A sigh of relief.

A feeling of complete gratitude.

And soaking in the pure wedded bliss. ✨

But then the stress of “post wedding” blues sets in…alright, not quite that quick, but this happy day is gone in a blur and now what? If you have your honeymoon planned, that’s an additional time of rest, relaxation and more happy memories made. After that, comes more to “check off” the wedding list.

Just when you thought all the planning was done. Can I just take a moment to say, stop rushing into POST wedding tasks?

Take the honeymoon.
Spend the time with family that are still around.
Relax with YOUR SPOUSE.
Take it all in.

When everything settles down, there’s a few things that can to be done (or should be). Everything after the wedding really is optional, but sometimes encouraged. For example, writing thank you notes. Do you have to? Absolutely not, but it’s a nice gesture… Same goes for just about everything else on the list, so here we go.

Send Thank You Notes

There’s a whole blog about this. Check it out here. From dos and don’ts to templates. There’s really no right or wrong way – either you send something or you don’t. No judgement, but as stated, it’s a nice way to show your appreciation.

On the same idea, don’t forget to thank your vendors – they helped your day become reality. If you got rave reviews on your flowers, dress or catering, tell them! They appreciate it.

Change Your Name

This one is hard. Not everyone does it, but it’s time consuming if you decide to. If you are changing your name, do yourself a favor and buy the NewlyNamed package or add it to your registry. Check it out here.

If you don’t purchase the NewlyNamed here’s a few thoughts. First off, remember, if you’re changing your name, make sure you don’t do it if you’re traveling out of the country and need your passport – or make sure it’s done in a timely manner. If you need your passport a week or two after your wedding for the honeymoon, it’s best to hold off.

It's very easy to go to your local courthouse and have them help with the paperwork, along with your marriage license. However, the name change document is linked here, too. This will start the process for your social security number and license. Most will have to wait until after you finish this process – for example, credit cards and banks.

Other places you need to connect with to change your name would be the utilities and billing companies, employer, voter registration, post office, past schools/alumni offices.

Compile Photos

The best part – reliving your day over and over through the photos and videos. Start going through the photos and marking some of your favorites. Print a few. Save a few. Send a few.

Take the time to create a photo album immediately, or you won’t do it. It’s important to check with your photographer if the album will be accessible for a length of time or if it will expire, just in case that task gets put off. Plus, these albums and prints are such an easy gift!

Sell, Return and Organize your Things

Don’t put this one off if you rented your items, because that where I come in! Don’t worry about trying to sell your items because that’s a pain. Rent what you can, work with your vendors and make your day efficient so it’s one less thing to think about after your big day.

As for gifts, those need to be organized. Duplicates? Returns? Putting them away? That’s a whole year’s worth of tasks. 😉

Preserve your Bouquet and Dress

You can save these items for ever and ever, did you know? If nothing else, be sure to get your dress dry cleaned. All the drinks, food and dirt from the dance floor is a real disaster for a dress.

Suspended in Time is a vendor out of Des Moines that takes your flowers, dress and more and allows you to keep them in mint condition. heading to a 1-year-old birthday party. No matter what, enjoy the time you’re spending with those around you and don’t overstay your welcome.

Photography by Jen Frieden Photography
Bouquet by The Country Garden Flowers & Gifts

Freeze your Cake

Mixed reviews here, but it’s nostalgic. It’s tradition. It’s exciting, even if the cake tastes freezer burnt and stale. Here’s what The Food Network says about freezing your cake.

Write Reviews

This is a biggie! It seems minuscule, but to vendors like me it means the world. Not only is it heartwarming and such an amazing feeling to hear that you’re pleased with whatever they did, but it’s great marketing. The best marketing is word of mouth and your reviews. Whether it’s directly to the vendor, on their social media or commenting on a blog post 😉 – it’s 2 minutes to write and goes a long way.

Talk Money

The discussion of finances, taxes and insurance should be done before the wedding, but now is the time to take action. Are you combining finances? Are you consolidating your insurance? What about filing jointly or separately on taxes? Start the conversation early and execute as soon as possible, before things get too confusing.

And just like that.. you’re set for life together with your person. The real question, “now what?” You’ve asked that after engagement, after the wedding and now it’s real. What will you do?

Let’s chat and start prepping for that anniversary party? Birthday party?