Image by Anika Reynolds
If you and your love are departing on your honeymoon only a few days or weeks after your wedding, chances are it will be a bit of a whirlwind! Apart from packing, spending time visiting relatives and daydreaming about romantic days away with your spouse, there probably won’t be much time (or motivation) between saying ‘I do’ and boarding your flight for thank you notes or household admin.
But, once the honeymoon is over, what’s next? Well apart from many years of married bliss, there are a few things you could put on your post-honeymoon to-do list to make life as a newlywed a little smoother!
Sort out your honeymoon photos: No doubt you will share a few honeymoon happy snaps on social media, but have you given much thought as to what you will ultimately do with all those gorgeous on-location photos? Firstly, ensure they’re safely stored, by keeping multiple copies on your laptops, saving them to a hard drive or using cloud storage. After the image storage is taken care of, you might like to cull, organise and refine them down into your treasured favourites to avoid holding on to digital clutter.
Then, it’s time to display! Although it might initially seem like a bit of a chore – it’s so nice to take the time to curate your photos into an album or professionally printed memory book, or print a few favourites to create your own gallery wall.
Thank your guests and vendors: Chances are, you won’t have time to write your thank you notes pre-honeymoon, but it really is important to acknowledge your guests’ attendance and gifts. Handwriting each one can be time consuming, but if you have the patience, it’s definitely worthwhile, as your guests will appreciate the gesture of a personal message. But if time doesn’t permit, a printed card with a wedding photo and general message of gratitude is perfectly acceptable too. You may also like to send a card to some of your vendors who helped make your day extra special – such as your photographer, wedding planner or dress designer.
Images by Little Flamingo Creative Stationery via Guide To Correct Wedding Invitation Etiquette
Get your dress dry-cleaned: The sooner you get onto this the better, to ensure wine spills, grass stains and dirt can be removed! Make sure the dry cleaner you select is familiar with looking after gowns and delicate fabrics, and ideally opt for an eco dry cleaner who doesn’t use harsh products. Once cleaned, safely store your gown in an archive box or non-plastic garment bag which won’t emit fumes onto the fabric. For some professional tips, see What Would They Know? Sally Conant of Association of Wedding Gown Specialists as she chats about the importance of looking after your gown, post-wedding.
Archive your wedding memories: As well as photos, your wedding video and your dress, it’s a lovely idea to also treasure a few significant wedding items for future reminiscing. Purchase a large durable box (try Kikki K) and add some of the special details from the day, such as your invitation suite, menu, ceremony proceedings, an example of your favours or the original copies of your vows!
Image by Hails and Shine via Jenny & Jared’s Modern Collingwood Childrens Farm Wedding
Image by Photography By Emma Pointon via Shelley & Kyle’s Elegant Frasers Restaurant Wedding
Ms Chinoiserie Says: Wonderful advice about the things to do after your honeymoon; sorting out your photos will help you re-live the precious moments….
About Anika: I’m a freelance writer with a love of weddings and creatively styled events. I have a penchant for pretty stationery and perfectly put together cheese plates, and a never-ending sense of wanderlust!
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