Tying Up Loose Ends

As much as we all love the honeymoon that follows our wedding, the fact of the matter is that all honeymoons must come to an end. And when you get back from said honeymoon, there is always a large amount of logistical paperwork and other activities that you are obligated to fulfill. And the longer you hold off on doing it, the more of a burden it becomes in the long run. Here, I’ll lay out some of the most common action items that newlyweds need to be prepared for when they return from their romantic getaway.

The first change that is often necessary is changing your address. A lot of couples end up moving in with each other (officially) after their honeymoon ends, meaning that they need to change their address accordingly. There are all sorts of databases that require you to update your address, the most common being your place of work, as well as your local DMV if you own a vehicle. And if you have any sort of subscription-based mail services, all of them need to have the mail-to address changed accordingly.

The next thing to take care of is to inform your bank and credit card companies of your change in marital status. Also be sure to let the Social Security Administration know of the change as well, as that will inevitably affect your tax filing status. If you’ve also legally changed your name, then be sure to let all of them know as well.

That more or less covers the administrative action items, although there could potentially be a few more that apply to you specifically. Think long and hard about such action items as you could potentially have some late fees involved if you don’t report the changes to the proper entities in a timely manner.

Once you’ve gotten all that out of the way though, the next thing to focus on is the wedding-related tasks. First off, you should get your wedding dress properly dry-cleaned and stored in a cool, dry place, in order to help preserve the dress as a lasting memory of your special day. And if you for whatever reason had to rent your dress and still have it, don’t be shy in wearing the dress one last time and taking a few more pictures in them.

Speaking of pictures, another thing to do is to work with your photographer and start organizing all of the pictures he or she has taken, to put into a photo album that you can share with your family and friends (as well as keep one for yourself of course).

And last but not least, you need to write thank-you notes to all of your guests, thanking them for attending your wedding as well as thanking them for their gifts to you. You can even potentially include some (or all) of the pictures that were taken on your wedding day if you’d like. It’s a simple gesture overall, but really goes a long way with your guests by showing some appreciation once things have settled down for you and your husband.

At this point you should have all of the various loose ends tied up, more or less. As a result, you can finally put all your attention into simply living your brand-new life, with your brand-new husband!