It’s the week of your wedding! It’s finally here. All that prep and planning is in the past….welcome to the final countdown for the big day! Excitement and nerves are kicking, but don’t forget to take care of a few details – big and small – before the wedding day! To make sure everything goes off without a hitch, keep reading for the ultimate week-of wedding checklist.

Every bride’s planning process is different so take what you need and ditch what doesn’t apply to you! Try to enjoy this time and treasures the moments. This is such a special time in your life, the organization and planning will pay off to make your wedding day “picture perfect”.

A list of things to do the week before the wedding

Confirm with Vendors

There’s no such thing as over-communicating with your vendors when your wedding day is approaching. Whether it’s your florist, baker, DJ, or any other vendor you’re working with, it’s worth sending a quick email or phone call to confirm all the details of the event. This will eliminate any surprises or delays and give you peace of mind that all is on track for the big day!

Unpack Your Dress

If you’ve been storing your dress since your final alterations appointment, the week before the wedding would be a good time to take it out! Whether you’ve been keeping it in a box or garment bag, take it out and identify any areas that need to be steamed to make sure it hangs beautifully on your wedding day. Trying it on to make sure everything is picture perfect ahead of time will make sure any final touches can be handled in advance. Also trying on your shoes with the dress will help you adjust to walking with the dress, especially if you have a train. 

Go Over your Wedding Schedule

Breaking down your entire wedding day into an organized timeline can help to keep everything right on track! To account for any last-minute change of plans, go over the itinerary for the day and make any necessary modifications. Think through the day a few times to avoiding missing any detail.  If you don’t have a day-of coordinator, ask one of your bridesmaids to keep tabs on the timeline to alleviate any extra stress. Or divide out areas of the checklist to share the duties between bridesmaids to minimize the workload. 

Practice Your Vows 

All eyes will be on you at the altar! Take some time to read your vows out loud, whether you’ve written them yourself or will be using the traditional vows. Stand in front of a mirror and practice until you find a steady pace and feel familiar with your words. The more familiar you become with the words the less nervous you will feel. Make sure your partner does the same so both of you can be prepared and relaxed. 

Pick Up The Wedding Rings 

Pick up the wedding bands (don’t forget to give them a cleaning!) and have them ready to hand off to your maid of honor and best man to hold at the altar. Have a safe place to store them before and during the day as to not misplace them

Test Drive Your Wedding Look

It’s smart to do a mini dress-rehearsal to make sure your head-to-toe look is just as you envisioned! Invite your mom or maids over if you think you’ll need help with some of the trickier parts of the dress, like the buttons or corset. Be sure to remove any makeup or jewelry that could possibly damage the dress. This can be a fun way to calm your wedding day nerves when seeing how beautiful you look in your gown.

Break in Your Wedding Shoes 

Your wedding is not the time or place for unwanted pain from your shoes! New shoes can sometimes be slippery (we don’t want any first dance fails) or take some time getting used to walking in! Wear them with socks around your house for a few minutes every day to give them a comfortable stretch and get used to walking in them. Making sure your feet are comfortable goes along way. Pack sparkly flats, sneakers or sandals for later when your feet get tired and you want to dance the night away. 

What to do the week of the wedding

Gather Any Important Items

The last thing you want to worry about on your wedding day is whether or not the caterer got paid or who has the marriage license. Hand off any important documents or checks that might need to be handled on the day of the wedding.

Marriage License

Make sure you have your marriage license with you and gets all the necessary signatures before the night is over. Keep in a safe place and make sure you know who is responsible for putting it there, this will eliminate misplacing the license which can happen when things get hectic.

Wrap Your Gifts

If you’re gifting your bridesmaids a token of appreciation or exchanging gifts with your partner, take time the week-of to wrap them up! Write up any heartfelt notes you might want to share too! Hand-written personal notes mean more than you know. These special touches will show how much you appreciate your bridesmaids and how special they are to you. 

Make Sure Payments are Finalized

Make sure you know when your vendors expect payment. On or before the the wedding day or will they send you an invoice.  If any payments need to be made to your vendors or officiant, trust someone in your bridal party to get those checks to the right people!

Prep the Party’s Outfits

You don’t want to spot any unwanted wrinkles in your wedding photos! Remind your party to prep their day -of outfits with a thorough steaming! Offer any assistance if they need help ahead of time, better to help earlier than the day of the wedding.  Think getting ready robes, bridesmaid dresses, after-party look, and groomsmen attire!

Pack Your Bags 

Take into account all your plans for the wedding weekend and pack thoughtfully and accordingly. Will you be spending a few days in the hotel prior to the wedding? Or need a change of clothes for your after-party? Leaving directly for your honeymoon? Take the time to think through your plans and everything you might need! Make your list and review ahead of time. Having duplicates of makeup and toiletries can help if you pack a travel bag but need these items handy. Knowing that you have everything packed up ahead of time will give you much needed peace of mind. Make sure you think through who will be responsible for your bags and where will they be stored. 

Rest Up

The final piece of your week-of wedding checklist: get all the beauty rest you can – you’ll need it! Planning can be exhausting and you ‘ll want to be well-rested and energized on the big day! Take a deep breath and use this week to practice self-care to keep you calm, cool, and collected!Incorporate yoga, Pilates or meditation into your routine for an extra calming and a healthy glow to your skin. Remind your partner, family and bridesmaids to do the same. Having everyone well rested and relaxed will make the big day much more enjoyable. 

As you enter your final countdown until the wedding, avoid missing any important details with this ultimate week-of wedding checklist! Keep in mind that last-minute changes might happen and that’s ok! Things happen and even with the best planning, there will be something that falls through the cracks. It’s ok!  Don’t let anything cloud your end goal…getting married! Head to davidsbridal.com to shop for any final wedding finishing touches plus head to our Instagram and Pinterest for more inspo!

Featured photo by: @faithandcodyphoto