Wedding of the Summer! 4 Things to Take Care of Before the Big Day

A wedding can feel both like a three-ring circus and a fairy tale, especially if it’s a summer wedding. Think colorful butterflies landing on the roses in the garden, singing birds, and succulent seasonal fruits adorning the wedding table. Ideally, your wedding day will be closer to the fairy tale and less like the three-ring circus. You can take some steps to make sure that this happens. You just need to make sure that you take care of as many tasks as possible before the wedding chimes start to sing. Here is a list of the four most important ones.

Make Food and Cake Arrangements

Many of the wedding stresses come from the food. Getting these tasks out of the way earlier rather than later will allow you and your intended to better enjoy the day. You should start talking with your event caterer about 10 months ahead of your wedding day. This gives you time to taste-test the food, talk about possible menus, and the foods that might fit your wedding theme and personal tastes.

Additionally, unless you’re getting married in the off-season, you order your wedding cake six months in advance. If you are planning an off-season wedding, then you can sometimes get away with three months in advanced notice at the latest. However, keep in mind, the sooner you get things planned and confirmed, the sooner you get through your to-do list.

Finally, it’s likely that you’ll be asked to put some sort of down payment on the food, so be sure to ask before you get too deeply into the process with these vendors. Before signing any contracts with the companies you work with, be sure you know what you’re getting into, including payment details, cancellation policies, and other financial and logistical related items of business.

Do an Outfit Run-Through

You’ve spent a lot of time picking out your dress and a lot of money on it, too. Naturally, you want your whole ensemble to look perfect on the day of your wedding. That being the case, many recommend that you do a literal dress rehearsal in the days leading up to the wedding. Try on your shoes. Get out those elaborate jewelry pieces. And be sure to use the restroom while you’re in your dress. The day of the wedding is not the day you find out that this and other tasks are nearly impossible due to your clothing. Knowing what you’re getting into ahead of time could be key to enjoying your day.

Pack Early for the Honeymoon

You’re going to have a lot of unexpected, last-minute things come up on your wedding day. Packing shouldn’t be one of them. You’ve known for a long time that you’ll be going on your honeymoon. What you might not be prepared for is your DJ getting sick, your cake falling, or a missing bouquet. Don’t add to your wedding-day stress by putting this simple task off until the day of. If you pack long before the wedding, you ensure that the right clothing for the climate you’ll go to and your passports and other important documents make it into your suitcase.

Create a Wedding Agenda for Everyone

You and your spouse should create an agenda that you can distribute to the vendors, the wedding party, the wedding planner, and any other person of significance that’s associated with the wedding. That way, everyone is on the same page: Everyone involved knows what’s happening when and where.

Have the wedding agenda made up a week or two in advance and email a copy of it to everyone. This is also a great time to confirm and double check with everyone so everything runs smoothly and deliveries are taken care of. Also, have some copies printed for the wedding planner to distribute on the day of the wedding just in case.

Your wedding is going to have many last-minute things come up. The best way to ensure that you don’t have a meltdown on this special day is to take care of these important tasks way ahead of time. These include contacting the caterer and baker, taking wedding outfits for a test run, packing your travel clothes, and making an agenda for your wedding party and crew. While these tasks can seem overwhelming, even if you’re taking care of them weeks or months in advances, they will be more overwhelming if they’re left until the last minute.