So my wedding is a couple of months away and I need some last minute advice...

Question

First I want to know what last minute things I need to plan for or prepare for. We have most done, but I know there will be stuff I will forget.

Second, what do I need to plan out for the rehearsal dinner, I know not everyone literally does a rehearsal, but I want to run it through and I need some advice on how it is suppose to go.

I guess Third, just what to plan for, I know things will happen and things won't happen, I guess I just want some personal experiences, what didn't you think of till the last minute, what went wrong, that kind of stuff. Sorry I know that is alot, but I am freaking out alittle and I need some advice. Thanks!!

Answer 1

My advice? Relax, it sounds like its all going really well! ( =

The Knot has a great checklist of things to do, try checking that and making sure everything is done in a timely fashion. Making a schedule for the day of and giving it to the BM is helpful too.

As for the rehearsal dinner, your officiant should be there to help you through it. No worries!

Good luck ( =

Answer 2

first off...take a deep breath and chill. things will go wrong and nothing will work out perfectly accept that now and remember the important thing is getting married to the man you love. those horrible things that happen that you think will leave horrible memories of your wedding will more than likely end up being a fun story for later on or maybe you won't even remember them at all.

advice to help you out on things you will need.. make sure that you take some mouth wash toothpaste/toothbrush, or mints

take extra makeup if you doing it before you get to the wedding location especially mascara, eyeliner, lipstick, and powder.

a small sewing kit or at the very least some safety pins for unexpected issues.

bandaids or a small first aid kit (along with tylenol) is very helpful for blisters from shoes to cuts from thorns or pins on dresses and flowers to headache meds for all those tears

you may want to take a comfy pair of flipflops or flats if you will be having a long reception with dancing too.  

Answer 3

I agree wholeheartedly with the first post.

Beyond that, I've heard that it's good to have the following taken care of in advance.  And, like the first post mentioned, you can deligate some of these responsiblities to your wedding party:

1. Call to confirm what time each vendor needs to arrive and write out instructions for each (where you'd like them to set up, when you'd like them to set up, etc.)

2. Arrange who is going to clean up after the reception/wedding in advance

3. Meet with your officiant and do a quick roll-play/run-through of the ceremony a day or so prior to the big day

4. Have family and friends assist with last minute errands (if you need to have a cake picked up, dry cleaning picked up, if decorations need to be pieced together)

5. Assemble a "decorating crew": sisters & members of the wedding party are great suggestions if you don't have a wedding planner.  Show them what you'd like to have and where.  Draw out table-set ups. Draw where you'd like the candles, arches, flowers, etc during the ceremony.  

6. Make sure all of the grooms are wearing EVERY piece of their tuxes... button covers and everything. :)  

Hope this helps!!!  Have fun!

Answer 4

Good site for advice and wedding coaching:

http://www.bestweddingcoach.com

Answer 5

All the other answers have it: Lists, lists, lists! That is the key. I am an events planner and the trick I use (which worked with my wedding as well) is closing my eyes and visualizing everything from the moment I walk in the door. You'll be able to come up with a checklist.

And please realize that at least one thing will not go as you planned. As long as you're cool with this, it will be fine. At my wedding, we forgot the cake topper completely. Once we went back after the honeymoon to grab it, it was gone. And it was custom made for us. Sad, but if that's the one bad thing that happened I can live with it. So, the DJ might mis-cue something or someone might trip walking down the aisle. As long as you keep a sense of humor and remember the real purpose of the day, you'll be just fine.

Answer 6

The best thing to do is make lists...go to the internet and look up wedding sites that will give you timelines and what needs to be done.  Make one list for the church/wedding site; and one for the reception.  It helps to keep a binder with everything in it.  Its hard to be specific in reminding you of things, because we don't know what is done.

Make sure to bring an "Emergency Kit" with you which should include things like hair spray, bobby pins, safety pins, lotions, perfume, deodorant, etc.).

The one thing I forgot at my second marriage was that I was going to have someone take video of the wedding and had taken our video camera to the church but was so busy beforehand, I forgot to assign that job.  So just make your lists and keep notes next to each item.  

Oh yea...make sure to ask your hall lots of questions!!!  Can you decorate the night before (when I got married the first time they wouldn't let us in the night before so we had a lot of work to do the day of the wedding!); Do they allow you to use the kitchen; Coffee pot? etc. unless that is all included if you are having it catered.

My friend's son just got married 7/25/08 and they totally forgot about having napkins printed with their names and wedding date, but I found a vendor that printed and ship them to me in 2 days!  They were thrilled!

If you are looking for things at good prices--check eBay!!!

Keep telling yourself it will be fine--because it will!  And sometimes the things that don't go perfect are the things you'll remember and laugh about later!

Answer 7

Oh, I know how you feel?  I stressed from June 19 to July 19 about what I have forgotten.  I felt like I was losing my mind.  But I really did have everything planned out, made bunches of lists (to which I received a multitude of compliments from mine and his family who were executing my wishes for my organization).  After all is said and done, here is what I forgot:

-To put someone in charge of buying punch ingredients

-To pay the person we put in charge of buying ice

-To introduce our families at the reception

-To pack my face powder. Luckily, my sister wears the same brand/color, and I borrowed it.  

-To bring our photos to put in frames.

Since they were so few and minor, all were taken care of before the wedding even began (except for the ice).  If someone else is decorating or setting up tables for you, provide them a list of everyone at that table, every decoration, every glass, every favor, or whatever needs to be done.

As for the rehearsal dinner, I just made an itinerary (like an unofficial program) and passed it out to a few people.  Everyone else, I talked to before to let them know what they were doing and when.  We did some run throughs waiting for my uncle (the officiant) and so everything was smooth by the time he got there.  If you don't want to have to run it, put someone you trust in charge of it, who's not in the wedding party.  I forgot that, as the bride, I would be doing my role, and had a hard time telling everybody else what to do.  

Good luck, and relax.  

Answer 8

I think the best thing I did is a few weeks before the wedding I picked one of each of my bridal party and made them responsible for a key part of the wedding day.  I didn't want the florist, caterer, photographer, etc. all coming to me to ask how/where to setup.  So I made a list and made sure each girl knew everything I did about that vendor so I didn't have to worry about any setup details on the day of the wedding.  

I also made an insanely detailed schedule of the wedding day (when people would get to the church, when pictures started, what I wanted happening at the reception), so that part would go smoothly as well.  I didn't hire a DJ but had a friend kind of stand in for that and she had that master schedule.

Your minister should run the rehearsal.  I'd recommend keeping in mind that some of your wedding party might be working so don't set the time too early.  Pick a rehearsal dinner location close to the church so people can easily get from one place to the other.

If you have 2 months to go, you're fine.  I setup weekly to-do lists so I wouldn't forget what needed to done that week for like the last 4 weeks before the wedding.  They included everything from paying final balances to packing up the reception decorations.

You'll be fine!  Just make lists so you don't worry about forgetting anything.  Best of luck!

Answer 9

Stop stressing.. It will all be fine...

Do you have someone other than a person in your bridal party that you can put in charge of the coordinating the day of the wedding?

just make sure you have a time line of what you want done the day of the wedding.

Depending of where you are having your wedding, they usually have someone there that will walk you through rehearsal... but if there isn't you can find a ton of stuff on line on wedding party lineups and what not.

Just remember that the most important thing is that you are getting married, and at the end of the night that is all that will matter.

Answer 10

thats what a maid of honor is for. write a list then you have one in she have one so if you do forget somthing it should all ready be taking care of. its always somthing little that happends. but thats why you have people around you helping to make sure its fixed. you need to calm down and think about seeing him as your husbend.