Week of Wedding Checklist: Everything to Do in Your Final 7 Days

The week before your wedding should feel like the exhale at the end of 12 months of holding your breath. If you've been working through a solid planning checklist, most of your decisions are already made. What remains is confirmation, preparation, and handing off.

The problem is that without a specific week-of checklist, couples treat this final week as a general "catch everything we missed" period. That approach generates anxiety. This checklist breaks the final week into a specific day-by-day sequence so you know exactly what needs to happen — and when — so nothing falls through and you actually get some sleep before your wedding.

For the full planning timeline leading up to this week, download our free 12-Month Wedding Planning Checklist.

Why the Final Week Feels Stressful (and How to Change That)

The final week is emotionally intense for a reason. Everything you've been working toward is about to happen. The decisions are essentially final. The only remaining question is execution.

The mistake couples make is continuing to make decisions during this week. Final week should be almost entirely about confirmation and logistics — not choices. If you find yourself making significant decisions (which centrepiece arrangement, whether to add a slideshow, whether to change the seating chart) in the final week, that's a sign the earlier planning phases needed more closure.

Use this checklist to close out any remaining decisions quickly and shift your focus to execution.

7 Days Out (One Week Before)

Send final vendor confirmation messages. Email or call every vendor with their final arrival time, the address, the point-of-contact on the day, and any remaining logistics. Vendors to confirm: - Caterer (final headcount, arrival time for setup, vendor meals) - Photographer and videographer (first look location and time, timeline for family formals) - Band or DJ (arrival time, load-in access, final song selections) - Florist (delivery time and location, who accepts delivery) - Cake baker (delivery time and where the cake goes) - Transportation (pickup times and locations for wedding party and guests) - Hair and makeup (location, start time, order of who goes when) - Officiant (rehearsal confirmation, ceremony order) - Any rental companies (delivery and pickup windows)

Give each vendor a printed or digital copy of the day-of timeline. This single document — with each vendor's arrival time, their responsibilities, and who they should contact if there's an issue — prevents a significant percentage of wedding day problems.

Confirm your honeymoon logistics. Check your flight reservation, hotel confirmation, and ensure passports or any required documents are valid and packed. If you need a visa, this was handled months ago — but confirm it's in order.

6 Days Out

Pack for the honeymoon. Don't leave this until the morning after the wedding. You'll be exhausted and emotional. Pack now, when you have a clear head. Include everything you need for travel: documents, medications, chargers, appropriate clothing.

Separate your honeymoon luggage from your wedding night bag. You'll want a separate, smaller bag for your wedding night — a change of clothes, toiletries, anything you need from that night through the morning. Keep this separate from your main honeymoon luggage so the right bag gets to the right place.

Write final thank-you notes for wedding party gifts. If you're giving gifts to your bridal party and groomsmen at the rehearsal dinner, write the accompanying notes now. A blank card on the night is a missed opportunity.

5 Days Out

Assemble the wedding emergency kit. This goes with someone in the bridal party on the day. Include:

Wardrobe: - Safety pins (multiple sizes) - Fashion tape / double-sided tape - Needle and thread in the dress colour - Spare buttons - Static cling spray - Stain remover pen

Health and comfort: - Pain relievers (ibuprofen and paracetamol/acetaminophen) - Antacids - Antihistamines - Bandaids - Blister pads (for new shoes) - Hand sanitiser - Mints or gum

Beauty: - Blotting papers - Clear nail varnish (for stocking runs) - Lipstick in the shade worn on the day - Bobby pins - Mini hairspray - Touch-up makeup (compact, mascara)

Miscellaneous: - Snacks (the couple often doesn't eat during photos; energy bars are useful) - A small charger or power bank - Cash (small bills for tips and emergencies) - A list of all vendor phone numbers

Prepare vendor tip envelopes. If you haven't already, prepare labelled cash envelopes for each vendor. Typical amounts: photographer 10–15% of total fee; caterer/event staff 15–20% of food cost per person; DJ or band 10–15% of fee; bartenders $50–100; florist $50–100; hair and makeup artist 15–20%; transportation driver 15–20%; officiant $50–100 or donation if at a venue of worship. Assign someone — your maid of honour, a parent, or your coordinator — to distribute these on the day.

4 Days Out

Final dress check. Try on your gown one more time after the final fitting to make sure everything still fits correctly and nothing needs last-minute attention. This is also when you practice the bathroom logistics — who helps with the dress, how long it takes, and how you bustle it after the ceremony.

Break in your shoes. Wear your wedding shoes around the house for two hours. Put gel insoles in if needed. Put blister pads over any known pressure points. Your feet will thank you.

Confirm rehearsal logistics. Who needs to be at the rehearsal, at what time, and at what location? Send a reminder to your wedding party if they haven't confirmed attendance.

Write your vows (if you haven't). If you're writing personal vows, they need to be done now. Print or handwrite them. Practice reading them aloud — time them (aim for 2 minutes or under). Fold them and put them somewhere safe. Give a copy to a trusted person as a backup.

3 Days Out

Do the rehearsal. Walk through the ceremony order: the procession, where everyone stands, who enters when, the key moments (readings, ring exchange, vows), and the recessional. Walk through it at least twice.

Attend the rehearsal dinner. This is also when you typically distribute wedding party gifts. Make a short speech if you're inclined to. Go to bed at a reasonable hour.

Handover logistics. Brief your maid of honour and best man (or the people playing these roles) on their specific responsibilities: who holds the rings, who has the emergency kit, who manages the tip envelopes, who receives the gifts at the reception, who coordinates the guests for family photos.

Confirm seating chart is printed and ready. Whether you're using escort cards, a seating board, or a printed chart, ensure it's ready and will be at the venue.

2 Days Out (Day Before)

Final check-in with your partner. Carve out an hour that isn't about logistics. Talk about how you feel. Share something you're looking forward to. This is the last quiet moment before the wedding.

Confirm the ceremony marriage licence is packed. Write this down. Couples genuinely forget to bring the marriage licence to the ceremony. Put it somewhere impossible to miss — in the bag going to the venue, confirmed the night before.

Gather everything going to the venue. Anything that needs to be at the venue and isn't being delivered by a vendor — custom signage, card box, guestbook, unity candle or other ceremony items, vow books — needs to be assembled and ready to hand off.

Designate a clean-up captain. This person — not you — is responsible for collecting gifts, leftover décor, and any personal items from both the ceremony and reception at the end of the night. Brief them specifically on what to collect and where it should go.

Set an alarm (or several). Set your alarm, then set two more as backups. Brief whoever is doing your hair and makeup on the start time.

Get to bed early. You won't sleep perfectly — that's normal. A reasonable bedtime matters more than actually sleeping. Avoid alcohol the night before.

Wedding Morning

Eat breakfast. Drink water. This sounds obvious but many couples forget to eat on their wedding morning and regret it several hours into photos on an empty stomach. Protect your energy for the day.

Leave extra time for everything. Hair and makeup always runs over. Build in 30 minutes of buffer on the morning timeline. If you're ready early, that's a gift. If you're running behind, the buffer absorbs it.

Have a quiet moment before the ceremony. Before it becomes all guests and noise and movement, find 60 seconds with your partner (or a private moment if you're not doing a first look). Breathe. This is what everything was for.

The Tasks That Get Forgotten Most Often

Even with the most thorough checklists, these items fall off at the last minute:

Vendor meals. Your caterer needs to know the exact number of vendor meals. If you're confirming headcount this week, make sure the number includes photographers, videographers, DJ, coordinator, and any other working vendors.

Post-wedding transport for the couple. How are you getting from the reception to where you're spending your wedding night? Make sure this is arranged and the driver has the address.

Marriage licence. It genuinely gets forgotten. Confirm it is in the bag going to the ceremony. Confirm it twice.

Charging your phone. Bring a small charger. You'll use your phone more than expected.

Having fun. Counterintuitively, this needs to be on the list. The day moves fast. Your vendors are managing the logistics. Your job on the wedding day is to be present and enjoy it.

Your Month-by-Month Checklist for Everything Before This Week

The tasks above assume you've spent the past 12 months working through the full planning sequence. If you're earlier in your engagement and want a complete month-by-month task list through to the wedding day, download our free 12-Month Wedding Planning Checklist — a printable PDF with 200+ tasks in the order they need to happen.