THE COUNTDOWN IS ON: THE FINAL WEEKS BEFORE YOUR WEDDING
FEATURING
Wedding days are awesome, and immersing yourself in wedding planning is generally enjoyable overall! However, let’s be honest, there’s no escaping the fact that planning can become stressful and overwhelming, even if you’re having a smaller wedding!
The final weeks of wedding planning
You’ll be given many opinions (hopefully all well intentioned), you’ll be asked multiple questions or “friendly suggestions” will come your way. You’ll be trying to deal with logistics, co-ordinate suppliers / venues / your wedding party / guests. Essentially, you’ll be a project manager and event planner rolled into one, with a good dose of relationship management thrown in for good measure!
Here at WFIL we’re big fans of being prepared so here are our thoughts on those final weeks of planning.
That last week is especially a biggie, the countdown is on and a lot happens in those last few days. Add in the fact that nerves and emotions are running high and it can be a particularly stressful time.
Hopefully our handy hints and tips help you navigate the final weeks and sail through to your wedding day with minimal tension and disruption.
1 – RECONFIRM YOUR WEDDING DAY TIMELINE
Ideally you’d do this a much earlier than a week before, so please don’t leave it to the last minute!
Send a quick check in email to your venue and suppliers, just to make sure that they have all the timings and information they need.
If you’ve got a wedding planner they’ll likely have helped you to pull together a timeline for the day. If you haven’t worked with a planner don’t worry. Your venue coordinator, caterer and photographer can all help guide you here. You’ll want to ensure you’ve left plenty of time for each point of your day. It bears repeating that this should be in place before that final week, so consider this your reminder to get that timeline sorted sooner rather than later!
2 – WHO IS YOUR “GO TO” PERSON?
There’s A LOT going on and it can be mentally and physically exhausting.
This is where your super organised bestie comes in. Make sure you’ve got a designated person (or people!) you can both rely on for support and help. Someone who knows just as much about your day as you do.! They can field any last minute questions from guests and help take some of the strain away from you.
Let your suppliers know who they are too. If they have any questions on the day they can go straight to your go to person without having to run things past you.
3 – GET PACKING!
There will be a number of items you’ll need to make sure are packed and handed over to your venue ahead of the wedding. These are likely to be smaller items like your guestbook, wedding favours, place names etc. Along with any decor that you want to include as part of the venue styling.
This is where lists come in handy! Make a check list of everything you’re providing them and as you pack, tick each item off. That way you don’t need to stress that anything has been forgotten.
The same goes for your overnight bag (if needed) along with making sure you’re organised for your honeymoon if you’re heading away soon after your wedding day.
4 – YOU WILL FEEL LIKE YOU’VE FORGOTTEN SOMETHING
When I (Cat) was a bride I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d forgotten something. I vividly remember driving three hours to our venue with that niggling thought.
I don’t remember the amazing scenery, I don’t recall my young stepsons excitement or the sense of adventure that we all had.
Instead I was going over and over my lists in my head. Had I forgotten to pack something essential? Had I confirmed things with our photographer? Did I have everything the boys would need?!
We hadn’t forgotten anything. But that worry just wouldn’t go away.
Having tick lists really does help here but keep in mind even with those you might still need to fight those feelings, let go and remember to be present in the moment.
5 – EMBRACE THE NERVES!
Well, as much as you can anyway!
Look, wedding planning is a big old task. And you’ve been thinking about and meticulously planning this day for months, maybe even years. Of course you’re going to feel on edge and not quite yourself.
By this final week you and your partner will have invested hours of time, lots of energy and who knows how much money (you do, you’ve made a budget tracker remember!) into this day. It’s so natural to feel tired, nervous, excited, relieved and all manner of emotions. Be kind to yourselves in these last few days. If you have a wobble or need to vent – or overreact! – during this time then get it off your chest then have a big old hug and apologise if you need to.
You’re both human after all. Accept you’re going to be stressed. Just try not to stress about being stressed!
6 – DELEGATE, DELEGATE, DELEGATE!
You cannot possibly do everything in the lead up to your day. That’s a fact.
And even if you think you can, and you somehow manage it, you will feel horrendously stressed and exhausted by the time your day rolls around. Far from ideal!
Start delegating.
If you haven’t booked a wedding planner then your wedding party need to step up. Put out an SOS and they’ll come running to help.
They are your favourite people after all – your go to team, so don’t be afraid to assign them tasks and let them take some of the weight off you – it’s what they are there for.
7 – FINAL FITS
Try on your dress, suit or kilt to make sure that it still fits, you’ve got all your items and accessories and you know where everything is.
Put on those wedding shoes and wear them round the house to break them in. You don’t want blisters or sore feet halfway through your wedding day. It’s a real buzz killer!
Oh, and practice putting on that kilt and everything that comes with it. It’s not everyday wear after all, so make sure you know what to do. YouTube is your friend here if you’re not sure!
8 – DELETE THOSE WEATHER APPS!
We get it, you want decent weather, especially if you’re planning an outdoor ceremony or drinks reception.
But listen to us carefully…
YOU CANNOT CONTROL THE WEATHER!
And, in the words of Elsa, let it go.
It really is that simple. You’ve got enough things to worry about, don’t let the weather be one of them!
What will help here is having a backup plan. Just in case. You might want to brave the weather, and that’s fine. But let’s face it, there’s a difference between planning to stand out in a light shower and then being faced with sideways torrential rain!
Be prepared for all weathers – we’re in Scotland after all – bring umbrellas, sturdy boots, coats, hats, sun cream and all that jazz so you can embrace whatever the day throws at you!
Something will go wrong. It might be a small thing that no one else but you notices. Or your cake might fall over as you cut into it… and yes, that happened to me (Cat)! Did it ruin my day though? Not a chance, I had the absolute best day!
Your wedding day will be as “perfect” as you allow it to be. Even if, or maybe especially if, something goes wrong. I love looking back at my cake cutting photos, my husband and I are laughing, our guests are laughing and the photos capture that feeling.
9 – REMEMBER WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT
You’ll have seen the recent social media trend “almost forgot this is the whole point”. It definitely applies to a wedding day!
We get so caught up in guestlists, decor plans, Pinterest boards, food choices and much more that we forget that the whole point is to get married to that person we love most in the world.
Then, you wake up on the morning of your wedding day, and find that somehow you’ve let go of the whole planning malarkey. This is the time to focus on that beautiful, lifelong commitment you’re about to make to the love of your life.
There’s nothing else you can do. Leave everything to your suppliers and go to people. It’s time to switch off planning mode and enjoy your wedding day. Be in the moment, relax and have the absolute best time.
