After the Wedding Jobs
You’ve said, I do and had an amazing time with family and friends at your reception, but what do you need to do after the wedding?
- First things first, make sure you write your Thank You cards. For gifts received after the wedding the general rule of thumb is that thank-you’s should be sent out within two months. Write a few every evening and you will be surprised how quickly you can get them done.
- Change your name. You will need the original copy of your marriage certificate to do this officially. Make a list of everything that needs changing and work through it think about things like bank accounts, driving license, passport and any utility bills. If you start with your passport and driving license it will make everything else that much easier!
- Did you hire everything in for your wedding or did you provide it all yourselves? Now might be the perfect time to think about selling your centrepieces or other decorations. You could also sell or donate your wedding gown. There are lots of resale or auction sites online to help with this.
- If selling your gown is not for you then you will need to think about preserving it. Wedding gown preservation begins with an experienced specialist’s assessment. The specialist creates a unique treatment plan according to your gowns fabric, stitching and details, and analyses stains along the hem (which are essentially unavoidable on a ground-grazing ensemble like a wedding gown) and entire dress. Whatever the specialist comes up with will give the dress new life without harming the delicate fabric. You gown can then be boxed up and preserved for the future.
- Like your dress, the shoes you walked down the aisle in and the bouquet you held also hold a lot of meaning. You can preserve both of these alongside your gown. To preserve your wedding shoes start by giving them a good cleaning. For cloth shoes, use a gentle cloth and sponge and lightly scrub your shoes with a mild detergent. For leather shoes, give them a polish. If you really did a number on your shoes, you can take them to a dry cleaner. After your shoes are clean, wrap them in white tissue and place them in a box. For bridal bouquets there are a number of different options. You can press, hang, coat the flowers in wax, or use epoxy resin to preserve the blooms. The press and frame option simply flattens a few blooms so they can be displayed in a picture frame alongside photos or your invitation. The dome or shadow box option preserves your bouquet in its original shape and vacuum-seals it inside a glass container.
- Create an album. After the wedding, you’ll need to do the hard work of selecting the photos you want and deciding how you want to preserve them. Start by sorting out the top 20 or 30 that jump out as favourites and weeding out the ones you definitely do not want to include. Then group everything else into categories like getting ready, ceremony, reception and so on. Once you’ve decided what kind of album you want and how many pages it’ll hold, lay out the pictures and keep arranging them until you create a smooth yet dynamic flow that tells a story of the day.
- Last but most definitely not least? Start planning something new to look forward to, like a romantic getaway or dinner party. Invite friends over for a happy hour to christen your new glasses, throw an apres-wedding name change bash or start researching ideas for a one-year anniversary holiday. Soon, you’ll be counting down the days until the next milestone.
See here for ideas of what to do with your wedding dress after the Big Day
