It's almost your wedding day!!
Here's some tips to make it go as smoothly as possible!
Alrighty my friends I'm going to bring up some tips for your wedding day in this wedding guide. Before you dig in, don't let these wedding tips stress you out! This wedding day guide is entirely meant to help make your wedding less stressful! Some won't apply at all and and some you won't like. Feel free to pick a few and leave the other ones behind!
Wedding Day Guide
Keep everything you're going to need for the day in one central spot
Details
This part of the day is a big favorite of mine because I get to photograph the little details that mean something to you, including maybe some things you might have not thought of until this very minute. Once I arrive, I will be starting on your detailed photos first thing. To make this part of the day go as smooth as possible, I encourage you to start building what I call a "details box"
Grab a box and start loading your details in there. This way we can AVOID you running around trying to grab details last minute. Chances are you might miss something and we don't want that to happen.
Start a tote bag or box with all the wedding day essentials and start it early. Got your shoes already? Jewelry? These all need to be put together so you or someone else can easily grab it on the wedding day. I suggest one central spot and then dividing up and organizing it for what you will need to get ready, what your partner will need to get ready, and what your wedding will need. Outsmart yourself because something will be left behind.
Here's some examples of things that have had a panicked scramble to find after they've been misplaced or forgotten...
Getting ready - shoes, jewelry, undergarments, guys remember to bring a belt and your fancy socks, makeup, letter to spouse or wedding day gift, emergency kit, marriage license, rings, invitation/ring box/anything you might want to be photographed during the getting ready/details portion of the big day. And don't forget a vow booklet.
Wedding - any diy details that your wedding might have such as center pieces, gifts for guests, signs etc. Keep it organized, keep one reliable person in charge of transporting it.
And put someone else in charge of some of this! Make a list and divvy up responsibilities. You don't want to be handling setting things up, finding things, or answering a million questions when you're getting ready!
Pad any hair and makeup time on the timeline
Out of all the wedding day tips, this will help more than you realize! If this applies to your wedding, keep in mind that it always takes longer than anticipated. Hair and makeup is an art so give those artists some extra time. If doing your own hair and makeup, give yourself time and several practice sessions beforehand. And never ever let the bride(s) be the last to get into hair and makeup. If we start running behind I'll start getting the couple ready while wedding party/moms get finished up.
Getting Ready
Keep the room you're getting ready in nice and tidy
There might just be you or there might be twenty other people, but either way getting ready has the possibility of becoming a stressful, hot mess. Connect with everyone beforehand about keeping the rooms neat and it'll not only help your awesome photographer take beautiful photos (hi) but it'll also help to make sure nothing goes missing in the chaos. With more people getting ready, things are shuffled, left out, and possibly moved by the photographers to make room.
And while we're at it...if you're getting ready in hotel rooms remember to let your photographers and videographers know the room number as soon as you get it. If not they'll be wandering around the lobby trying to get ahold of you. It's a whole thing and in fact I once followed a group of bridesmaids in robes trying to find out if they belonged to the same wedding I did. It's way creepier (and harder) to follow someone if you're hauling a suitcase or two of camera gear with you.
Have an emergency kit prepared
Just in case, put together a little kit for getting ready emergencies. The hope is that you never touch it but better to be prepared! A small sewing kit, a tide to go pen, makeup wipes, scissors, etc come in handy more than you'd realize.
I carry a lot of this stuff with me but it's always nice to have an extra emergency kit available if I'm not in the room.
Nearly all weddings I don't have to sew a bridesmaid into a dress or get lipstick out of a wedding dress right before walking down the aisle...but I have done both!
You can either take them to a jeweler to have them professionally cleaned or you can even use dish soap (it's magic at taking off grease and dirt). This is such a little thing and might even go unnoticed. Your photographer on the other hand is going to be all up in those rings to take their photos. Even if I'm not using a macro lens to get some massive ring photo, dead skin, oils, and dirt can make your beautiful rings dull and kind of grody.
Have your rings cleaned
Have your people in their outfits
Don't forget mom!
Anyone that is helping you (parents or wedding party) get ready should be in their fancy outfits when they help you get ready. I'm as pro sweatpants as it gets and I'm anti staging moments, but it can detract from the photo if the person helping you tie your tie or put on your necklace is in their undies.
If your mom is there, she might be running around trying to help. Make sure you take a photo with her at some point. It's one of the most commonly missed photos. And while on that topic, hug your parents if they're there and you have a good relationship with them. We'll get a formal photo with them of course but so many don't have their parents at their wedding so take a moment together to remember and savor. If you need boundaries with parents or have had a loss, let me know so I can help you navigate.
Keep drinking the night before to a minimum
Go to bed early
Have breakfast
No one looks cute after a night of drinking. Hydrate. No amount of editing will fix a hangover.
No one feels cute on three hours of sleep. If your wedding has a lot of setup needed it is the time to delegate so you can call it quits early and get some much needed sleep.
Hanger, nerves, stress, and getting ready mimosas might be a tricky combination. Something light for breakfast will help! And while we're at it, make sure you sit down and eat together at your wedding reception. Everyone will want to come talk to you but try to hold that sit down time as sacred. It can be a moment of calm and connection for you two in a whirlwind day.
Looking and Feeling Your Best
To bustle or not to bustle?
If you're wearing a dress the chances are high that you'll need to bustle it before the reception. A seamstress adds buttons or hooks hidden into your dress to raise it to floor length so you can walk, dance, and not be stepped on. Unless your dress is short, tea length, or exactly floor length you'll want to make sure you have a bustle. Bustles vary in complexity depending on the style of dress. Take a video of the seamstress showing you how to do it and designate someone in charge of this right before you enter your reception. If you're wearing a veil this is where you'll want to ditch that too...or else everyone hugging you will be tugging on it.
If bouquets are included, hand them over to someone once you make it down the aisle. You can't hold hands during the ceremony and balance flowers at the same time and my guess is that you'd rather be holding hands.
If a dress has a train, have someone straighten it once you're up there too.
When you have your first kiss as a married couple don't forget to linger and then kiss again. You don't have to full on make out but a long kiss or two means your photographer can get the best photos.
A poorly placed microphone or a well meaning guest with a cell phone might block your first kiss photo. These are things to keep in mind.
And walking back down the aisle? Just feel it. You got married! Dance, wave hi, kiss at the end of the aisle. Soak in this moment.
Wedding ceremony tips
(or use moderation with)
Things to just say no to
- Hair ties on wrists
-Apple watch tan lines
- Keeping cell phones, keys, knives, flasks, etc in pants pockets during the ceremony and formal photos.
- Self tanner and body glitter - it doesn't always photograph quite as well as you would like it to so a little goes a long way. And chunky spray glitter in your hair? It photographs less magical and more dandruff.
- Try to avoid getting a sun burn - I know no one sets out to get a painful burn or heavy tan lines the week of their wedding, but sunscreen is yours and your photographer's friend. Editing these out can be difficult and in some cases impossible.
- For backless and strapless wedding dresses - you may want to forgo wearing a bra as you get ready to avoid lines and indentations in your skin for the rest of the day.
- Steam all dresses and suits the night before. If this can't be done the night before then do it before any hair and makeup is started...because that steam will ruin all that hard work.
- Writing your vows the day of or the night before will stress you out! Try and get those done early (and put them in your getting ready tote so they don't get lost). Also write them out on paper or in a booklet unless you want to be pulling your cell phone out and reading them during the ceremony.
- Using makeup to cover tattoos can be tricky. Most of my couples love their tattoos but some more formal weddings or cultures might want them covered. Research makeup to avoid getting it on clothing or having it look obvious.
- Those fake aisle runners. They always rip and never stay put. In photos it just looks like a roll of paper towels were rolled out.
