Congratulations! You're married! But, now what?
Don't fret as I have a list of 5 things to do after the wedding so you can enjoy wedding planning just a little longer!First you should congratulate yourselves on successfully completing one of the biggest projects you will ever undertake as a couple! Open a good bottle of wine and slowly look through your wedding photos to reflect on your big day! Now you're ready to tackle the first 5 things to do after the wedding.
1. Share Photos with and Review Your Wedding Vendors
Speaking of photos, remember when you were looking for the right people to help bring your vision together? You probably used their portfolios of past weddings to decide if they fit your wedding vision. Then you probably found reviews from past clients or vendors and they were helpful in making your decision to inquire with them! Vendors rely heavily on these reviews and photos to stay up to date and show growth in our business and creativity. Were your vendors super wonderful? Did they go above and beyond for you? The best way to say thank you is to write a short review and share your photos with them so other engaged couples have something fresh to look through too. Bonus points for surprising them with a review and photos without them asking!
2. Send Your Thank You Notes
It's proper etiquette to have your thank you notes in the mail 8 weeks after the wedding. Yes, it seems like a long time, but believe me, that two months will fly by like you wouldn't believe, especially if you head away on a honeymoon for a few weeks! Why not bring a few cards with you on your honeymoon so you can write them while waiting to board or even during your flight? Or for a fun spin, buy postcards from your honeymoon destination and send those home as thank you cards! While it's nice to include a specific note about the gift received, the thank you note itself is most important and getting them done sooner rather than later will make you feel so much better and your guests feel super loved!
3. Clean Your Dress
Your wedding dress probably went to battle for you on your wedding day and withstood some less than desirable terrain to get those gorgeous wedding photos. Give it a little love back and promptly take it into the cleaner as it is easiest to remove stains when they are fresh. If you take it in right after the wedding, before you depart on honeymoon, it'll be one less thing to do when you get back! Oh, and I have more tips and tricks about professionally cleaning your wedding dress, right over here.
4. Order a Marriage Certificate
Immediately following the ceremony, your officiant will give you something called a Record of Solemnization of Marriage. This can be helpful if you're heading on honeymoon and need to show proof of marriage for that honeymoon package, however, it's not the official legal record of marriage. A Marriage Certificate is a legal proof you are married. Most likely you'll only use it for changing your last name with your bank and any other creditors, etc. but it is also helpful for certain social benefits and settling an estate. Note that before you can get a marriage certificate, your marriage needs to be registered. Your officiant will register the marriage by sending the completed marriage license documents to Service Ontario on your behalf. You won't receive notification that it has been registered so I recommend waiting three months before you request the marriage certificate.
5. Change Your Last Name
It is completely optional to change your last name after the wedding. If you choose to do so, Service Ontario can help you out. The most common option is to assume your spouse's last name. This would change on government documents such as your health card and driver's license. To change your SIN number and birth certificate you would have to legally change your last name. So! Hopefully, I've made it easy for you to start the first 5 things to do after the wedding so you can move onto the fun stuff!