Get Your Printable Checklist
A printable, 6-section checklist of everything that matters in the months after the wedding — including what to do with your dress. Drop your name and email below and we’ll send the PDF straight to your inbox. One delivery, no marketing follow-up.
Not married yet? This list is for after the wedding. If you’re still in planning mode and want to make sure preservation isn’t the thing you forget, set our Preservation Reminder instead — one email 6 weeks before your wedding when it’s the ideal time to order.
What You Get When You Sign Up
The Full Newlywed Checklist
Here’s the whole list, the same way it appears in the printable PDF. Some items will apply to you and some won’t — treat it as a menu, not a homework assignment.
1. Photos, Video & Memories
- Get proofs and digital files from your photographer
- Review your wedding video and approve the final edit
- Choose photos for your wedding album, family albums, and home prints
- Curate honeymoon photos alongside your wedding photos — one story, not two
- Build your “Wedding Memory Box” for the marriage license, save-the-date, invitation, ceremony program, vows, place cards, and other small keepsakes (we have a whole page on this)
- Post a final “thank you” photo set to social media and retire your wedding hashtag
- Archive your wedding hashtag — most platforms now let you save hashtag streams as collections
2. Thank-Yous & Closing Out
- Write and mail thank-you notes for every gift — yes, even cash and registry
- Write personal notes to your wedding party, parents, and key vendors
- Leave reviews on The Knot, WeddingWire, and Google for every vendor you’d recommend
- Return any borrowed items (veil, jewelry, toasting flutes, decor)
- Return any wedding rentals within their deadlines (tuxes, suits, linens, shoes)
- Finalize and close your wedding registry — return what you don’t need, exchange duplicates
- Send announcements (and a photo) to your local newspaper if that’s a tradition in your family or community
3. Your Wedding Dress & Accessories
- Order your dress cleaning and preservation — ideally within 3 months of your wedding while stains are still fresh and removable. (Not sure which service is right for you?)
- Decide what to do with your veil, headpiece, and other accessories — many can be preserved alongside the dress
- Insure your wedding rings — most homeowner’s or renter’s policies require a separate jewelry rider
- Get your wedding rings professionally cleaned and inspected (prongs, settings, stones)
- Store your bridal jewelry properly — separate compartments, tarnish-prevention pouches
- Choose a long-term storage location for your preserved dress: a temperature-stable closet or under-bed. Not a damp basement and not a hot attic.
4. Name Change (If Applicable)
This section ranks for some of the highest-volume newlywed search queries. If you’re changing your name, do these in roughly this order:
- Get certified copies of your marriage certificate — you’ll need several originals, not just photocopies
- Update your Social Security card first — almost everything else depends on this being done
- Driver’s license
- Passport
- Bank accounts — checking, savings, credit cards
- Investment and retirement accounts — 401(k), IRA, brokerage
- Employer records — HR, payroll, beneficiaries, health insurance, 401(k) beneficiary designations
- Health insurance — marriage often opens a time-limited special enrollment window, so don’t wait
- Car registration and title
- Voter registration
- Property titles and deeds
- Loans, mortgages, and student loans
- Insurance policies — auto, home, life, umbrella
- Will, trust, and beneficiary designations
- School and alumni records
- Professional licenses
- Email signature, business cards, LinkedIn
- Frequent-flyer and loyalty programs
- Doctor, dentist, and pharmacy
- Utility companies
- Magazine subscriptions and recurring services
- Club and gym memberships
- Post Office — file a change of address if you’ve also moved
- Safety deposit box
5. Finances & Practical Life
- File a marriage certificate copy with your home, fire, and safety records
- Update your tax filing status — you can file as married, jointly or separately
- Review and consolidate health insurance — marriage often opens a special enrollment window
- Discuss and decide on joint vs. separate accounts
- Update beneficiaries on every account: retirement, insurance, investment
- Schedule a “first year” financial planning conversation — taxes, savings, big purchases
- Update emergency contacts everywhere — employer, doctors, schools
- Discuss and document estate planning preferences — wills, advance directives
6. Looking Forward
- Plan your one-year anniversary — small or big, but plan it now while the wedding energy is fresh
- Choose your “anniversary tradition” — the cake top, a specific dinner, a trip, a photo retake
- Schedule annual maintenance: jewelry cleaning, dress storage check, photo album refresh
- Mark future anniversaries in your shared calendar so neither of you can forget
One thing to cross off this list — soon.
Wedding dress preservation works best within the first 3 months. The longer invisible stains sit, the harder they are to lift. Help Me Choose walks you through the right service in under a minute, or compare all three side by side.
Frequently Asked Questions
When should I order my wedding dress preservation?
The ideal window is within about three months of your wedding — the longer visible stains like red wine, mud, soiled hemlines, and makeup remain on the fabric, the harder they become to remove. Many dresses are still treatable at six to twelve months, but sooner is always better. If life got busy and it’s been longer, most dresses can still be cleaned and preserved, and dresses 20 years or older can often be significantly restored. In the meantime, if your dress is still in the white plastic garment bag from your bridal shop, it’s worth knowing that plastic can off-gas over time and cause yellowing on its own — yet another reason to have your dress cleaned and preserved as soon as possible.
My wedding was a while ago. Is it too late to preserve?
It’s rarely too late. If your dress is under 20 years old, cleaning and preservation is the right path. If it’s 20 years or older, Restoration addresses yellowing, brown spots, and fabric deterioration in addition to cleaning — and we’ve successfully restored dresses as far back as the 1800s. No matter how long your dress has been stored, there’s a good chance we can bring it back to beautiful condition.
Do I really need to change my name on all of these things?
Not at all. Most people change their name legally and then update only the records that matter most — Social Security, driver’s license, passport, bank accounts. The rest, like loyalty programs and subscriptions, can wait as long as you like. Our checklist is thorough so you can pick what’s worth doing at your own pace, not a to-do list with a deadline.
Can you preserve my veil or other accessories along with the dress?
Yes — up to five accessories are included free with your service, including veils, headpieces, garters, gloves, and more. Additional accessories beyond five are $10 each. Everything placed in the chest needs to be cleaned by us to remain under the 100-Year Guarantee — if you’re not sure whether a specific item qualifies, feel free to contact us.
Is the checklist PDF actually free?
Yes, it’s free. We just ask for your name and email so we can send it to you — one email with the PDF, no marketing follow-up, and we never share your information.