The vows have been said, the wedding has been celebrated and it seems that the only thing to do next is to prepare for the honeymoon. However, there are several other things that are important to do in the week after the wedding. As young couples all over the world point out, wedding planning does not end with the wedding itself, but there are many other things to think about later as well.

A tradition to pass on - thank you cards

Although this tradition is not as pronounced in Latvia as, for example, in the USA, it is not only a polite but also a beautiful gesture to send thank you cards to your wedding guests for their presence and gifts on your special day. To make the thank you cards even more special, they can be ordered together with the wedding invitations, in this way the stationery master will make them in a similar design as the invitations.

If you are going on a honeymoon trip immediately after the wedding and there will not be enough time to write thank-you cards at home, you can also do it on the plane in paper or electronic format (the latter option will not be as personal as handwritten thank-you letters).

Evaluate service providers

One of the things to make sure the day after the wedding - whether you have settled with all service providers, including caterers, photographer, decorator, all rental service providers, etc.

Go through the list of all the service providers employed at your wedding again and if you find one you haven't paid, do so immediately.

Also, if you want to express your gratitude to a service provider, you can certainly do so by leaving a positive review on their website or Facebook page, as well as by sending a personal message of thanks on behalf of both of you.

Take the bride's dress to be cleaned

Although it is likely that the bride will not wear her wedding dress again in the near future, this does not mean that after taking it off, she should put it in the far corner of the closet with the thought "I will clean it someday". The sooner you take it to the dry cleaner, the more likely it is that all the dirt accumulated during the wedding celebration will be cleaned.

The longer you keep it in the cupboard, the harder it will be to clean off wine and other stains.

Do not throw away anything that is still usable

One of the prerequisites of an environmentally friendly wedding is not to throw out anything that is still usable. For example, leftovers from a wedding feast can be distributed to guests by arranging in advance cardboard boxes to put it all in.

The wedding guests will probably only be happy about the arrangements of live flowers.

It is a nice idea to take the arrangements of live flowers to the nearest hospital or nursing home (of course, after contacting it in advance and finding out if such a possibility exists).

You look at your beautiful and large wedding cake and think how wonderful it would be to eat it, for example, after returning from your honeymoon? It is possible! Properly stored and frozen, the wedding cake will be edible a month or even later.

Check social media

If you are one of those couples who created their own special hashtag or hashtag for the wedding day, then the day after the wedding is the right time to check on social media what the guests have put together on that hashtag during the wedding day. Since many posts from social networks disappear within 24 hours, if you want to see everything, then you need to remember about the time limit.

Change of identity

Speaking of the digital world, the week after the wedding is also the time to change all social media usernames, e-mail address, as well as passport, driver's license and other documents. Of course, all this should be done in case the bride takes the last name of her beloved.

PHOTO: KRISTA MASALSKA, LINDA LAUVA , ANDA UPMALE