Wedding Week Checklist

After you've worked so hard to square away all of the details of your wedding for some 8-12 months, it might seem that it's smooth sailing in that final 2 weeks or so. Everything should be locked in at this point, schedules have been created, deposits have been taken care of, etc. However, that last week before the wedding is when all the little tedious and easy-to-forget things pop up. Here is my list from my wedding week (September 2008)...

Tuesday, September 16

Pack for next 4 days & Honeymoon, go down to bay (I had an at-home wedding at my in-laws), PASSPORT!
Make list of who needs to be where at what time
Confirm times with all vendors, what I owe
Confirm #s with rehearsal dinner and caterer
Arrange for transporting of gifts while on honeymoon

Wednesday, September 17

Hair cut 1pm
Shop for Bridesmaids lunch
Go tanning
Finish making wedding favors & place cards
Box up things that need to go to the church vs things that need to go to the reception

Thursday, September 18

Prep/ cook for Bridesmaids lunch
Set up bars
Set out flowers for hair & cake, pick up corsages & boutonnieres (as late as possible to stay fresh- put in fridge immediately)
*I made my own bouquets and centerpieces so I picked up corsages & boutonnieres from a florist and set aside my flowers for cake and hair so I wouldn't forget
Set out all jewelry/ accessories for wedding day

Friday, September 19

Set up for BM lunch 7:30-8:30
Nails 9am
BM lunch 11-2:30
3-4:30 get ready for rehearsal
5-10 rehearsal/dinner
Set out all checks for vendors

Saturday, September 20

Shower, wear button down shirt 8-8:45
Hair appt 9-10
Breakfast 10-11
Dress & makeup 11-12:30
Pictures begin 12:30
Relax and enjoy the day!

All Those Extras

Isn't it the best feeling in the world when you're tallying up the last of those wedding costs and you think "We did it!  We figured out how to squeeze everything into our tiny budget!"...  And then the week of the wedding rolls around and you realize how many little extra costs there are and what they add up to.  Don't let yourself get caught in that web of stress- plan ahead and take note of these extra costs that you might not have thought about...

• Stamps ($0.41 per invitation-- no wait!  You should provide that RSVP envelope stamp for your guests... that's almost an extra dollar per invite!)
• Tips (limo driver, officiant, makeup, hair and nails, catering crew, bartenders)
• Additional Decor (centerpieces for the buffet tables and bar, cake table, etc)
• Vendor Meals (don't forget to feed the photographer, DJ, officiant, etc)
• Bridesmaid Luncheon (it's generally in good taste to throw a little get-together to show your appreciation to your bridesmaids)
• Guest Bags (if you have out of town guests, you could provide little snack/goodie bags, but you should at least provide itineraries for the weekend)
• Alterations (try to work that into the price of the actual dress-- it's generally a good idea to take a package with unlimited alterations, rather than paying for the alterations separately.  You never know how many times they'll need to take it in or let it out!
• Little accessories (ring bearer pillow, flower girl basket & petals, flowers for bride's hair or cake table if using
• Disposable cameras for the guest tables
• Additional prints/ photo albums
• Thank You Notes
• Honeymoon (Obviously you already thought of this one!)

What's Your Priority?

This may seem obvious, but it's really important to prioritize when you're planning a wedding on a budget. Since it can be difficult to know where to start, I thought I'd get the juices flowing and lay out a few decisions to think about. Once you figure out the 2 or 3 most important things to you, the rest of the pieces will kind of fall into place. Start here...

Which is more important to you--
a) the location of the ceremony
b) the location of the reception

If the reception is more important to you, try to have your ceremony right there, if the location allows that. This will cut back on the cost of transportation (limo, shuttles, etc). Vice versa, if you've always dreamed of saying your vows in your family church, try to pick a nearby affordable reception spot.

Point being... be reasonable- you can't have your ceremony in the church you grew up in and then take a limo an hour away to your favorite reception spot on the water.

Which is more important to you--
a) decorations
b) entertainment

If you blow a huge portion of your budget on extravagant flowers, you might consider using an iPod for your wedding entertainment. If you really want your guests to unwind and have a good time, you might make your own bouquets and centerpieces in order to have a really good DJ.

Which is more important to you--
a) food
b) bar

If you want a really nice seafood and steak meal for your guests, you might limit the bar to beer and wine (and limit the variety). If you have a bunch of partiers on your hands, you might focus more on the bar, skip the passed hors d' oeuvres and have a more unconventional meal like Italian style (pastas & salad) or pulled pork (pig roast).