Plan Along with Me Series – Step 12: You're married! Now what?
A Big, HUGE & Heartfelt congratulations on your marriage! After your wedding is the perfect time to share teasers of your wedding images, open those amazing wedding gifts from your friends and family, and officially begin your new life together.
There are a few items you’ll want on a to-do list to help you close out this wedding planning chapter and get you on the road to married bliss.
We’re here to help give you a guide for that after your wedding checklist.
Return Your Marriage License
This is a BIG one! Here in Florida, your marriage license needs to be completed by your officiant and returned to the Clerk of Courts (by them, yourselves, or through the mail) no more than TEN days after your wedding ceremony. It’s a big problem if this isn’t taken care of, so make a plan right away to ensure it gets back to them on time.
You should receive your official and certified marriage certificate about ten days after they receive your license back. This is important because you’ll need this certified copy to complete and update any and all legal documents post-wedding.
(For information on how to apply for your marriage license, check out Step 11.)
Update Your Legal Documents
If you’re planning to change your name:
There’s actually a helpful order to this process that I found on every site I looked up information on. I’ll share it for you here:
Change your Social Security Card first.
Use your new social security card to update or get a new Passport with your new name.
Use both your new passport and social security card as the legal documents you need to update your Driver’s License.
For all of these steps you’ll need to make in-person appointments at the different government agencies, so be prepared. It does take some scheduling and time, and you’ll want to check with them about their current Covid protocols in case the appointments are scheduled differently at the time you’re trying to go.
You’ll also need specific identification documents to be able to prove who you are along with the certified copy of your marriage certificate.
Once you’ve got your updated documents in hand with your new name, it makes updating all the others much easier.
I’m including a few helpful online resources here for you, if you’re looking for more information.
Whether or not you change your name:
There are a few additional places that you may need to update policies with and/or notify of your new marital status.
Bank accounts
Credit cards
Insurance, both health and property/auto
Mortgage or Rental companies
Utilities
Wills
Write Your Thank You Notes
Having a stack of thank you notes to write after your wedding is actually a good problem to have. It shows how much your family and friends love you and have shown you they care. Sending thank you notes is a special and timeless way to show them you appreciate the effort & love they’ve shown you.
Here’s some tips to help make the process easier:
Reutilize your guest list address spreadsheet you made for your invitations to help you stay organized and track gifts given, guest addresses, and thank you notes written.
If you received a gift early (pre-wedding) go ahead and get their note in the mail early as well.
Come up with a system that works for you to share the workload. Consider splitting the list in half or one person addressing envelopes while the other fills out the card. Whatever works for you both.
Check the card that came with the gift and be sure to use each name that signed it on the thank you note.
Make sure to handwrite your notes.
Use this system to make writing thank you’s easier: 1) say thanks 2) name the gift 3) say something about the gift (i.e.. how you’ll use it) or the giver
Find some great templates here: How to Write a Wedding Thank You Card
Review Your Vendors
Reviews are vitally important, especially in the wedding industry. Sharing how much you loved your vendors not only gives us the warm & fuzzies on the inside, but it also helps us grow our businesses and gain the trust of future couples.
Look up where to review them on Google, wedding websites like WeddingWire and The Knot, or Facebook. Comment on their social media posts about your wedding with how amazing they were and how much you love their services. Share their posts on your own profiles with a tag and some love in the caption. All of these ways help show the world how amazing they are and that they should hire them for their own events.
If you’d like to review a vendor on multiple platforms, feel free to cut and paste the same review on the various sites. It’s completely acceptable to write one and use it for all of them.
That’s it! You’re done! Kick back and enjoy married life! I’m super proud & loved every minute planning along with you!
Congratulations & lots of love!
- Rachel
P.S. Are you newly engaged? Wondering where to start? Head back to the beginning and plan along with us in Step 1: First Steps in Planning Your Wedding