You’ve just spent what feels like years of your life planning the perfect wedding. Right down to the floral arrangements that your aunt scoffed at and the perfect playlist no one will remember. Now you’re exhausted, happy, and a little lost. Unfortunately, you know that the wedding does not actually end when the party is over. There are still responsibilities that you are going to have to take care of.

In your state of happy bliss, responsibilities are the last thing you want to think about. It can be overwhelming, after all the hard work of planning a wedding, to remember that it isn’t over. Dear newlyweds, you don’t have to worry anymore. This sweet, easy guide will help you on your way to marital bliss, free of any last-minute worries that you forgot.

Cleaning

You should have made arrangements with your venue for cleaning already. In fact, it was likely tucked into your bill as one of those tiny extra fees at the bottom. If you had the ceremony on your own property, make sure that someone sticks around at the end of the night. It’s nice not to have to worry about cleaning up after so many people on your big day!

The most important thing you’ll want to remember is picking up the keepsakes that you don’t want to leave behind.  This means your sign-in book, homemade centerpieces, gifts or donations, and anything else with sentimental value. A good way to keep track of these things is to assign pick-up duties to a responsible family member. They can box everything up at the end of the night and keep them for you until you come home from your honeymoon. You’ll sleep soundly on the way to your destination knowing that everything is safe.

Thank You’s

You might be rolling your eyes at the idea of writing personalized Thank You cards, but they are a nice sentiment. If that doesn’t convince you, then remember: there is no better way to remind people how incredible your wedding was than by sending them a card that is flawlessly coordinated with your theme. However, you’re not wrong about how annoying this is to organize. How do you make sure you wrote one for everyone? Do you even have your fourth cousin’s address? Relax. There are a few easy ways to make this tedious task feel like a breeze.

The first key is to leave it until you’re home from your honeymoon. There’s no need to rush through them on the plane or in your hotel. Your friends and family will understand that you’re spending time with your beloved. Even if you opted out of a honeymoon, give yourself a week to start enjoying married life before you start taking care of these. You’ll be happy for the break. Then, remember that you have quite a few options when it comes to how you send these out. Electronic Thank You cards are nice for many reasons. They take a lot less time to write, and you can more than likely get a list of emails from the website wherever you registered to make sure you don’t miss one single relative. Even if you don’t choose to send out an e-mail, remember when you sent out invitations a few months ago? Save that list. In fact, save the envelopes if you want to. Everything you do in preparation for your wedding is helpful after if you plan well!

The Food

Ah, wedding buffets; mounds of cocktail weenies and tiny meatballs that are so cute you might cry at them if you drink enough champagne. Not to mention the beautiful, extravagant, 6-tier cake you obsessed over ordering. What are you going to do with it all now that the reception is over? There are plenty of options!

If your venue or a commercial company catered your wedding, you can always ask them to pack up the leftovers. They may even donate them to a food bank in the area. This is an especially good idea for a destination wedding. No matter what, there will always be guests who want to take food home. Find out early on if that’s an option, and provide boxes for everyone.

Maybe you’re having a smaller wedding and you or a family member did the cooking. Be sure you made arrangements with someone to have it all gone before you come home. After all, week-old leftovers are not a smell you want to walk in on when you’re just getting back from a getaway.

Homecoming

Before you leave for your honeymoon or your destination wedding, clean the house. Or ask someone to clean it while you’re away. Make sure you have a neat bed, a clean fridge, and a vacuumed carpet. Are you getting ready with your bridesmaids before the big event? Make sure someone is around to pick up after you all. Whatever you have to do, make sure your home is as clean as possible.

Why? Because a wedding, a reception, and a honeymoon are as exhausting as they are wonderful. The biggest bummer you will ever experience is coming home to a job after such a special occasion. All you want to do is snuggle your love-bug. Before you do that, you have to clean up all the trash left on the floor because it’s driving you insane. Don’t let that happen, and take care of it all before hand so that your first night home is an easy one.

Hold Each Other Close

Even if, after all the planning in the world, you still miss a few tiny details, don’t sweat it. Remember that the person you just committed to will be there by your side every second. Enjoy your first days together, because you’ll never get them back. If anything does go wrong, just laugh it off with your partner. Think of it as the first of many adventures to come.