While prepping for your big day takes months – sometimes even years – prepping for after the wedding generally gets left until the last minute.
Most newly married couples will spend their wedding night in a hotel, even if they’re not going on a honeymoon straight away. It’s often easier to stay over at the venue where your wedding was hosted, and much more romantic than heading straight home.
With this in mind, you’ve got some packing to do!
What to Pack for Your Wedding Night
This handy checklist will help you make sure you’ve packed all the right things for your first night away as Mr & Mrs. It’s so easy to forget things when you’re caught up in the excitement of your wedding, that having a checklist on hand is essential – even if you give it to the maid of honour and get her to help you!
Fancy Pants
You’ll almost certainly want to feel glamorous on your wedding night, and those beige tummy-hold-in knickers that you wore under your dress all day aren’t going to cut it. Pack some lacy bridal lingerie to slip into for when you’re ready to shed the big dress. Even if you don’t normally go for fancy pants, now is the time to go all in. I’d also opt for a silky gown to lounge in too. Who says you can’t be alluring and comfy all at once?
A Hangover Cure
You wouldn’t be the first couple to accidentally overindulge on the fizz at the reception, and you definitely won’t be the last. It’s always better to be safe than sorry, so pack your preferred hangover cure for insurance. No one wants to start wedded bliss with a banging head.
Related: A Winter Wedding Can Be So Magical
Skincare
It’s likely you’ve adopted a meticulous skincare routine in the run up to your wedding. Don’t risk losing that ethereal glow by skipping out on your skincare routine as soon as you’ve said ‘I do’. You can just about get away with removing your makeup with a wipe for one night, but after that, you’ll regret letting your routine slide.
A Notepad
After the wedding day is done, it’s time to unpack the gifts. If you’ve got great self-control, you might wait until you get home. When I got married, I was far too excited and unwrapped the gifts in the hotel before we checked out. If you do this, you’ll need a pen and paper so you can keep a note of who got what and send out thank you cards to the right people.
Clothes To Go Home In
This is simultaneously the most obvious and the most forgotten thing to pack. Brides usually arrive in some sort of ‘bride’ emblazoned loungewear with rollers in their hair and a dress in tow. Then they wear the pretty dress, change into the fancy pants at night, and have nothing to wear to breakfast the next day! Pack an outfit. It doesn’t need to be glamorous, or special, you just need something to wear in public. Otherwise you might have wear your wedding dress home!