Weddings are amazing but there’s a lot to think about when organising them. Here I have listed 10 helpful wedding day tips that you might not have even thought about.
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1. Delegate
The last thing that you want on your wedding day is to be stressing, so make a list of things that need to be done before the ceremony and delegate those tasks to someone else. Of course you might feel more in control if you do everything yourself but I promise it’ll just make you stressed out and that’s not an emotion you want to crop up on your wedding day. It’s much better to just hand tasks over and that’s what your Bridesmaids and groomsmen are there for, to help you and make you feel calm on one of the most special day’s of your life!
2. Tasks & Schedule
Make sure that all the people that have particular roles are briefed with the wedding schedule and any tasks so that they know where they need to be and when. It’s ideal to create a spreadsheet with a timeline of all the formalities and things that need to get done on the wedding day and print copies to hand out to your bridesmaids and groomsmen and anyone else that might find it useful to help keep things on track to help ensure that you have a stress-free day.
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3. Button Holes
Guys take note as this is something that I find men often get wrong or struggle with! The Men’s button holes go on the left side and the floral part sits right on top of the button hole. You put the needle through the jacket, then through the stem, out the other side and then back through the jacket so that the pin is as least visible as possible. It’s easiest to have someone put it on for you whilst you’re wearing it and it makes for great getting ready photos for the guys.
The ladies coursages go on the right side and are supposed to be upside down, but sometimes they actually look better with the florals facing upwards so just decide what looks best on the day.
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4. Bouquets
Remember to take the bouquets out of any water about 30mins before you need to leave for the ceremony and dry off the stems to avoid any excess water dripping onto your dresses.
The bride and Bridesmaids should hold their bouquets by their belly button. They have a tendency to be held up higher covering the top of their pretty dresses and even sometimes the bottom of their face. There’s a funny saying that helps people to remember the best place to hold their bouquet and that’s “Pubes not boobs”, or “flower to flower” .
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5. Take Time for Yourselves
It seems silly as the wedding day is about you two as a couple but it’s so easy to let the day go by without having spent any quality time together on your own because there’s so much going on and so many friends and family to get round to speaking to. So many people will tell you this, but the day really will fly by so try and block out time for you both to just enjoy each other’s company, even if it’s just 5 minutes, it’s important that you take a little time to soak it all up and spend a moment together as a newly married couple.
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6. Have a Drink
No, I don’t mean a beer or a gin (or any other alcoholic beverage of choice), I mean have a drink of water. It’s important to stay hydrated and it’s easy to find that hours have gone by between drinks on your wedding day when you’re centre of attention, going around chatting to all of your guests and having your photos taken etc. It’s easier thank you think to just forget to drink in this scenario but it’s vital to stay hydrated, particularly in the summer months when it’s warmer. You definitely don’t want to collapse from dehydration on your wedding day! The recommended amount of water to drink per day by health officials is 8 cups.
7. Ask a family member or friend to record your speeches
If you haven’t hired a videographer or your videography package is just for a highlights film and does not include the full speeches, enlist a friend or family member to record any speeches on their phone so that the jokes and heart felt moments of emotion are captured for you to look back on and keep forever. Make sure that your chosen person is prepped so that they know exactly when the speeches are going to happen and they are ready to start recording. Alternatively you could put a phone or Go Pro on a tripod facing the speakers and have someone in charge of pressing record but they can then sit back and enjoy the speeches without having the pressure of sitting recording and getting an achey arm from holding their phone up. The great thing about having someone record the speeches on your phone is that you won’t have to wait for your videographer to release the official footage, which usually takes months!
8. Have an unplugged ceremony / Ask your friends and family to hide their phones
There’s nothing worse than your guests stepping or leaning out with their phone, or even worse a big tablet to get their own photos of the entrance and the exit down the aisle which can block the professional photographer’s ability to capture beautiful, unobstructed photos of these important parts of the day, and even worse can block the couple’s view of each other for that very special moment where they see each other for the first time on the day. Ask your guests to live in the moment and watch the ceremony through their own eyes rather than through a screen.
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9. Find out what time the sun will set
It’s useful to know when the sun will set on your wedding day and plan your ceremony time accordingly as the sun obviously sets a lot earlier in the winter months, meaning there is less time for photos. If you don’t want your photos to feel rushed another option to think about is having a first look where you get to see each other for the first time before the ceremony, which can be a really lovely intimate moment between just the two of you and is a perfect opportunity for capturing lots of photos without guests trying to grab you for a chat and to congratulate you. First looks are especially good for winter weddings and later ceremonies where there is a rare against the sunset for natural light photos.
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10. Have all of your details laid out for your photographer
From the point go view of a photographer, it’s super helpful for our couples to have all of their details and sentimental items all laid out in one place in the morning, preferably by a window for natural light in a nice, clear space so that it makes the process of capturing them all pre-ceremony a lot easier and quicker, rather than having to constantly ask where different bits are and scramble around to try and find them all. Then your photographer can get back to capturing lots of lovely, natural shots of you getting ready and hanging out with your bridesmaids or groomsmen in the morning. Below are list of items to have out for your photographer for both Bride and groom prep.
Bride Details
- The Dress
- Veil / Hair Pieces
- Rings (all three)
- Shoes
- Bouquet & Button Holes (If not delivered to the groom)
- Jewellery
- Perfume
- Garter
- Gifts
- Special / Sentimental Items
- Invitation & RSVP
- Borrowed & Blue Items
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Groom Details
- Cuff Links
- Tie or Bow Tie
- Shoes
- Any Military Detail
- Hip Flask / Gifted Liquor
- Aftershave
- Watch
- Belt
- Socks (if specialty)
- Custom Groomsmen Gifts
- Button Holes
- Rings
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And there you have it…My 10 Helpful wedding day tips. I hope you found these tips helpful whilst you plan out your special day
BONUS TIP
A website that I think can be really helpful during the wedding planning process is Bridebook
If you found this post on 10 Helpful wedding day tips useful, why not check out the blog post with bridal tips for the morning of the wedding – http://www.lucylouphotography.com/bridal-details/
