This is the week the production stops being yours, and that's the point. In the last seven days the final count goes to the caterer, the run of show and the Team Sheet go to every provider about 72 hours out, the DJ Sheet goes final with the pronunciations, the seating chart goes to the venue, the rain call gets a deadline and a name, the marriage license gets checked against its window, the envelopes get labeled, the vendor meals get confirmed, and the kit gets packed the day before, not the morning of.

On the day itself, none of it is in your hands. Every box has a name on it, every provider has one number to call, and that number is not yours. Here's the order I'd do it in.

Seven days out: the numbers and the sheets

The caterer's deadline for the final count is in your contract; hit it, with the vendor meals in the number (see Vendor Meals). The seating chart goes to the venue on paper, not as a photo on somebody's phone.

Then the sheets. The run of show and the Team Sheet go to every person on the Team Sheet, one shared link or one file, and you ask each provider for a one-line reply: got it, arriving at two. That reply is the confirmation. Silence is not. That's Maintaining Communication with the clock running.

The DJ Sheet goes final this week too, and the line that matters most is the pronunciations: a name said wrong at the grand entrance sounds like a stranger is running your wedding, and the fix is to write it how it sounds. Confirm every provider's arrival window with the venue, and the driver's times, in writing.

The license

In Massachusetts the two of you file the notice of intention jointly with the clerk or registrar of any city or town, not less than three days before the wedding, and Sundays and holidays count toward the three. The certificate is only good for sixty days from the day the notice was filed; if it isn't used by then, it goes back to the office that issued it.

So this week, look at the date on it, and then put it in the papers box with the rings and the vows. Your clerk's office is the source for anything beyond that; ask your officiant who signs it and who returns it afterward.

The envelopes

List who gets an envelope, who hands it to them, and when. Label each with a name, seal it, and put them all in one bag that one person carries: your coordinator, a parent, or a friend who will still be sober at eleven. The amounts are yours and go nowhere near this guide; Tipping and Thank-Yous covers the customs and the mechanics.

The rain call

If any part of the day is outdoors, the decision deadline goes on the calendar this week and the decider is named. Then rehearse it: say out loud, once, what happens if the call is rain. The Rain Call has the card. The call itself is usually the morning before, not the morning of.

The day before: the boxes and the kit

Pack the day before. The morning of the wedding is for hair, coffee, and nothing else. Six boxes, a name on each. The papers: license, rings, vows, the printed run of show, the Team Sheet, the Plan B Card, the DJ Sheet, the envelope bag, your IDs. The ceremony box: programs, readings on paper, unity items, the ring box.

The reception box: the cake knife and server, toasting glasses, card box, guest book and pens, table numbers, the seating chart, favors, signs, the money dance container, a toss bouquet, the slideshow on two devices, chargers. The kit: sewing, stain remover, tape, pain reliever, bandages, safety pins, and whatever your own day needs. Then the sendoff supplies, and the overnight bag.

Touch the license and the rings, then confirm they're in the box. Out loud. I'm serious. And decide whose phone is on: the point person's number is the one every provider has, and your phones go into a bag by noon.

The Week-Of Checklist has the seven days with dates to fill in, then the boxes with real checkboxes.

What usually goes wrong here

The count that changes on Thursday and never reaches the caterer. The cake knife on a kitchen counter at home. An envelope with no name on it. The shuttle driver with last month's time. All four are Tuesday problems, not Saturday problems.

Questions I get asked

Who holds the boxes on the day?

Never the two of you. A name per box, written on the box, from the Our Side list on the Team Sheet.

What if we don't have a coordinator?

Then the papers go to the most reliable adult in your life who isn't in the wedding party, and that person gets a copy of everything and the point-person title for the day.

Can the sheets go out earlier than 72 hours?

Yes, as long as it's final. A sheet that changes twice after it's sent is worse than one that arrives Wednesday and holds.

Nothing on this page is hard. All of it is forgettable, which is why it goes on paper, in a box, with a name on it. Prepare, prepare, prepare.

Thanks! Chuck