Getting married probably isn’t going to change much in your personal life, but it’s still a big life event and it’s fun to have a bucket list of things to cross off before you say ‘I do’. You can still do all of these even after you’ve tied the knot, but why not set yourself a challenge to complete this bridal bucket list before the big day?
Read more: 23 things couples forget when wedding planning
1) Go on a Girls’ Trip with Your Besties
You can go on plenty of trips after you’re married of course, but there’s something special about embarking on a last trip as a ‘miss’. Whether you go abroad for a fabulous long weekend, or you round up the girls for a luxury spa hen weekend, it’s a special way to treat yourself before your wedding.
2) Splash Out on Something Special
No doubt all your money has been going into your wedding fund! Chat to your partner and agree a budget for you each to treat yourself to something non-wedding-related ahead of the wedding. It’s nice to buy yourself something special, and it’s especially lovely to splash out on something after months and months of being sensible and saving!
Read more: The best budget hacks for your wedding
3) Spend Some Time by Yourself
This is a super simple one, but it’s really important! Whether you just go for a coffee, a walk or you decide to go visit somewhere new for a day, it’s crucial to take a bit of time out for yourself ahead of the wedding. Don’t check your emails, don’t do any planning, just grab a magazine and check out for a while.
4) Learn a New Skill
Speaking of spending time by yourself, make sure you spend some time on yourself too. Whether that’s starting some pre-wedding yoga like you always planned to, or finally deciding to learn a new language – now is the time to start something new that you can use to escape the stress of wedding planning and continue after the big day too!
5) Have a Big Night Out
Whether it’s just with your friends, your partner or your whole social circle, go out for a delicious dinner or for fancy cocktails and have fun. Try and keep wedding talk off-limits and focus on partying with your friends.
6) Recreate Your First Date
This is a super-cute pre-wedding date night idea! By recreating your first date, you can celebrate how far you’ve come together and refamiliarise yourself with what made you fall for each other in the first place.
7) Do Something That Scares You
This is a great idea, especially if you’re feeling a bit nervous about walking down the aisle and being the centre of attention on your wedding day. If you do something that scares you – whether it’s booking a session with a personal trainer or embarking on a mega zip wire – you’ll feel fearless and like you can do anything once you’re done!
Read more: How to stay calm whilst wedding planning
8) Write a Love Letter
You (and your partner) should write each other a love letter, especially if you’ve never done this before. Write down all the things you love about them and why you’re grateful for them, then save it for the morning of the wedding!
9) Have a Couple’s Photoshoot
Lots of wedding photographers will do engagement shoots too, but even if your photographer doesn’t offer this, look at getting some cute, candid photos taken together to mark and remember the time before you got married.
10) Host a Dinner Party
Dinner parties aren’t just for married couples – get practising and host one at home before you say ‘I do’. Bonus points if you cook something that isn’t part of your staple meal rota from university.
11) Do Some Volunteering
You’re lucky enough to be planning a wedding and celebrating finding the love of your life – so it’s a good time to give back to those less fortunate and to give back in your community by doing some volunteering.
12) Tackle Your Reading List
Make some time to actually start reading that stack of books that keeps building up! Set yourself a target of how many books you want to complete before you get married and commit to it. Reading is the perfect way to switch off, and we could all do with some tech-free time, couldn’t we?
13) Switch Up Your Meal Plan
A wedding is a good time to reassess your health and well-being – why not introduce a meat-free day once a week to improve your health and be kinder to the planet? It’s a good way to learn some new recipes too.
Read more: Your pre-wedding health and fitness plan
14) Have Savings That Aren’t Just for Your Wedding
It can be tempting to plough everything into your wedding fund, but make sure you have a decent savings fund for yourself too that’s separate from your wedding finances.
Read more: How to plan a wedding for £5,000
15) Go on a Road Trip
Plan a playlist and set an agenda – by setting off on an adventure together, you’ll make new memories to last a lifetime! It’ll be a great talking point for your wedding speeches too.
16) Sort Your Pension
Okay, so it’s not very exciting but you’ll be grateful you did it when you’re an old married couple, retired together and living comfortably because you were sensible about your pension.
17) Make a Time Capsule
Put together a time capsule – together or separately – and plan to open it on a milestone wedding anniversary. If you put it in a wooden box, you could tick off your fifth anniversary gift early! It’ll be lovely to open it in the future and think back to the time when you were excitedly planning for married life.
Do you love a good a bucket list? Make sure you check out our first year of marriage bucket list if you’ve ticked off everything on this one!
