Bridal Club Magazine

How to Handle the Last Month Before the Wedding

It won't be long now. Your wedding day is fast approaching, and all the organizing will soon be worth it. But just because you've done plenty of work so far doesn't mean that the final month will be all joyful anticipation and light parties.

"The last few weeks before a wedding are the busiest," says Becky Long, author of "Something Old, Something New: 701 Creative Ways to Personalize Your Wedding" (Meadowbrook Press).

"Your decisions are no longer abstract." Long says. "You have to take action and say yes or no. It can be quite daunting."

However, Long says there is no need for a mental meltdown. From her book, Long offers the following checklist to ease you through the homestretch toward the big day. These are all the things that you should accomplish one to two months before the wedding.

~ Send the wedding invitations.
~ Track the responses and coordinate seating arrangements.
~ Arrange final fittings and determine accessories of the wedding party.
~ Buy gifts for the wedding party.
~ Make appointments for the bride's wedding-day hair, nails and makeup.
~ Send invitations for the rehearsal dinner.
~ Send invitations for the bachelor and bachelorette parties.
~ Send the wedding announcements to the newspapers.
~ Obtain the marriage license.
~ Record gifts received for thank-you notes.
~ Schedule attire pickup.
~ Break in the bride's wedding-day shoes.
~ Determine the wedding-day dressing arrangements.
~ Finalize the wedding-day agenda.
~ Arrange transportation for out-of-town guests.
~ Attend showers and send appropriate thanks.
~ Remind the wedding party of assigned duties.

"It may seem like a lot, but the payoff is worth it," Long says. "And in later years, you won't remember organizing seating charts and licking envelopes. You'll just remember how great your wedding was."