When you think of your wedding day the images that may come to mind is your family, seeing your groom as you walk down the aisle and perhaps your dress and flowers. Whatever you see when you think about your wedding day, I can bet you don't think about all of the pitfalls that can happen to cause hiccups in the day.
After working weddings for 14 years and still going, I have learned a thing or two about the things that can go wrong behind the scenes of a wedding to cause a bride major upset and leave her with a lasting negative impression. Below are some helpful tips to help make the day of your wedding run smoothly and leave you with memories of joy and not memories of dread.
Tip 1: If you do not have a day-of coordinator, elect a trusted friend or family member that is not in the wedding party to elect as your point person.
As the bride people are always going to come to you to ask your preference or where things should be placed or have random questions. A steady diet of that can be frustrating and stressful and take you out of the zone of enjoying your bridal party and getting ready to transform you to a place of worry and busyness. You have been waiting a long time for your wedding day and you deserve to enjoy it without being asked a bunch of random questions. Send out an email ahead of time letting everyone know the day of the wedding you're only taking texts that are of well wishes and not a ton of questions!
Tip 2: Hand out any bridesmaids gifts, write any emotional letters and read any emotional letters the night before your wedding, not on the actual wedding day.
Now, I understand that wedding days are filled with emotions, but don't make it more overwhelming than it has to be. If you know that you're going to cry and be taken by the day you owe it to yourself to help calm your nerves by spreading out the emotional moments. I don't know about you, but when I cry I go hard; my face gets puffy, my eyes swell, I get tired, and my skin gets red and splotchy. As a makeup artist, getting a bride's skin to calm down and look flawless, having their eyelashes stick, and having them look and feel more beautiful than they have ever felt is a tall order and add crying into the mix makes things really challenging. Hand out any emotional gifts or write emotional cards before the wedding day and you will thank yourself later by having calmer nerves as you walk down the aisle.
Tip 3: Don't forget these important items for the bridal ready suite
Getting ready for the ceremony in the bridal ready suite of your wedding venue or at a hotel is such a fun occasion; the energy is electric and there is usually music and a lot of laughter and excitement. There is always someone who needs something people don't regularly carry with them. So save the day and make sure that you have these items on hand for your bridal party just in case.
Extra bobby pins
Spray deodorant
Extra hairspray
Band-aids
Safety pins
Razors
Gum or mints
Lip conditioner
Pain reliever
Extra hair elastics
Stain removing pen (like a Tide Pen)
Q-Tips
These are just a few of the items to save the day! I'd love to hear more about other things that bridal parties need to help get ready or just practical advice you'd like other brides to know about! Head over to my Instagram @dianamariemakeupartistry and let me know some other practical advice brides should know about!