The most beautiful and stressful day of your life is over. The bittersweet feelings will fade away as soon as you start enjoying your status as newlyweds, but before that can begin, you have to do a few more things. It’s not hard, but you will regret it if you skip almost any of these steps.
Relax and Appreciate The Experience
First things first, you have to take time to relax. Weddings are stressful, but it’s over now. It’s time to start your lives together. Sleep in for a few days, and put your phone on do not disturb mode. Don’t even think about cooking. You need to reserve the days after your wedding for take-out.
Reflect on your wedding day and what a great time you had. Laugh at that one guest that drank too much or the couple who wore matching outfits. Make sure the memories you made stick. Then, refocus on romance and finding your footing in this next step in your relationship. This is your opportunity to go out into the world and reintroduce yourself.
Change Your Name
Speaking of introducing yourselves, if you haven’t done it already, changing your last name can be a long process with a lot of different steps. HitchSwitch can help! Still, you need to start the process to make it official. Changing your name also means you have to change it on your bank accounts, insurance documents, and other legal matters.
Not only do you have to change your name on important documents, but you also get to change your name on social media. Make sure you change your username too. It’s time to shout your new name at the top of your lungs!
Open Presents And Send Thank You Cards
You’ve been patiently waiting to open that massive pile of cards and presents, and now is your chance. This might be the best post-wedding activity you get to do, other than your honeymoon. As you begin opening, it’s a fantastic idea to write down exactly who gave you what as you’re opening the gifts.
Doing this can save you a lot of work and trouble as you start to write your thank you cards. You’ll be very grateful that you kept track of everything you got. It will also help you personalize each thank you card so everyone feels valued.
Honeymoon Preparation
The most stressful task on this list is preparing for your honeymoon. There’s always a lot of pressure surrounding the honeymoon, but there doesn’t have to be. It’s just a vacation that you’re taking with your spouse, and it may become the best vacation of your life. No pressure.
To prep, you need to pack, make last-minute reservations, and purchase any last-minute items and snacks for the plane. Bonus points if you remember to pack matching outfits. Make a list and check it a few times as you’re packing. Oh, and don’t forget your plane tickets.
Next Morning Brunch
The next morning brunch will only apply to you if you plan on seeing people after your wedding, but it’s something everyone should at least consider, especially if you’re having guests from out of town. A brunch is an excellent option for couples who never want the party to end.
You can see everyone one last time before they head home, and you have one more excuse to wear white. It’s a great way to end the celebration. It’s kind of like a closing ceremony, but with mimosas.
Save Your Wedding Treasures
You want to remember your wedding day for the rest of your life, so you have to act quickly once your wedding is over if you want certain things preserved. Your bouquet needs to be saved very soon after the wedding unless you want your flowers dried. You also might want to frame your invitations or repurpose some centerpieces.
This is also the time that you want to get your outfits from the wedding dry cleaned. This is essential if you plan on preserving your dress in any way. Preservation should also occur as soon as possible so nothing else can damage your gown.
Post-Wedding Gear
Post-wedding gear might seem silly to you, but you might regret not wearing it in the future. After your wedding is prime time for the “Mr. & Mrs.” mugs, t-shirts, sweatshirts, and all that good stuff. You don’t have a long time in which you can wear it, so take the opportunity now before a few months go by and you’re no longer fresh newlyweds.
Add the matching shirts to your honeymoon packing list too.
Write Everything Down
You probably gave your guests an opportunity to share their memories of your big day at your wedding or on social media. You can look at your wedding hashtag for their memories, but you should keep track of yours too. Take a journal and write down all of the memories and stand-out moments of the night.
Write out all of those moments with as much detail as possible. Write about what you saw, heard, touched, tasted, and even smelled. Most importantly, write down how you felt. Those are the things that you’ll forget as time passes, but if you write them down while they’re still fresh, you’ll have them forever.
Enjoy Your New Title As Husband And Wife
Finally, it’s time to revel in your newlywed status. Enjoy the time and attention you’re getting. Take advantage of all that people offer you when they hear you just got married. This is your time to shine, and you and your new spouse deserve to bask in the limelight.
Make sure you take photos. Have no shame in asking others to take pictures of you and your spouse on your honeymoon and pay for the one’s resorts and amusement parks take of you. You’ll want more than selfies together. In a few years from now, you’ll thank yourself for taking all of these steps after your wedding.
