June 1, 2022
By reading this it means that you are probably in the middle of planning your wedding. The day is slowly creeping up on you and you still are scrambling to put all of your final touches together. Arguably one of the craziest moments on your actual wedding day is getting ready. This sets the stage for the remainder of the day and it’s important to have everything prepped and ready to go before you take on the remainder of the day. Lucky for you, I am NOT one to leave my couples hangin’ which is why I’ve put together some Wedding Day Getting Ready Prep Tips. Gone are the days when you are scrambling to get things together, running behind on schedule, and stressing out.
These wedding day getting ready prep tips will make sure you feel totally prepared and ready for one of the best days of your lives. You will be feeling stress-free and ready to take on the day!
Prep your Wedding Details
Now before we deep dive into all of the wedding day getting ready prep tips, you first have to know to prep your wedding details! Have you ever scrolled through social media and seen those insanely beautiful detail shots? You know… the ones where the invitations, jewelry, veil, and such are so perfectly curated? Well, all of that is thanks to properly preparing your wedding details.
Why Take Detail Photos?
The first question is “why do we take wedding detail photos in the first place”? The reason that we take detail photos isn’t just for a “pretty photo” even though, it really is. Your wedding details help curate a story! The story of how you and your partner met and showcasing momentos that reflect each other. For an example of some great detail photos, check out this blog post here!
When your photographer begins taking detail photos, just remember that these take time! I typically block off an hour of time in the morning to do the more elaborate detail flat-lays. If there’s not enough time allotted to take your detail photos, your flat-lays will tend to be much simpler and items may need to be left out.
What To Included in Detail Photos
So now you’re probably wondering, what is included in detail photos? What we we consider wedding details? Well I got you. Some wedding details can include:
- Your invitation suite (two copies including unsealed envelopes & any details such as ribbon, wax seals and stamps)
- All Rings / Jewelry
- Hair pieces
- Bouquet & Floral Arrangements (ask your florist for some loose blooms for styling)
- Shoes
- Ring boxes (The Mrs Box is a great place to get customized boxes that fit your colors)
- Your veil
- Gifts from parents/friends
- Your Dress (Steamed and ready to go on a nice hanger or dress form)
- Perfume/Cologne
- Vow Books
- Anything with sentimental value to you
If you’re wearing a suit/tux and not a dress, here are some other/additional details you might want to have:
- Dress Shoes
- Tie
- Boutonnieres
- Cuff Links
- Watches/Rings
- Dress Socks
- Cologne
- Belt
- Flask
- Suspenders
We typically take detail photos towards the beginning of your wedding day, which of course can sometimes be early in the morning. The best advice that I can give you is to prepare your wedding details days in advance. The reason is that rather than scrambling the morning of to find all of your wedding details, you can easily find it in a designated spot. I would highly recommend finding a shoebox or a place where you can have everything consolidated and easy to find. I also would recommend designating someone else to be able to locate the details box/bag when we arrive. That way as soon as your wedding photographer starts off the day, they are easily able to start photographing your details and we don’t need to interrupt if you’re getting your hair & makeup done! Everything is done in the essence of saving time – trust me!
Keep A Tidy Space
With all of the hustle and bustle of your wedding day, it’s easy to get lost and you may find yourself just tossing things throughout your getting ready space. I would highly suggest you NOT do that and her is why. If you have hired your wedding photographer to photograph your getting ready process, that also includes the space in which you are getting ready. Now I am going to take a wild guess and assume you don’t want photos with clothes all over the floor and makeup spilled everywhere, but that’s just me!
What you want to do is make sure that you have a designated area where your wedding party knows where to put their belongings. Items like bags, jewelry, shoes, accessories or any other types of items should be kept within this designated space. That way when your wedding photographer comes around, nobody’s items are getting lost AND you have a beautiful and clean getting ready space for photos.
Stick To The Timeline
Your wedding day timeline is created for a reason! When working with your wedding photographer, you want to make sure that you stick to the timeline that has been created. Whether you work with a wedding planner or based off your wedding photographers timeline, making sure you stay on time is KEY to a non stressful wedding day.
A wedding day timeline is created to make sure that you are on time for everything you want planned/photographed. Even when you’re running the slightest bit late, this can set back a good chunk of what your timeline has planned. That’s why we always recommend adding in buffer time to ensure that even with slight mishaps, we stay on time!
Choose Locations With Great Light!
While of course wedding photographers try our best to make the most of any location, the best thing to do is make sure you have excellent lighting in your getting ready space. Great light is absolutely CRUCIAL when it comes to having great photos. Focus on finding getting ready locations that have a ton of natural light (aka a ton of windows). The lighting on your wedding day, not just your getting ready space, is incredibly important especially when it comes to the quality of the images. So for all of you couples, make sure that you are focusing on lighting when choosing locations/spaces for your wedding day. It truly is transformative. Speaking of great lighting, check out this gorgeous getting ready space in this blog here!
Bring an Emergency Kit
The last thing we want on your wedding day is to be unprepared for an emergency. While we don’t wish for that to happen, sometimes that’s just the way the cookie crumbles. Having an emergency kit will be a lifesaver if you really need it. Things you may want to include in your emergency kit are:
- Jewlery Cleaner
- Sewing Kit
- Bobby Pins
- Safety Pins
- Makeup for touch ups
- Band-aids
- Q-tips
- Stain remover
- Hand lotion
- Lint roller
- Scissors
- Hair ties
- Mints
- Lip Balm
- Portable phone charger
- Tissues
- Super glue
- Medicine
- Deodorant
- Hairspray
- Floss
The list can go on and on but the most important thing to remember is that you would rather be over-prepared than underprepared.
Getting Ready Tips
Your wedding day is one of the most special days in your entire life. You have built up until this exact moment and the last thing we want is for it go sour with things that could have been prevented! Here are some of my top getting ready tips:
1.) Sleep Is Your Best Friend
I know, I know you are probably bouncing off the walls excited, nervous and anxious. However having a good nights sleep is the first step in making sure you feel refreshed and rejuvenated on your special day. Play calming music, read a book and drink some tea and make sure that you are r-e-l-a-x-i-n-g.
2.) Steam Your Dress + Cut The Tags
You don’t know how many times we have gotten to the day of the wedding and realized that your wedding dress is wrinkled and still has the tags! Make sure to steam your dress and cut off the tags before arriving at your getting-ready location on your wedding day. This also can apply to anybody in your wedding party who is wearing a dress!
3.) Don’t Forget To Eat!
We all hate that feeling of being “hangry”, so please make sure you fuel up and eat something before all of the wedding day festivities. Your wedding day can be packed with activities and things to do, so losing track of time can happen easily. Especially if you plan on drinking throughout the day, you want to make sure that you are fueling up your body with plenty of nutrition.
Pro tip: Avoid anything super greasy and focus on a nice hearty breakfast. You want to be feeling your absolute best on one of your best days ever.
4.) Add Buffer Time To Hair & Makeup
Make sure you plan ahead of time and put in some buffer time for getting your hair & makeup done. As mentioned before, your wedding timeline is there for a reason! Although we try to prevent as many things from going wrong as possible, sometimes it’s inevitable. The last thing you want is to feel rushed on your wedding day, so account for a bit of buffer time to make sure that you can take your time and be on time!
Pro tip: Time your hair & makeup trials and make sure that time is accounted for in your wedding timeline!
5.) Surround Yourself With Good Support
The people you choose to surround yourself on your wedding day are INCREDIBLY important. You could be screaming, crying, laughing and you should have friends & family that love and support you through this big change. Not only should your inner circle be supportive but you should be choosing vendors who support you as well! Your wedding vendors should be just as supportive to you as your friends & family. This is why making sure you choose your vendors carefully and with intention will save you a TON when it comes to planning your wedding and the day of.
5.) Don’t Get Your Nails Done The Day Of
I would highly suggest not to get your nails done on the day of your wedding. This not only can cause a ton of backup especially if your appointment goes over time/runs late BUT it is just one more thing you have to worry about the morning of your wedding day. Preparation is key and that includes your nail prep as well. Focus on getting your nails done either a few days before or the day before your big day. Trust me, this will save you.
Some More Getting Ready Tips
While above are some of my top getting ready tips, there are still a few more tricks up my sleeve to making sure you’re getting ready process runs smoothly.
1.) Practice Everything Before The Big Day
This means knowing exactly how to tie your tie/bowtie BEFORE the day of your wedding. Not only you, but make sure anybody in your wedding party who’s wearing a tie does this too! The last thing we want is the morning of your wedding having to look up tutorials on how to tie your tie. Make sure you and the rest of your wedding party is prepped and ready to go!
2.) Don’t Leave Decisions Last Minute
Last minute decision making can be some of the most nerve-wracking things you can do on your wedding day. If you’ve been deciding between wearing a belt or suspenders, make sure you have that figured out BEFORE the day of. Important decisions on what to wear, whether or not to wear cufflinks, how much facial hair you want to have, should all be decided before your wedding day.
3.) Leave Your Pockets Empty
On the day of your wedding, you want to travel light. Try keeping your phone, wallet and your keys in a secure place instead of your pockets. When taking your wedding photos, having those items will be apparent and can completely distract from the amazing suit you will be wearing! You also don’t want to continuously be removing things from your pockets every time we take a photo. So just leave those things aside and make sure you keep your pockets clear!
4.) Don’t Forget To Pack An Undershirt
This is an item that is often forgotten but is so important ESPECIALLY underneath a white dress shirt. I would recommend packing a white tank top rather than a white t-shirt. That way you don’t run the risk of having the t-shirt sleeves showing through your button up sleeves.
5.) Bring Spare Button-Ups
Warm weather tends to bring out the one thing a lot of us hate… SWEATING. Rather than sweating through your only shirt and having to wear that for the rest of the day, bring back up shirts instead! Especially if your wedding is in the summer or in a warmer climate, bring a spare button-shirt to change will freshen you up for the rest of the day.
So has your brain officially been turned into mush? Well then I have officially done my job! No, but in all seriousness your wedding day is going to be one of the most memorable days of your lives. You want to feel 100% prepped and ready for all the craziness that you will endure. Hopefully with some of these wedding day getting ready prep tips, this can help you sleep a little bit better at night.
Now I know that you’re probably sick of reading after seeing all of these wedding day getting ready prep tips. Trust me, I get it. However, if you loved reading all about these Wedding Day Getting Ready Prep Tips, then you’re going to love these tips on What to Wear to Your Engagement Session!
