So you’re getting married… congrats! You have some bling on your finger, a smile in your heart, and a few dozen tabs open on your browser window at any given time. Not to mention all the tabs that are open in your brain.

The Questions Keep Poppins’

After that first all-important “YES,” there are many more answers, to many other questions before the big day. Once you’ve chosen a venue and a dress, it feels like you should almost be done, but wedding plans have a way of unfolding like an accordion, and what seemed like a short list suddenly extends into an unwieldy squeezebox of decisions.

• What’s your budget, and how many grande lattes are you willing to sacrifice to its cause? How much does a wedding cost, anyway? Wow! How much does a SMALL wedding cost? How much does it cost to just elope and blow everything on the honeymoon?
• If you happen to have a fairy godmother, a couple of mice, and a spare pumpkin around, you might be able to whip up a horse-drawn carriage on the cheap. Otherwise, make sure you put a line in the budget for wedding transportation. Will you roll up with your wedding party sipping champagne in a shiny white limo? Maybe you’re more of a party-bus-with-a-disco-ball couple. Or, if yours is a metropolitan romance, maybe you’ll just throw the train of your dress over one arm and hop on the subway.
• How much does a wedding DJ cost? Like a GOOD wedding DJ who will pronounce your name right when you walk into the reception and won’t play the chicken dance song no matter how many times your father-in-law requests it.

Practically Ever After

As if all this weren’t enough, it’s probably not a bad idea to spend some time talking to your future spouse about all the parts of life that will happen after the vows have been exchanged and the confetti swept up. It may seem crazy to add to your already extensive to-do list. But look at it this way: a big deal life event like your wedding means you’re already in planning beast mode, so you might as well harness that energy and open up a few more tabs.

Will you combine your finances or keep everything separate and make each other promise not to look at the bank statements around holidays? If you’re planning to have kids, when should you start saving for their education? What about (ugh) life insurance?

Life insurance isn’t the most romantic subject, and it may not exactly be a typical part of wedding preparation, but if you think about it, there’s a lot of sweetness in extending your devotion to each other past “death do us part.”

So pick out your china pattern. Register for the 3,000 thread count sheets. But don’t forget about the things you can’t put on a registry. A life insurance plan might do more to help you sleep at night than the most buttery-soft pillowcase against your cheek.

Made for Each Other

If one major commitment feels like enough for right now, it’s OK to start small… maybe with a 10 year term life insurance policy. Term life insurance provides coverage for a predetermined amount of time (usually 10, 20, or 30 years). It’s a simple, affordable, alternative to whole life (or permanent) insurance.

When you make the decision to be with someone forever, you want it to be the longest forever possible. But if something terrible happens, and your time together is cut short, the second best scenario is that right from the start, you’ve chosen to protect each other, come what may. That’s a love that lasts longer than a lifetime.