Your Complete Last-Minute Wedding Checklist

Finalize Your Vows

Planning on exchanging handwritten vows during your ceremony? In the days leading up to your wedding, you (and your spouse-to-be) should work on refining those penned promises. "While we know working under pressure can be a strong suit for some, writing your vows ahead of time can relieve so much stress!" says Balliet. "Try to carve out some time the week or two before the big day to be able to thoughtfully express what you are hoping to say."

Make Sure Someone Knows How to Bustle Your Dress

You and your maid of honor—or whoever is planning on bustling your wedding dress—should practice ahead of time to avoid delays on the big day. "The last thing you want is to be stuck scrambling over how to bustle your train before you make your way to the dance floor!" says Balliet.

Break in Your Wedding Shoes

We all have pairs of heels we can dance in for hours, and other pairs that make getting from the door to the car a struggle. "If you want to be the glamorous bride that everyone envisions, and not immediately in flip-flops on the dance floor, you really want to break them in," says Clark.

Put on sweatpants or jeans and walk around your apartment or city block until your wedding shoes are good and scuffed (on the bottom, that is!). Get them comfortable and safe to walk in so you can last as long as possible before being forced to change.

Pay Your Vendors

To make sure all of your creative partners receive payments, Clark suggests preparing for the last dash of final deposits. Knowing that this is done, and all the parties involved are prepared and aware, can relieve a lot of stress in the final countdown.

Finalize the Guest Count

With three to four weeks left before the wedding, it's a good time to contact the 20 to 30 people who may be dragging their feet with on RSVPing. "Reach out to people you haven't spoken to in a while, who haven't responded and ask them, 'Are you coming? We'd love for you to come and I do need to know,'" says Clark. It's a nice way to touch base with people even if they cannot ultimately attend.

Keep an Eye on the Weather

Start monitoring the forecast a couple weeks before your nuptials so you can be prepared for any unexpected changes. "While last-minute shifts in the weather can be overwhelming, lean on your planner for advice and suggestions—and keep in mind that your plan B can often turn into a beautiful plan A," says Balliet.

Confirm Travel Details

If you planned your honeymoon for right after the wedding, check that nothing has changed for your flight, hotel, or other bookings abroad. Knowing all of the details are the same—or adjusting for what is different—will let you pack appropriately and speed off to the airport with excitement, rather than worry.

Changing Your Name? Get Your Paperwork Done

Every state has different rules for name changing, and some even require fingerprints. Now is a great time to figure out what you need—like an updated driver's license, social security card, or home address. "It's a fun time to do things like that, like change your email address," says Clark. "You can do things to make you feel like you are almost there." (Double-check that a changed name won't impact honeymoon travel; a boarding ticket with a different alias can be a huge problem.)

After Your Last Fitting, Have One More

Consider a final dress fitting five or six days before you walk down the aisle. Try on everything you plan to wear on the day of the wedding—undergarments, shoes, veil—and make sure it all really works and you're happy with it, says Clark. If your strapless gown isn't fitting the way it should, take the dress to a local seamstress and have it tacked.

Prepare Cash Tips in Advance

You should plant to tip vendors or creative partners on your wedding day. To make this process seamless, pull out all of the cash a week in advance, divvy it up, and seal in envelopes.

Then delegate the task of handing out envelopes to your maid of honor or parents, so you can greet your guests without chasing down vendors. "You just want to be a bride that day and have fun," says Clark.

Delegate a Handler for the Welcome Bags

"It will keep you frantic, the delivery of welcome weekend bags," warns Clark. If this is something you've incorporated into your wedding, remember that guests may be spread out among different hotels. First, confirm one week in advance where your guests will be. Then label the bags and ask someone in your bridal party to deliver them to each hotel for you.

Order Snacks for the Bridal Party

With so much else on your mind that day, it's easy to end up with a starving wedding party in hair and makeup or hungry groomsmen returning from the football turf. It doesn't have to be fancy, says Clark, "but find a good place and arrange for delivered catering."

Get Your Beauty Rest, If You Can

You've put so much effort into making this the day you have always envisioned. With everything else nearly complete, book a facial or massage and keep your nails in great shape. These are the last few weeks of your engagement—enjoy them.