Day After Wedding, Day Before Honeymoon

rissrae47 · May 2017

We are getting married on a Saturday, leaving for our honeymoon Monday morning. What are some MUST DO's on Sunday between the wedding and honeymoon? This is my to-do list so far. Am I missing anything important??

- pick up reception items
- make copies of marriage license
- freeze the cake!
- pack for honeymoon
- check in for flights
- charge devices

ernursej · May 2017

In general before any trip:

- arrange for someone to look after your house (day before or day of, drop off keys and instructions)

- do laundry and pack (personally, I would probably start packing prior to the wedding but depends on your packing/travel style)

- check in for flights and print boarding passes

- unplug/turn off electronics in your home, turn on timers for lights etc.

- arrange for mail and paper stoppage

- make copies of all travel documents and keep a copy for yourself and one to stay with a trusted family member

- charge electronics

- depending on how long you are gone for, deal with perishables in your fridge

Post Wedding Prior to Traveling:

- pick up ceremony and reception items

- return anything borrowed

- take dress/suits to cleaners (could wait until your return unless something was spilled in which case I would make it a top priority prior to departing)

- deal with leftovers of food/cake

- write important thank you notes

I'm curious why you need to make copies of your marriage certificate before traveling ... hopefully you didn't make your tickets in your married name as you won't have the appropriate travel documents to support that.

Depending on how long you are away for, I would open all your gifts/cards and write down a list for thank you notes. You can take that list and thank you cards with you and use the time on plane etc to write them all. That is what I did and it was really nice to have them all done prior to returning home. I made sure to do the really important ones prior to leaving (i.e. my Grandfather and our parents).

MobKaz · May 2017

Depending on the quantity, and the time you must leave for your flight, I would either make a bank deposit, put any and all cash/checks into a safe, or leave them with a trusted person.

rissrae47 · May 2017

ernursej - Thanks for all the tips! Our honeymoon reservations are in my maiden name. Our travel agent told us to bring a copy of our marriage certificate in order to get special perks! (some hotels won't give complimentary upgrades without proof that it's your honeymoon)

redwoodoriginal · May 2017

rissrae47 said:

ernursej - Thanks for all the tips! Our honeymoon reservations are in my maiden name. Our travel agent told us to bring a copy of our marriage certificate in order to get special perks! (some hotels won't give complimentary upgrades without proof that it's your honeymoon)

You might not have access to it. Firstly, it's a license, not a certificate you get to have signed and notarized by the officiant. You can request a certificate afterwards, but at least in my state, that took a few weeks/months for them to process the license where it would show up online for me to request any certificate copies. At our wedding we handed the license to the officiant and that was the last I saw of it - no witnesses needed to sign it in my state. Then he did the ceremony and then it was the reception and he did whatever he needed to do (I assume sign it and mail it in) to get it submitted for officialness. I never would have had the chance to ask him to sign it and make a photocopy (where would I do that at my reception??) for "perks"...

rissrae47 · May 2017

redwoodoriginal - Thanks for your input. I'm not sure what state you are referring to, but in NJ the couple is responsible for the marriage license after it is signed at the ceremony. I've been a MOH twice, in which I had to sign the marriage license as a witness and the couple took the marriage license home with them after the ceremony. I plan to make copies of it the next day because 1. it is always good to have copies of important documents and 2. why not bring a copy with us on our honeymoon if it might help make our trip just a little more special? Can't hurt...

ernursej · May 2017

rissrae47 said:

ernursej - Thanks for all the tips! Our honeymoon reservations are in my maiden name. Our travel agent told us to bring a copy of our marriage certificate in order to get special perks! (some hotels won't give complimentary upgrades without proof that it's your honeymoon)

Interesting. Glad to read that your reservations are not in your married name. Where I live, our JP did all the filing and then after a certain amount of time we got the go ahead to go to the registry to apply for the certificate.

I found that all we had to do was mention honeymoon and we got lots of nice 'perks'.

Hope you have a great honeymoon!

southernbelle0915 · May 2017

I would pack before the wedding. And take care of as many things as humanly possible before the wedding. If charging your devices is seriously on your list, buy extra chargers and put them in your carry on so you don't have to worry about it. If people ask "how can I help?" ask them to do the reception items pick up, etc.

In addition to packing, other things you can do before the wedding - take your pets to boarding, clean your house/do your laundry, give any instructions to house sitters, stop your mail, put your lights on timers, clear out your fridge, take all the trash out, put on your out of office message, confirm your reservations (hotel, car, activities, etc.). Literally all of that can be done before the wedding so you can kick back and relax the next day.

Sunday will be your first full day as husband and wife. Enjoy the shit out of it. Sleep in. Go out to brunch. Take a walk. Relax. Don't give yourself a stressful to do list a mile long.

charlotte989875 · May 2017

I agree with @southernbelle0915, and try and get as much done before as possible. You don't want to spend that day running around. We travelled the Monday after our Friday wedding and it was great to have a day or two to relax, spend some time together before we had to take off again.

climbingsingle · May 2017

Copies of your signed marriage certificate aren't necessary. I think it's a little silly to bring that. What kind of upgrades are you expecting? Usually if you tell people you're on your honeymoon, they will offer you something extra. We made sure to mail our's off to our town hall before we left. By the time we returned home, our marriage license was mailed back to us.

I agree with packing as much as you can before your wedding. You don't want to have to pack the day after. You'll be exhausted.

Make a list of everything you'd like to pack.

Clean the fridge/pantry out of any perishable items. Make sure all faucets are shut off all the way. Unplug appliances. Make sure all windows are shut and locked. Set light timers. Take out all the trash and recyclables. Don't leave any dirty dishes in the sink/dishwasher.

Are you having anyone watch your house or get the mail? Touch base with them, or leave them any instructions.

Do you have pets? If so, is there care lined up?

We also made sure to deposit all the checks we received at the wedding into our bank account before we left.

STARMOON44 · May 2017

Pack the weekend before your wedding at the latest.

kahluakoala · May 2017

Cash checks from gifts - people will not want to wait 1-2 weeks for you to cash it and I'm sure you could use a little extra $ on your honeymoon

CMGragain · May 2017

rissrae47 said:

We are getting married on a Saturday, leaving for our honeymoon Monday morning. What are some MUST DO's on Sunday between the wedding and honeymoon? This is my to-do list so far. Am I missing anything important??

- pick up reception items
- make copies of marriage license
- freeze the cake!
- pack for honeymoon
- check in for flights
- charge devices

Sleep.
You should already be 98% packed before the wedding. Why wait until the last minute?
Put hold on mail deliveries. You can do this before your wedding.
Deposit checks at your bank.

MobKaz · May 2017

southernbelle0915 said:

I would pack before the wedding. And take care of as many things as humanly possible before the wedding. If charging your devices is seriously on your list, buy extra chargers and put them in your carry on so you don't have to worry about it. If people ask "how can I help?" ask them to do the reception items pick up, etc.

In addition to packing, other things you can do before the wedding - take your pets to boarding, clean your house/do your laundry, give any instructions to house sitters, stop your mail, put your lights on timers, clear out your fridge, take all the trash out, put on your out of office message, confirm your reservations (hotel, car, activities, etc.). Literally all of that can be done before the wedding so you can kick back and relax the next day.

Sunday will be your first full day as husband and wife. Enjoy the shit out of it. Sleep in. Go out to brunch. Take a walk. Relax. Don't give yourself a stressful to do list a mile long.

Sorry, OP, but your post has become a "me" moment. I find this post extremely validating and comforting.

I am insane prior to traveling. I hate coming home from a trip to get smacked upside the head with chores of any kind. Not only do I take care of the above suggestions, I try, if at all possible, to launder all the towels. I loathe coming home to stale bath towels! And at the very least, I wipe down my shower and vanity with a swift but solid vinegar wash and squeegee.

If the climate to where you are traveling differs from the one you live in, packing ahead of time is much easier. You can pack things you don't currently have to worry about using for work or home play.

One other thing I try to do is make sure I have at least a few "go to" foods so I don't have to immediately go grocery shopping. This only works, obviously, if a trip is a week or less, but you can at least have a "freezer food" ready to defrost.

I will reiterate the most important advice given........"Sunday will be your first full day as husband and wife. Enjoy the shit
out of it. Sleep in. Go out to brunch. Take a walk. Relax. Don't give
yourself a stressful to do list a mile long" (@southernbelle0915).

climbingsingle · May 2017

Honestly, my number 1 priority the day after the wedding was getting a massage. I booked that months in advance. And I enjoyed the hell out of it. My H got one too.

Also, I'm happy to see I'm not the only neurotic travel preper. I need to be able to come home to a clean house. That includes fresh sheets on the bed too.

levioosa · May 2017

Just chiming in to echo PPs advice and say that I am also a neurotic traveler. I am packed the week before. My house is clean, the fridge cleaned out, and there's an itinerary or list of things to do already packed. I have a "go" list for the day of with things that need last minute packing (I.e. Makeup, pillow if it's a road trip, etc). And yesss fresh sheets on the bed are a must.

I know the wedding week will be hectic but try to get as much done as possible. If you have extra cash, this might be a great time to shell out $70-120 bucks for a house cleaner so it's something off your plate.

Try to relax the day after the wedding. Weddings are insanely busy and they take a lot out of you. You'll need that next day just to decompress and enjoy with your husband.

Subwayloves · May 2017

We had the same schedule (married Saturday, left for honeymoon early Monday morning), and I would definitely not recommend leaving much to do that day. We spent most of the day with family (breakfast with my family, lunch with MIL family, and early dinner with FIL family) because we had a lot of out of town family we don't get to see often in town, so we wanted to see them for as much time as possible while they were there. We did get home by about 7, opened our cards/gifts, and just chilled and got to bed early. I definitely would not have wanted to have packing or anything else left that I absolutely needed to do that day.

In regards to your list:
Is there a reason you can't get the "reception items" right after the reception? I'm not exactly sure what you're referring to, but we packed up our centerpieces and other decorations in less than 15 mins after the reception and took them with us that night (we also were not allowed to leave anything we wanted there overnight, and I think this is the policy for many venues).

We had also heard the "take a copy of marriage license" and did this, but we never pulled it out.

Stick the the cake in the freezer right when you get home from the reception.

As said earlier in my post, I would have as much packing as possible done before the wedding, and have a list of last minute things to add on top of the bag.

Yes do make sure you check in for flights 24 hours before to have the best chance of sitting together (unless you paid for pre seating, in which case disregard this).

I would have all devices that I wanted to charge sitting next to chargers in my bedroom before the wedding, that way you can easily just plug them in the night before leaving for the honeymoon.

lyndausvi · May 2017

rissrae47 said:

redwoodoriginal - Thanks for your input. I'm not sure what state you are referring to, but in NJ the couple is responsible for the marriage license after it is signed at the ceremony. I've been a MOH twice, in which I had to sign the marriage license as a witness and the couple took the marriage license home with them after the ceremony. I plan to make copies of it the next day because 1. it is always good to have copies of important documents and 2. why not bring a copy with us on our honeymoon if it might help make our trip just a little more special? Can't hurt...

I got married NJ. Our officiant was the one who had to file the license with the county. We didn't even have possession of the license. We received the license 3 weeks after the wedding.

Getting ready for a HM isn't really any different than getting ready for any vacation. Since our wedding was OOT and we were leaving the day after the wedding we were already packed and house taken care of.

Post wedding things: Get your receptions stuff. We just took ours at the end of the night.

Depositing and/or securing any cash/check gifts you might receive. We left on a Sunday and were gone for 3 weeks (overseas), so we had his mom make a cash deposit for us. We had counted the cash and filled out the deposit slip for her. Check online to make sure it went through.

My sister kept all the checks (we didn't have the time to endorse them, let alone fill out the deposit slips before we left), physical gifts and my wedding dress for us while we were gone. (we returned to my sister's place after the HM before returning home)

VerizonGirl · July 2017

We had a gap too. But we understood that our honeymoon began the moment the reception ended, so we went to a nearby vacation-style hotel for three nights, then flew to California for a week. You need to get on with Being Married - no list for local crap to do.

climbingsingle · July 2017

VerizonGirl said:

We had a gap too. But we understood that our honeymoon began the moment the reception ended, so we went to a nearby vacation-style hotel for three nights, then flew to California for a week. You need to get on with Being Married - no list for local crap to do.

Not everyone's HM can begin right after the reception. My H and I still had family members we wanted to visit with. We had to get things together at home - grab our luggage, get our dog set up for the sitter, etc. Why are you telling the OP to "get on with being married"? The second they walk back down the aisle, they are married.

ETA: Did you even read the responses in this post @VerizonGirl ?

InLoveInQueens · July 2017

climbingwife said:

VerizonGirl said:

We had a gap too. But we understood that our honeymoon began the moment the reception ended, so we went to a nearby vacation-style hotel for three nights, then flew to California for a week. You need to get on with Being Married - no list for local crap to do.

Not everyone's HM can begin right after the reception. My H and I still had family members we wanted to visit with. We had to get things together at home - grab our luggage, get our dog set up for the sitter, etc. Why are you telling the OP to "get on with being married"? The second they walk back down the aisle, they are married.

ETA: Did you even read the responses in this post @VerizonGirl ?

Yeah, that was a really weird response. I don't understand how she "understood that [their] honeymoon began the moment the reception ended", is that for everyone? Because my honeymoon was ~4 months after my wedding, did I just get a 4 month long honeymoon?

A honeymoon is a vacation, big or small, near or far, not what happens "the moment the reception end[s]". Also lol at the idea that you can't run errands and do final vacation prep because "you need to get on with Being Married". Why the capitalization? Why does Being Married preclude you from going to the bank and picking up last minute travel items?

I am just so outrageously confused.

ahoywedding · July 2017

climbingwife said:

VerizonGirl said:

We had a gap too. But we understood that our honeymoon began the moment the reception ended, so we went to a nearby vacation-style hotel for three nights, then flew to California for a week. You need to get on with Being Married - no list for local crap to do.

Not everyone's HM can begin right after the reception. My H and I still had family members we wanted to visit with. We had to get things together at home - grab our luggage, get our dog set up for the sitter, etc. Why are you telling the OP to "get on with being married"? The second they walk back down the aisle, they are married.

ETA: Did you even read the responses in this post @VerizonGirl ?

She's been jumping on a bunch of older posts, writing nonsensical responses on all of them.

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