I know, I know — in the middle of planning a wedding, you don’t feel like you have time for anything else. You’re planning a wedding, after all. But there are some other things that you really need to get taken care of before the wedding date — things that aren’t actually part of the “wedding planning” process, per se. They’re either completely mandatory (like getting your marriage license), or they’ll just make your life easier (like stocking up on thank you notes ahead of time). Either way, if you tuck them into your wedding planning at strategic times, having them taken care of ahead of time will be a godsend!Get Your Bridal Party’s Gifts: 3-6 months before the wedding.
Don’t wait until the last minute — you’ll either be stressed out, or your bridal party will get gifts that aren’t very personal and thoughtful. Once your party is in place, start thinking about what to give them that would be meaningful, and make sure you’ve made/ordered/assembled/purchased the gifts at least a few months before the wedding. It’s not a very big step in your wedding planning process, so getting it taken care of sooner rather than later is a great move.

Write Your Vows: 1 week-3 months before the wedding.
We’ve photographed brides and grooms working on their vows the morning of the wedding, and it’s incredibly sweet. But it’s also incredibly rushed. Start prepping your vows well in advance of the wedding so you can revisit them and revise them, getting just the right amount of tenderness and humor and personality worked into your words — when you’re not feeling under the gun.

Get Your Marriage License: 1 week-3 months before the wedding.
Last year, one of our wonderful brides told us that there had been a slight mishap: They hadn’t realized there’s a 3-day waiting period for marriage licenses for Florida residents (unless the couple can show proof of marriage counseling with a state-approved marriage counselor), so their marriage license wasn’t really going to be valid until after the wedding. So — once you have your wedding date set, call your local country courthouse to find our the requirements for getting your marriage license. The sooner you can get it (60 days is usually the maximum length it is valid; it will expire if not signed by a wedding officiant within the specified window of time), the sooner you can mark that off your wedding to-do list!

Decide Who Will Be in Charge of Your Gown and Gifts After the Wedding: 1-5 months before the wedding.
While you whisk yourself and your honey off to the honeymoon, someone else will need to make sure all your gifts — and your wedding gown, if you’re not taking it home yourself before the honeymoon — get home.

Stock Up on Thank You Notes: 2 weeks-6 months before the wedding.
If you’re having custom thank-you notes printed with one of your wedding photos, obviously you can’t do this before the wedding. But if you simply want some elegant notes, or note cards that coordinate with the rest of your wedding stationery, go ahead and get them as soon as you find the style you’re looking for. You’ll have a rough idea of how many notes you’ll need once your invitation list is completed (take the number of households and add 10-20%, since some non-guests will likely send you gifts as well), so you can start buying pretty early in the wedding planning process. Then all that is left to do after the wedding is actually writing the notes, and the fewer steps you have to complete, the more likely you are to actually get them sent!

Decide What to Tip Vendors and Task Someone With Paying Balances Due on the Wedding Day: 1-4 weeks before the wedding.
The rule of thumb I’ve always heard is that it is expected that you tip a service provider who doesn’t own his/her business, and that tipping the ones who own their own business is optional. So if you’re tipping anyone on your wedding day, figure out how much and have the money prepared in advance. Similarly, make sure you have checks written for any balances due (we make sure we collect all money in advance of the wedding day specifically so the bride and groom don’t have to worry about money once the wedding rolls around!), and choose someone to handle the money on the wedding day — a close family member or the best man usually takes care of this.

Write Your Cards to Each Other and Your Parents: 1-3 days before the wedding.
You’ll want to do this one really close to your wedding, but unless you’re planning to get up 15 minutes early specifically to write your card, it’s better to write it before the actual wedding day! It’s the same as your vows: When you feel rushed and pressed for time, it’s hard to compose your thoughts coherently and express yourself as eloquently as you can when you don’t feel pressure to complete it as soon as you can. But wait to write your card until your emotions are running pretty high right before the wedding!

These are just a few tips — but they can be a huge help in reducing your to-do list as your wedding approaches. Here’s to happy, no-stress wedding planning!

~ Laura