First things first…CONGRATULATIONS! You’re getting married! To help you have the most amazing wedding day ever, I’ve put together a list of 10 things to help your day go smooth and relieve a little stress off your shoulders. Weddings require a lot of planning, research, organization, and of course, proper timing. I don’t just want to take the most amazing wedding photos of your dreams, but I want to be there to help delegate your day and make it go as smooth and stress free as possible. Having photographed weddings for the last 7 years I have had my fair share of experiences, I am confident that you will find these little tips SUPER helpful!
1. Plan Ahead
This may be obvious but go above and beyond with your planning! Get a wedding planner and organization book, my favorite is by Bloom Planners. (https://bloomplanners.com/collections/wedding-set) Start a list of what is most significant and important to you and don’t be afraid to delegate out the small task and jobs to those who can help. I am a huge control freak and it is so difficult for me to give someone else control but I promise it will ease the stress. When in doubt ask your significant other, they wont be shy about telling you what they like and what is most important to them on both of your big day.
2. Hire a Day of Coordinator
A professional wedding planner or day-of coordinator is guaranteed to make your life less stressful and make everything run more smoothly! Maybe your wedding venue even has a day-of coordinator available for you! Either way, the more help you can have in finalizing wedding plans and directing the flow of the wedding day, the less stress you’ll have. You wont be able to be in every place at once so having one person in charge of all the details who knows the timeline like the back of their hand will help. You wont want your phone to be going off every 10 minutes with endless questions about your set up or other details so its best to let someone else handle the details. Better yet just ditch that phone! (You can thank me for that tip later.)
3. Lots of Sleep
Yes! Beauty sleep is an actual thing! It can be fun to hang out the night before with your best girls, but you are gong to need your full 8 hours of rest before your day! Plan for brunch in the morning for something fun, but don’t try to cram everything in the morning before. Get that Mani/Pedi with your gals a day or two before. Along with sleep don’t forget to put some food in your stomach! If you’re nervous try a banana!
4. Stick to your Timeline
Remember when I said I was a control freak? Well this will be the most important thing you will want to control! Your timeline is everything! Who is bringing what and when can make all the difference between a smooth or a nightmare of a wedding day. Your photographer will usually have a suggested timeline for you to help things run smooth and to make sure everything gets documented and photographed. Check out mine HERE! If anything is going to go wrong first its your timeline, you will have a late member of your family or bridal party, the flowers will come late, and before you know it you’re an hour behind schedule! I tell my couples to always plan for an hour of cushion before the ceremony, and girls plan for at least an extra 30 minutes or hair and makeup time!
5. Keep the Details together and your Preparation Area Tidy
If I was a character from friends(the best show ever!) I would so be Monica! Its my motto that having things organized and clean reduces stress. Keeping things neat and tidy in your preparation room will not only make your photographs look nicer, but you will be able to find everything, which can be a huge relief! Along with keeping things in the area you are getting ready in organized, keep your detail items you want photographed together. Your dress, rings, flowers, shoes invitations, and anything else. Your photographer will probably want to photograph them for you so keep them together for easy access!(Tip! Make sure your flowers arrive before your photographer.)
6. Have a First Look
Okay just hear me out! I know traditions say its bad luck to see the Bride before the ceremony, but having a first look saves SO much time! It is so difficult, and most of the time near impossible to get all of the family, bridal party and couples photographs in during cocktail hour between your wedding and reception. It’s hard enough as is rounding up all of the family for a quick photo and someone always, ALWAYS goes missing. When you have a first look, your moment can still be intimate, special and can still mean the world to you! But having that first look also can mean the difference between getting all the photos that are important to you and sacrificing some images you may have wanted.
7. Skip the Receiving Line
This one can be a touchy subject with the parents, but it will save a ton of time and there is still plenty of opportunity to greet your guests during the reception. Also, give clear directions to your bridal party and parents to not linger at the back of your ceremony space / church in order to avoid confusion about a receiving line you didn’t mean to have… Which then will intruded on the time you were supposed to be taking your family and couples photo’s.
8. Take a Few Minutes Before the Reception
You will love me for this one! It’s not something that often gets thought about, but plan for 10-15 minutes of alone time for you and your sweetheart! Your day is going to fly by I can promise you that! Having a special moment before you are announced to your waiting guest at your reception can give you time to reflect on your love for each other and give you a bit of a breather before you start to celebrate.
9. Stick Together
During your reception stay close to your sweetie pie! Not only will you actually be seen in photographs together but then you will both have some of the same memories from that night. Instead of filling each other in on everything you experienced why not try to experience it all together? After all you planned so hard for this day, so spend it with the person you love!
10. Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff
Remember that there are going to be things that happen that are out of your control. The weather might not be perfect, someone might do something unexpected, or maybe the timeline might run behind. But one thing wont change and thats the love you have for the person you are going to marry. Soak in every second of your day together and remember why you are there.
I hope you found my two cents helpful! Your day will be perfect, but it will go by so fast and by the end you will be so beat, but you will be officially MARRIED! Remember at the end of the day you are marrying the person you love and having the best part ever so enjoy every second of it!