. Even a sneak-away lunch can make you feel more romantic. Say Alyson Helwagen, who got married in Hawaii, “We had a nice, late lunch the day before the wedding, with a couple of glasses of wine. It was very relaxing.”
- Hit the spa. You’re probably planning to do some pre-wedding primping—manicure, pedicure, eyebrow wax, etc. Throw in a massage or reflexology appointment (ahh, your aching feet), and you’ve got a nice half-day, just-for-you package. Bring a friend or sister for support. Do not bring your cell phone.
- Go to the beach. Or the park. Or the woods. Or wherever you feel connected to nature. There’s just something about the outdoors that makes you feel calmer.
- Pick your night-before sleeping spot carefully. If sleeping in your childhood room makes you feel good, do that. But if your family’s going to make you nuts—or worse, keep you up talking all night—forget it. Get a hotel either alone or with a bridesmaid. Or forgo tradition and stay with your fiance. The point is to find a spot where you’ll be allowed to relax and get to sleep early, early, early.
“Two Weeks And Counting: The Final To-Do’s Before The Big Day” Spotlight WiH Partners- Photo: Amy Maddox Photography | Venue: Grand Galvez
Contributing Vendors- Photo: Sean Thomas Photography / Still Miracle Photography / Erika Geirer Photography
