Your wedding day will be one of the most memorable days of your life. You want it to run smoothly and you want to minimize stress. Ive put together a few tips to reduce the stress so you can increase the fun, the love and the joy!!
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Keep yourself hydrated and nourished
Sometimes you get so wrapped up in making the day perfect, you forget to eat and drink. You become de-hydrated and your blood sugar levels can drop, making you dizzy and feel faint. Mix that with a hot day and nerves, and you could end up with a wedding ceremony that is then next viral YouTube video! Look after yourself and stay hydrated.
Hair and makeup
When arranging your appointments with hairdressers and makeup artists, you should ensure that you (the bride) goes first, and make sure you have your own transport in case you have to leave before others are finished. This will ensure that you will be dressed and ready when the photographer arrives.
If you are having makeup professionally done, ask them for a sample of the product you are using. Most places have samples and are happy to give them to you. They are a convenient size to put in a small bag to re-apply as needed after the ceremony and throughout the reception.
Flowers
Only put the flowers in the fridge if you are getting married in winter or where the outside temperature is quite cool. Flowers don’t take kindly to be thrust into the furnace that can be a Qld summer after they have sat undisturbed for some hours beside the cheese slices and champagne.
Talk to your florist, they might suggest you leave the flowers wrapped in wet paper towels (around the stalk end) at room temperature, otherwise the flowers go into ‘shock’ when they go outside and won’t survive.
Arrival times
Both the groom and groomsmen should be on site at least a half hour before the ceremony start time to be able to greet the guests, and to be ready for the photographer.
Contrary to popular belief, it is no longer fashionable for the bride to be late. This may have been the case in a time when churches or venues only booked one wedding per day, however these days sites can be booked for another wedding straight after yours and time frames can be tight. Many celebrants are also booking more than one ceremony on the day (I don’t book ceremonies in succession) and you don’t want to be left at the alter without a celebrant! Its best to be on time – or tell your guests you will arrive 10 minutes before your actual scheduled arrival – that way you will appear to be late – but really, you’ll be right on schedule. Be careful, you don’t want to be hurried along by the arrival of the next bride and groom.
Transport to the #wedding venue
Close to your wedding date and at approximately the same time and day as the wedding, have a practice run from where you are getting dressed to the venue. This will cater for about the same type of traffic conditions. Obeying all traffic lights, directions, speed limits etc, note the time it took to get there, then add 15 minutes to it. Use this practice run to calculate the time the bride should be in the car and on her way, taking into account that you may need to allow an extra 10-15 minutes on arrival at the venue for the photographer. This extra time ensures that she will be able to be taken around any traffic diversions, accidents, RBTs and so on, so that you arrive cool, calm and collected.
If using limousines or hire vehicles, contact the company a few days before the wedding date and go over all transport requirements, particularly timings of arrival at the bride’s home, departure from there and arrival time at the wedding venue, allowing for the photographer who may take up to 15 minutes to take shots of your arrival. Ensure that the driver will know the location and directions to the wedding venue.
In the event of any accident, flat tyre or vehicle breakdown, it is a good idea for the bride (or someone who is in the car with the bride) has money (or an Uber account) so that if worst case scenario means that you do not wait for help.
During the ceremony
While you are standing for the ceremony, don’t stand continuously on the balls of your feet, as this can close off part of the circulation and result in an eventual faint. Equally, never stand entirely on the front of your feet. This may be a little hard for brides with high heels, but the best way to avoid cutting off circulation is to discretely rock back and forwards, or wiggle your toes. No-one will see!
General Tips
If you’re having a formal / traditional ceremony, it’s possible that the groom and / or groomsmen haven’t worn buttonhole flowers or cummerbunds before. Remember, buttonhole flowers are worn on the left lapel, with the flower facing up. Flowers are usually worn by the groom and his attendants, plus the fathers of the bride and groom. The pleats in cummerbunds are worn facing up.
For best photographic results, grooms should shave 2-3 days before the wedding and then wait until the morning of the wedding to shave again. It’s a good time for the groom to get a bit of pampering and visit a skilled barber for a close shave on the wedding day morning.
Brides can reduce stress later in the day by packing an ‘emergency kit’ and ask a friend to hang on to it until needed. Include things like lipstick, make up touch ups, nail varnish (to fix a run in stockings), safety pins and/or needle and thread, aspirin, spare hanky or tissues, band aids etc.
Image source: Elizabethannedesigns.com
Brides don’t have to wear high shoes, it’s popular to wear flats or even bare feet. But if you are wearing heels, consider packing some comfy shoes that you can change into after the photos and formalities are over.
If you are spray tanning for your wedding, trial the product or professional service first to be certain you are going to like the end result. A bad spray tan can look tragic, whereas a good one looks fabulous. Talk to your photographer, a good one will often recommend against fake tan, or if you must, a very light shade.
Do not apply any hair removal creams or waxes within a day or two of your wedding unless you are certain that you won’t have a reaction to it. You don’t want to turn up on your wedding day with a red burn make across our top lip!
Clean your engagement ring (and any other jewellery you will be wearing) so that it will match your shiny new wedding ring.
If you are wearing a strapless gown, take your bra off at least three hours before the photographer’s arrival on your wedding day. Bra strap marks stay embedded in the skin for a long time and look unsightly in photographs.
