What to Do the Week Before Your Wedding

The last week is for confirming decisions and handing them to the right people. It is usually too late to redesign the event and early enough to prevent small misunderstandings. Give yourself a short daily list and protect time to rest.

Seven days out: freeze the essentials

Confirm the final guest count and meal choices with the caterer by the date in your agreement. Send the venue a concise timeline with arrival, ceremony, meal, and end times. Make sure transportation providers and the photographer have the same version. If something changes, mark the old file as replaced and resend the new one to every affected person.

Review final balances and the accepted payment methods. Do not hand over cash or checks without recording who should receive them. Confirm any gratuity plan in a labeled envelope if you are using envelopes.

Five or six days out: make contact once

Send a brief confirmation to each vendor: arrival time, address, loading instructions, point of contact, and any remaining deliverable. Ask for acknowledgment. Keep replies in one thread or folder. If the weather matters, ask who makes the call to move indoors and by what time. Avoid repeatedly checking a long-range forecast; use the decision time written in your venue plan.

Tell your designated contact which questions they can resolve and which should reach the couple. A trusted coordinator, venue lead, or organized friend can prevent dozens of small interruptions.

Three or four days out: pack by destination

Make separate, labeled bags or boxes for ceremony, reception, getting ready, and the trip home. Include rings, vows, marriage license if needed, outfit accessories, comfort items, chargers, and a printed contact sheet. Keep legally required documents with a person who understands their importance, not in a decoration bin.

Test clothing and shoes together. Bring the shoes you will actually wear, plus a comfortable alternative if useful. Pack small fixes such as safety pins and stain wipes, but avoid treating the kit as a substitute for enough setup time.

Two days out: rehearse the handoffs

Who receives flowers? Who knows where the card box goes? Who takes leftover food or personal items if the venue allows it? Write the names on your run sheet. Walk through the arrival route and ceremony lineup with the people involved; a formal rehearsal can be short if everyone knows where to stand and when to move.

If guests are traveling, send one useful update with addresses, parking or pickup details, and a contact for travel problems. Do not send multiple conflicting versions. If you are hosting a welcome gathering, set an end time so you can sleep.

The day before: stop adding projects

Delegate setup and accept that the day will contain small imperfections. Eat regular meals, drink water, and make room for something ordinary. Place the rings, clothing, documents, and overnight bag where they can be found. Set two alarms if departure time is early.

Wedding morning: use the plan

Give the run sheet to the person managing logistics, keep essential contacts available, and resist becoming the help desk. Build extra time before the first photograph, especially if several people are getting ready in one place. A delay at the start compounds later. One person should be empowered to answer routine questions from vendors.

If you are still making foundational choices, step back to our full planning checklist. For the celebration itself, see reception flow ideas. The final week is easier when earlier decisions were recorded clearly.

Questions to ask each vendor

The most efficient confirmation is specific. Ask the photographer where they will park and whom they will call on arrival. Ask the caterer when they need access to the kitchen and who approves a substitution. Ask the florist what happens to arrangements at the end. Ask the officiant whether any paperwork needs signatures immediately after the ceremony. Record the answers beside each contact, not in separate message threads you will have to search on the day.

What should wait until afterward

You may notice a seating label you would word differently or a floral detail that could be adjusted. If it does not affect safety, comfort, or the event's ability to run, leave it. Save your attention for sleep, food, people, and the experience itself. A friend can photograph the setup for you if you want to see it before guests arrive.

After the event, collect any remaining belongings, confirm rental returns, and make a note of gifts and cards while the information is fresh. That small handoff closes the loop without pulling administrative work into the celebration.

Make a one-page handoff

Your coordinator or point person needs the final timeline, vendor names and phone numbers, delivery locations, weather decision, dietary contact, and the names of people receiving items at the end. Keep it to one or two pages. A fifty-page planning document is hard to use when a delivery truck is waiting outside.

Share the final version as a file that opens on a phone and print one copy as backup. Put the date in the filename. Give every vendor only the sections they need, and name the person who can authorize small changes. This turns months of planning into a usable day-of instruction.

What to do if a vendor has not replied

Use the contact method in the agreement and try again during business hours. If the vendor has a backup number, use it after a reasonable wait. Keep the venue or coordinator informed if the delay could affect access or setup. Do not create a separate plan based on a guess; identify the next decision time and the person who will make the call.