Planning tools After the wedding checklist
Just married: the money and paperwork checklist
Twelve things to handle in the first three months, in order. Most are free. The few that cost money show the price. Tick them off as you go.
Updated November 2026 · By the WedStay team · 7 min read
What should you do after you get married?
In the first two weeks, ship the bouquet if you are preserving it, order certified copies of your marriage certificate, add each other to health insurance and give employers a new W-4. Over the next three months, change your name if you are, update beneficiaries, make wills, decide how you will bank and plan your first married tax return.
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Your after-the-wedding checklist
Tick items as you finish them. Add your wedding date to see your own dates.
If the legal ceremony was on another day, use the date on your marriage certificate.
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First two weeks
0 of 5The most time sensitive item here. Everlasting Bloom Co. asks for flowers to reach its studio within 3 to 4 days of the wedding, and sooner is better. Its shipping kit, with a prepaid overnight label, arrives before the wedding, so order it ahead if you can.
- Flowers at the studio within 3 to 4 days
From $250 at Everlasting Bloom Co., as of November 2026
See bouquet preservation (paid link, opens in a new tab)Paid link. WedStay earns a commission if you buy through it, at no extra cost to you.They come from the vital records office in the state where you married. Social Security asks for proof of the marriage before it changes a name, and a health plan can ask for documents too, so order a few now instead of waiting on one copy to come back in the mail.
A fee set by your state
Marriage opens a special enrollment window. A job-based plan must give you at least 30 days after the wedding to ask. On the HealthCare.gov Marketplace you have 60 days: pick a plan by the last day of a month and coverage can start the first day of the next.
- Job-based plan: at least 30 days
- Marketplace: 60 days
Free to enroll; premiums vary by plan
The IRS says newlyweds should give their employers a new W-4 within 10 days. Two incomes can move you into a higher tax bracket, so run the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator together first.
- Within 10 days
Free
Write them while the day is fresh, a few each evening. Keep a note of who gave what as gifts are opened, so every card can name the gift.
Cards and stamps
First month
0 of 3Start with Social Security: the IRS says the name on your tax return must match its records. A replacement card is free, and in some states you can request it online. Your license, passport, bank and employer come after.
Free at Social Security. Optional HitchSwitch kits run $49.99 to $129.99, as of November 2026
Life insurance, retirement accounts and payable on death accounts pass to the person named on the account, not by your will. Check each one, at work and on your own, and name each other if that is what you both want.
Free
Tell the post office, your employers and your banks. The IRS takes a change of address on Form 8822.
Free
First three months
0 of 4Without one, your state's law decides who receives your property. Online, Trust & Will lists a will plan from $199 and a trust plan from $499. An estate planning attorney is the other route.
From $199 online, as of November 2026
Joint, separate, or both. If you open a joint account, the FDIC insures each co-owner up to $250,000 across their joint accounts at the same bank.
Free
If you are married on December 31, you are married for the whole tax year. You can file jointly or separately, and the IRS suggests figuring the tax both ways. Keep both sets of W-2s, 1099s and last year’s returns together.
Free
A prenup has to be signed before the wedding. Spouses can still sign an agreement after it, a postnuptial agreement, and each state sets its own rules. Minnesota, for example, requires each spouse to have a separate lawyer. Ask a lawyer licensed in your state.
Attorney fees vary
Your ticks and wedding date are saved in this browser only. The phases are a suggested order, not rules. The dates shown come from the rules and sources we name, and your own plan, employer or state may differ.
The dates that are real deadlines
Most of this list can wait for a quiet weekend. These cannot. Counted from the wedding day, with who sets each one.
- Within 3 to 4 days
- Bouquet at the preservation studio, if you are keeping it
- Everlasting Bloom Co.
- Within 10 days
- A new Form W-4 to each employer
- IRS
- At least 30 days
- To ask a job-based health plan to add your spouse
- U.S. Department of Labor
- 60 days
- To enroll or change plans on the HealthCare.gov Marketplace
- HealthCare.gov
- Before you file
- The name on your tax return matches your Social Security record
- IRS
- December 31
- Married on this date means married for the whole tax year
- IRS
Do newlyweds need a will?
No law makes you write one. But without a will, your state’s laws decide who receives your property by default, and those rules may not match what the two of you would choose. Marriage is the usual moment to make one, or to update the ones you already have.
A will also does not cover everything. Life insurance, retirement accounts, payable on death accounts and property you own jointly with survivorship rights pass outside it, to whoever is named or titled on them. That is why updating your beneficiaries sits on the same list.
There are two common routes: an online will service, or an estate planning attorney. Trust & Will itself matches people with an attorney for more complex needs, such as a child with special needs, a business with employees, or a blended family with complex dynamics.
An online will, priced
Trust & Will’s will plan includes a last will and testament, a HIPAA authorization, a living will and a power of attorney. These are its starting prices for one person, as of November 2026; check its site for a plan for both of you.
Newlywed checklist questions
What should you do first after getting married?
Start with the items that run on a clock. If you are preserving the bouquet, Everlasting Bloom Co. asks for flowers within 3 to 4 days. The IRS says to give employers a new Form W-4 within 10 days. A job-based health plan must give you at least 30 days to add a spouse, and the HealthCare.gov Marketplace gives 60. Order certified copies of your marriage certificate the same week, because the name change and the insurance can both need them.
Do newlyweds need a will?
No law requires one, but without a will your state's laws decide who receives your property. A will also does not control life insurance, retirement accounts or jointly titled property, which pass to whoever is named on them, so update those beneficiaries too. Trust & Will lists online will plans from $199 as of November 2026; an estate planning attorney is the other route.
How long do you have to add a spouse to health insurance after marriage?
For a job-based plan, the plan must give you at least 30 days after the wedding to request enrollment, and yours may allow longer. On the HealthCare.gov Marketplace, getting married opens a 60 day Special Enrollment Period: pick a plan by the last day of the month and coverage can start the first day of the next month.
Do you have to change your W-4 after getting married?
The IRS says newlyweds should give their employers a new Form W-4 within 10 days. Marriage can change what you owe: if you both work, the combined income can move you into a higher tax bracket. The IRS Tax Withholding Estimator helps you work out how much to withhold.
Does it cost anything to change your name after marriage?
Changing your name with Social Security is free; there is no charge for a replacement card. Start there, because the IRS needs the name on your tax return to match Social Security records. Other agencies set their own fees. Paid kits such as HitchSwitch's, $49.99 to $129.99 as of November 2026, prepare the forms for you but are optional.
Can you get a prenup after you are married?
No. A prenup has to be signed before the wedding. An agreement spouses sign after it is a postnuptial agreement, and each state sets its own rules. Minnesota, for example, enforces one only if each spouse had a separate lawyer when it was signed. Ask a lawyer licensed in your state.
How soon after the wedding do you need to preserve the bouquet?
Quickly. Everlasting Bloom Co. asks for flowers to reach its studio within 3 to 4 days of the wedding and says sooner is better. Its shipping kit, with cushioning, temperature protection and a prepaid overnight label, arrives before the wedding, so order it ahead and decide who will ship the flowers.
Sources, checked November 3, 2026
- USAGov, how to get a certified copy of a marriage certificate
- Social Security, change your name with Social Security
- Social Security FAQ, how to change the name on your card (documents needed)
- Social Security FAQ, there is no charge for a replacement card
- IRS Tax Tip 2026-54, marriage means making changes before next filing season
- IRS, filing status
- HealthCare.gov, special enrollment periods (getting married)
- U.S. Department of Labor, Life Changes Require Health Choices (PDF)
- American Bar Association, introduction to wills
- FDIC, deposit insurance for joint accounts
- Minnesota Statutes section 519.11 (postnuptial agreements)
- Trust & Will, compare plans and pricing
- HitchSwitch, name change packages
- Everlasting Bloom Co., flower preservation (shipping timing and starting price)
- FTC, Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking
General information, not advice
WedStay is not a law firm, a financial adviser or a tax adviser. Nothing on this page is legal, financial or tax advice, and nothing here creates an attorney client or adviser relationship with WedStay or anyone else.
Rules for wills, postnuptial agreements, name changes, health coverage and taxes depend on your state, your employer and your facts, and they change. Check with the agency, your plan administrator, or a lawyer or tax professional licensed where you live before you act.
We cite our sources and work to keep this page accurate, but we do not guarantee that it is complete or current. Partner prices and services can change; check their sites for current details.
WedStay earns a commission on purchases made through some links on this page.
Last reviewed November 3, 2026.