Your Post Wedding Checklist: 18 Tasks To Do After Your Wedding

Your Post Wedding Checklist: 18 Tasks To Do After Your Wedding - Eternity

Your Post Wedding Checklist: 18 Tasks To Do After Your Wedding

17th September 2023

If you’ve just gotten married, congratulations from the entire team at Eternity! We are so excited for this new chapter of your life.

Whilst the wed-min is over, there’s definitely some post-wedding tasks that you need to complete after your wedding – sooner, rather than later! This comprehensive checklist will ensure you know all the tasks that you need to carry out.

That being said, most of the tasks aren’t extremely urgent, so you definitely want to make sure that you spend your time enjoying newlywed life and enjoy the ‘just married’ feeling!

your ultimate post wedding checklist

Make sure none of your belongings are left in the venue

The likelihood is that you would have been getting ready in the bridal suite / couples honeymoon suite and want to ensure you have all your valuables and items with you. In case anything is left behind, your venue will likely call you, but it’s worth double checking.

Store wedding attire & accessories

Honestly, the most overwhelming task of being a desi bride is the vast amount of clothes, cancan, jewellery & loose items that go into your wedding look! Whilst it can be the most dreaded task on your post-wedding checklist, you want to do this one sooner, rather than later, for a number of reasons.

Firstly, you risk ruining the items of clothing or jewellery if they are kept badly after the event. Crushed cancan or clothing that hasn’t been tidied away properly can make it a total disaster when you go to re-wear it.

Secondly, you want to keep any artificial jewellery in skin-tight boxes, to avoid any rust over time.

Thirdly, any real / fine jewellery should be kept securely in a safe or a locker, for obvious reasons!

Last, but definitely not least, when it comes to your wedding outfits, you want to decide whether you want to keep them, re-sell them, or rent them out. Some incredible brands that work on the sustainability of desi clothing include: Ayrela, Circular Threads, Front Row Ethnic & LikeBrandNew.

Thank you notes

These are a wonderful tradition, which showcase your gratitude to your guests & suppliers, who have been with you through the entire planning process.

Change your name (if applicable)

If you are choosing to change your name, whether it’s a full name change, addition of a middle name, a double barrel, or anything else you may be considering when changing your name; we have partnered with NameSwitch to make your process easier.

NameSwitch believes that a new chapter in your life should be a time of excitement – not drowning in paperwork and procrastination. The average name changer needs to notify over 24 government bodies and companies of their new name! NameSwitch can dramatically reduce your workload and save you roughly 15 hours of time that you would have spent on the admin.

NameSwitch have made it super easy. You simply login to their website, tick their list in choosing exactly who it is you want to notify of your name change and enter your basic details.

Then, in the click of a button, all of your pre-filled letters & forms are instantly accessible for you to access from their secure server. It really is as easy as 1, 2, 3!

As your reward for being a highly valued Eternity member, NameSwitch are offering £5 off each package with the code ETERNITY-FIVE.

Marriage license - store it!

Your marriage/civil partnership certificate is an EXTREMELY important document, one that you often need to present to different authorities throughout your life. You will receive it in the post 2-4 weeks after your legal ceremony. Be sure to file this away safely and take your own digital photocopy, stored somewhere safely, to ensure you have it handy. If are planning to change your name, it’s a good idea to order a few more copies from your local registrar (they cost £11 each) to enable you to send off multiple name-change requests at the same time.

Supplier payments

Whilst we always recommend keeping track of this the week before your wedding, it’s one to always check after your wedding. Ensure that all your supplier payments are made & complete.

Review your suppliers

This little step goes a long way! Suppliers will really benefit by you leaving a review on their desired platform, or on their Eternity profile. Be sure to leave a little message for your suppliers & how they contributed to your memorable day.

Preserve your keepsakes

This is a super special one, that you will definitely cherish. We’ve seen so many beautiful ways to preserve your keepsakes, such as turning your flower bouquet into resin art, or even presenting your bangles & choora in a special frame. Think about what you want to do to with your wedding invites, any spare wedding favours that you saved for yourself, your wedding shoes & so much more.

Wedding photos & videos

So there’s two ways to tackle your wedding photos & videos. If you had a wedding content creator, then sift through all your images and favourite the best ones!

Then, be sure to ask your friends & family to send over any imagery they have.

Lastly, be sure to block a date with your photographer & videographer to understand when your content will be ready. Block this weekend in your diary to ensure you have enough time to shortlist your pictures for any photo frames, albums or canvas.

Policies & legal documents

Be sure to update your insurance policies, work benefits, or legal documents with your marital status. It will be beneficial to try and understand how you want to manage these going forward.

Additionally, have a look at any legal documents, lasting powers of attorney, or wills, to amend them with your marital status.

This includes any updates to bank accounts, financial planning, and all the other adult-ing bits! (If relevant).

Update your number & addresses

Following on from the above, if you have moved home, update your number and addresses on any important documents to ensure everything is up to date.

Take your wedding website down

If you opted for a wedding website, then be sure to take it down if you wish. Some couples definitely leave them up for the memories, but this one is totally up to you.

Make use of your wedding gifts

Controversial opinion, but sort your gifts out into a ‘keep’ and ‘return / exchange’ pile. Honestly, you are bound to receive the odd gift that you don’t love (hopefully with a gift receipt!); so don’t hesitate to return or exchange them within the right number of days.

Also, if you receive any experiences, these often come with an expiry date; so be sure to book these in as soon as possible, before everything gets too busy.

Update your social calendar

A massive aspect of our South Asian culture is the tradition to visit family & friends houses after the wedding. Honestly, this is so beautiful but can be quite overwhelming. Be sure to manage expectations with family members and block dates in advance, to ensure that you aren’t panicking with last-minute dinner requests!

Block time for date night

So many couples say that they struggle to keep up with date night once they are married, so be sure to block some time for this.

Tons of couples talk about the 2, 2, 2 rule: every 2 weeks they go on date night, every 2 months they go on a weekend stay away, and every 2 years they go on a 2 week long holiday.

Understand what works best for you & make time for it.

Update your social media

If you are someone who loves to share your life online with your friends & family, be sure to allocate some time to updating your Facebook & Instagram with your marital status and some beautiful images.

Gifting

This is totally down to you and your partner, and if you wish to gift something to your mum, dad, and siblings to thank them for their help throughout your wedding planning process. A small gesture can go a long way.

Or, why not consider getting something special for your partner?

Get honeymoon ready!

Last, but most definitely not least, get honeymoon ready!

This is your time to sit back, relax, and enjoy your new chapter with your partner. Get your outfits ready, any last-minute bits & bobs, and packing – and get ready to switch off.

Take a look at some fun honeymoon destinations and honeymoon essentials too.