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What to do the night before your wedding

The night before has only a few jobs, and most of them are about rest. Rehearse, eat, give the marriage license to whoever is bringing it, and pack what you need in the morning. Then sleep.

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The 6 tasks for the night before

  1. Attend rehearsal & dinner

    Run through the ceremony at the venue, then eat with the people closest to you.

  2. Give license to officiant

    Hand the marriage license to the officiant, or to whoever is bringing it.

  3. Pack day-of items

    Put everything for the morning by the door.

  4. Get a good night's sleep

    Go to bed early; the day starts sooner than you think.

  5. Stay hydrated & relaxed

    Drink water and keep the evening quiet.

  6. Set alarms & transport plans

    Set two alarms and check how everyone gets where they need to be.

These are the tasks in the “Night before the Wedding” group of the free wedding checklist. Put in your wedding date there and each one gets its own due date, with anything already late marked overdue.

What should already be done

This stage leans on these. If one is still open, do it first.

And the rest of the earlier groups: 12+ months before, 10-11 months before, 8-9 months before, 6-7 months before, 4-5 months before, 3 months before, 2 months before, 1 month before, 2 weeks before, 1 week before. Anything left over can still be caught up.

Questions

What should I do the night before the wedding?
The checklist has 6 tasks for this stage: attend rehearsal & dinner, give license to officiant, pack day-of items, get a good night's sleep, stay hydrated & relaxed and set alarms & transport plans.
What should already be done by the night before?
The tasks this stage depends on: book rehearsal dinner venue, apply for marriage license and prepare emergency kit. Anything else left from earlier groups can still be caught up.
Who should hold the marriage license on the wedding day?
Give it to the officiant, or to someone reliable who'll hand it over, the night before. It has to be at the ceremony to be signed, and the officiant is the one who sends it in afterwards.