Your Wedding Day is Almost Here, What Are You Forgetting?
The Top 11 Most Commonly Forgotten Items in the Homestretch of Wedding Planning
You’ve spent the last 6-18 months planning your wedding day. From napkin colors and floral choices to cake flavors and wedding party attire, you’ve spent countless hours pulling together the details, and you’ve finally reached the homestretch. You’re heading into the last month before your wedding feeling confident. Decisions have been made, orders have arrived, and details have been confirmed. Then it hits you, that overwhelming feeling that you might be forgetting something, but what could it possibly be?
After hosting, managing, and serving countless successful and unique wedding days, here’s our list of the top 11 things we see overlooked most often in those last few weeks before the big day.
Bride signs her marriage license after her ceremony.
1. The paperwork
There are several documents and paper items that you may want to include, would be helpful for you to have, or may even be required during your wedding weekend. We suggest creating a folder or binder to keep all these items safe and organized for arrival/setup. Make sure to remember your marriage license, proof of event insurance (if required), your vows, day of and/or weekend timeline, floor/décor plans, an invitation suite for detail photos, menus, programs, escort cards, and any thank you cards, final payments, and/or gratuities you wish to give.
2. Wedding Bands
They are small, but they would be devastating to forget. Make sure these are given to a trusted person or are packed into a safe place to ensure they make it to the venue.
3. Confirm final guest count
If you’ve had any last-minute updates to RSVPs, make sure to update your seating chart to reflect the changes and communicate them to the vendors that are impacted. Your wedding planner, caterer, and wedding venue can help make sure the change is accounted for where it matters. (Tip - Don’t forget to include vendor meals in your final count for your caterer!)
TPA Photography
4. The small details
Don’t forget the small details you are planning to include. This might be guestbook details like special pens, extra batteries, film, baskets, etc. Other common items we see forgotten on packing day are cake knives, bridal bouquet charms, jewelry, shoes (or a change of shoes), special hair pieces, cake topper, wedding party or parent cards/gifts, flower girl petals (check to see if your venue has rules about what can be thrown,) card box, dress/suit hangers, and any other little things you wanted to include in your day. Make a list, and make sure these all get packed into a box that is headed to the venue.
5. Service Items
Are you responsible for any service items needed throughout the day/weekend? Double-check who is responsible for providing plates, napkins, flatware, and serving utensils for appetizers, dinner, and dessert. You may also need to who is responsible for bar cups, water cups, ice, and leftover containers as well. If you have any additional events planned for the weekend (i.e., Rehearsal dinner, Sunday brunch, etc.), confirm that service items are covered for those events as well.
TPA Photography
6. Delegate
The decisions have been made, and the day has been planned. It’s time to pass off the day-of duties to a planner, coordinator, event manager, and/or some trusted friends and family so that you can relax and enjoy your wedding day/weekend. Make sure the following jobs are covered so you can remain present;
Decision-maker/point person - Pick someone who you’ve communicated with about your wishes for the day, and make them the contact for vendor and guest questions. If you’ve hired a pro, you should be covered, but it’s not a bad idea to still determine a point person and give their phone number to your hired pro anyway - just in case.
Photo wrangler – Pick a family member or friend who knows everyone and can help grab them when they are needed for photos. Your hired pros can help with this, but they don’t know everyone, and it’s often much more efficient to enlist the help of someone who does.
Phone holder - Hand off your phone to a trusted friend, wedding party member, or family member, and forget it exists. They can keep an eye on it for emergencies or give it to you as needed, but you don’t have to worry about checking it or losing it; just be present and enjoy your day.
Kid wrangler – Having a lot of kids at the wedding? Hire a pro or designate a trusted adult or two to keep an eye on them and help keep them occupied.
Card/gift collector – Create a plan with a trusted individual to collect all cards and gifts from the gift table and secure them somewhere safe.
Set up jobs – Depending on how much time you have to decorate, it may be helpful to delegate specific jobs ahead of time. Place someone in charge of tables, another in charge of making/placing signage, etc.
Someone to distribute final payments/gratuities – This may be your wedding coordinator or a trusted friend/family member. If you have final payments, thank you cards, and/or gratuities you’d like to hand out as your wedding vendors wrap up, consider passing this task off so that you don’t feel the need to remain hyper aware of everyone’s departure times. We suggest pre-making named/sealed envelopes that would be easy for another person to hand off on your behalf.
7. Create an emergency kit
Create a wedding day emergency kit that includes every little thing you or your wedding party might need throughout the day. Include items like deodorant, hairspray, bobby pins, chap stick, Tylenol, fashion tape, lash glue, stain remover, wrinkle remover, Band-Aids, Tums, electrolyte powders, snacks, bug spray, sunblock, safety pins, a sewing kit, etc. You may never need these items, but it’s likely someone will, and they’ll be really glad you had them.
Go a step further and make a little emergency basket for each bathroom. This isn’t necessary, but it is a very nice touch if it’s within budget.
A great bustle can transform your dress from dramatic ceremony train to dancing ready in just moments.
Cawthron Photography
8. Practice your bustle
A great bustle helps you transform your dress from wedding ceremony train to dancing-ready in just moments if you’re prepared. If your wedding dress has a bustle, it’s a good idea to enlist a friend or family member to learn how to help you with it on the day of your wedding. If your bustle is intricate and takes some time to execute, let your coordinator know so they can make a note to remind you to begin the process at a time that makes sense for your timeline.
Practice your vows so your delivery is smooth and the jokes hit just right making your bride laugh, and your daughter hit you with the sideye.
TPA Photography
9. Speeches & Vows
Maybe you wrote them months ago, maybe you started but never finished, or perhaps you have been putting this task off until the last minute. Even if you’re finished writing, we suggest looking over your vows (and thank you speech if giving one) and reading them aloud to a trusted friend or family member to ensure that everything sounds just how you want it to. Additionally, we suggest printing out multiple copies in case you don’t have easy access to a printer during your wedding weekend.
10. Transportation
Ride service availability doesn’t look the same in all locations. While Uber, Lyft, and other related services might be easy to book instantly in some locations, they might be relatively nonexistent in others. Consult with your wedding venue or wedding planner to find out what is available in the area. If needed, hire a shuttle, encourage guests to book rides ahead of time, or share transportation policies, updates, and information with guests via your wedding website.
Bride and Groom share a beautiful moment during an indoor ceremony at New Hampshire wedding venue, Cold Spring Farm.
11. Back-up weather plan
You’ve planned a beautiful outdoor ceremony at a wedding venue with expansive views, but what happens if it rains? Does your wedding venue have a plan in place or an indoor space you can pivot to? Are you required to have rain plan rentals locked in? Have you discussed your preferences with your wedding venue or planner? When does the call to move the ceremony indoors need to be made, and who needs to be contacted to make it? If you plan to ride out a rainy day outside, have you communicated that to your guests so they will arrive prepared for weather? Check out our blog on Rainy Day weddings to see the options you have at Lakes Region wedding venue, Cold Spring Farm.
There is no shortage of details to keep track of on your wedding day, and we hope to help you avoid that dreaded “What am I forgetting?” feeling. At Cold Spring Farm, Lakes Region wedding venue, we provide you with an experienced Event Manager and crew included in your venue fee to coordinate the day for you. They will work with you and your vendor team to ensure they are aware of all the little details and how they can help pull them together for you. Our team will hopefully catch any potential oversights long before your wedding day. Still, if something does come up, they will be your personal crew of besties working hard to make sure it’s remedied before anyone even notices the difference.
Thank you for stopping by our blog today! We use this space to share wedding planning resources, farm updates, and to support other small, locally owned businesses. Supporting small businesses is one of the best ways to support the local community/economy, and we hope that through your wedding planning and beyond, you choose to utilize small local businesses when possible. In an effort to support other small, locally owned wedding venues, we include several in each blog who are also doing the work to support small businesses and share incredible wedding planning resources along the way.
