There are still so many things I want to share about our wedding day. So many stories and lessons learned throughout the planning process – and the day itself. But, today, I wanted to start by sharing a little glimpse into my personal wedding preparation list! Specifically, 8 things I did to prepare for my wedding day. Things that made a world of difference in making our big day what it was!

As a recent bride and seasoned wedding photographer in Dallas, I know wedding planning can be a whirlwind of emotions, stress, and excitement. So, I wanted to share a few of the most impactful things I did to help ensure our day was as magical as possible. From little tips on boosting confidence to handling unexpected hiccups with grace, I’m sharing the top 8 things on my wedding preparation list today. So, let’s dive in!

8 Things I Did to Prepare For My Wedding

1. Teeth Whitening

I knew my wedding day was going to be one of the most special days of my life and there was a good chance I’d be smiling/laughing for 95% of it. It was important to me that I felt confident on my wedding day – and I wanted my smile to radiate what I was feeling inside. And for me, that meant brightening my smile. But it wasn’t the easiest decision for me to figure out as someone with strong teeth sensitivities. So, I wanted to share my experience in the hopes that it might help you if you’re in the same boat!

I had initially considered going to my dentist for the heavy-duty, professional, 1-time whitening treatment. But, my dentist ultimately talked me out of it due to my teeth sensitivities. It is a pretty intense treatment and you could experience painful side effects for up to several weeks after the treatment. Nope, not for me. Hard pass.

I then turned to Crest white strips, as they’re a very popular choice. But, after 1-2 strips I could barely breathe my teeth were so sensitive. I would have to take a week-long break in between strips just to recover enough to be able to stand doing another strip. Over and over again… it was just too much pain for me. And honestly, was going to take a lifetime at that rate!

Thankfully, my husband’s dentist recommended the Opalescence Go teeth whitening kit along with Sensodyne toothpaste. This was a game-changer!! I started using the toothpaste 1-2 weeks in advance to help give my teeth a little extra boost before diving into the strips. Then I did 2 days on and 1 day off using the strips, just to help mitigate any sensitivity build-up. And it worked great for me! No issues and I was very happy with the end result. If you have even slight teeth sensitivity, I highly recommend this route!

Now, this might seem like an odd item on my wedding preparation list. And a radiant smile might not be at the top of your priority list – and that’s okay! But, if there’s anything else you want to feel 100% confident in leading into your big day. Add it to your own wedding preparation list! This was an example of something important to me. Lean into what’s most important to you!

2. Make a Master List

When you’re in the thick of wedding planning, it is all too appealing to want to keep pushing things off. To procrastinate until the very last minute, because you’re already overwhelmed as it is. But I strongly recommend making a master list of everything you’ll need to pack for your wedding WELL in advance of your wedding day. Then, little by little, start setting things aside and packing early. (This is especially true for anyone doing a destination wedding – trust me.) You’ll be surprised by all the things you start to notice you missed or forgot as the day gets closer. Things you very well could have forgotten entirely if you waited until the last minute to pack. Don’t let these pile up! Getting a headstart on this will ensure that you have everything you’ll need! And, more importantly, are feeling confident and relaxed leading into your big day!

3. Wedding Planning App – Get Organized

There are so, so, so many things to be thinking about throughout the wedding planning process. For some brides, this is going to be a blast! I know many of my brides have absolutely thrived creating spreadsheets to stay on top of everything. But, for the rest of us, it can feel a tad overwhelming. And understandably so. So finding an easy wedding planning checklist or system of keeping track of all your to-do’s is so important! (For the outcome of your wedding day, but also your own sanity!)

When I got married, I had searched high and low for a simple system to help keep me organized. There are tons of wedding planning binders and books out there. But nothing that quite fit exactly what I had been looking for.

Most importantly, I wanted something versatile. It’s great to have a master list to start from. Something that lays out most everything you need to do and when. But, sometimes things change or to-do’s aren’t accounted for. (Not all weddings are the same. There are a ton more specific to-do’s that need to be added to the generic planning binders when planning a destination wedding, for instance.) And I didn’t always agree with the timeline in these binders. So, I wanted something more versatile so I could easily customize the planning tool to MY wedding specifically.

I also wanted my tool to be digital. I wanted to be able to access it on the go, at any time. And from either my phone or computer. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love a physical planner. I use them in my day-to-day life and thought I would love one for wedding planning. But, here’s the thing. When you’re planning a wedding, you’re rarely doing it alone. So I wanted all the key players in my wedding planning process to be able to easily access this tool as well.

Not only that, but I wanted to be able to delegate tasks and set due dates and reminders for them as well. Ensuring everyone was on the same page at all times!

And after striking out in my search, I decided to simply create it myself!

So I gathered all the to-do’s I could find, across every resource I could find. And laid them all out in an extremely thorough timeline from the moment of engagement through to after the wedding/honeymoon. As I went through my own wedding planning journey, I continued to add to it and tweak things. And ended up creating my dream planning tool. Let me tell you, it was an absolute godsend for my sanity!

And now, I’m thrilled to be able to pass it on! So, if this sounds like something you’ve been looking for – or like it just might be a good fit for you – you’re in luck. I am gifting it to YOU, for FREE. Simply click the button below to check it out! It’s 100% customizable to you and your wedding day – and includes full instructions to get you started. I hope it helps you to better prepare for your own wedding day. And that it serves you as well as it served me!

4. Massages

I know what you’re thinking… who has time for a spa day leading up to their wedding day?? But, hear me out! This was actually a tip my bridal shop recommended: get a massage the day before your wedding. My dress was tailored to fit like a second skin around my ribs/bust area and I was slightly nervous about it fitting properly on the day of. With all the traveling I was doing and the stress mounting, I was mostly concerned about swelling. She recommended getting a massage – or two – leading up to my wedding day as it releases stress, improves circulation and decreases swelling. That, along with drinking tons of water, of course. I ended up doing both and am happy to report that my dress fit like a glove!

10/10 recommend adding this one to your own wedding preparation list. If only just to help reduce some stress! After all that wedding planning, you deserve a little pampering!

5. Practice, Practice, Practice

This tip is easily one of the most overlooked on wedding days. But, let me tell you, it can be such a massive stress reliever. Take time BEFORE your wedding day to practice! Practice what exactly? Practice putting on/lacing up your dress. Bustling your dress. Applying boob tape. Tying a tie/bowtie. Properly securing your boutonnieres. Any and all of the little things that you don’t have a lot of experience with or aren’t 100% confident in. They all add up and can tack on a ton of time and unnecessary stress to your wedding day. Don’t let this be you! Plan to set aside some time to practice these things in advance!

6. Think and Plan Ahead

Another important way to prepare for your wedding day is to plan ahead. What are some of the potential hiccups that could happen on your big day? Rain, heavy wind, etc… and what are your backup plans? Come up with solutions for every single one you can think of. You only get one shot at your big day. So, if you can go into the day with a feeling of peace, knowing that you have thought through all the different potential problems that could arise and already have solutions for anything that could arise last minute. Then, whatever may come your way (or not), you’ll at least be at peace knowing that you have backup plans in place. And you can now sit back, relax and fully lean into enjoying your day to the fullest!

7. Secret Look or Phrase

This was one of my favorite things that my husband and I did to prepare for our wedding. It not only kept us connected throughout the craziness of the day, but also kept things in perspective and light-hearted! What was it? One of my biggest recommendations: come up with a secret look or phrase between you and your partner. A look or gesture you can do from across the room. Or something you can say to each other if/when things go awry. Something to help keep you grounded in that moment. And to help keep perspective of what’s truly important on your big day (each other). Something that will help to make you laugh (instead of cry or get angry, ha) if/when things get off track. This was a big one for me and my husband!

For us, we agreed on a subtle head tilt/eyebrow raise/shoulder shrug combo – which we agreed would mean “F**k it!”. We agreed that anytime something would get off track, we’d just look at each other, head tilt/eyebrow raise/shoulder shrug – and it would immediately make us laugh and help us continue to just go with the flow. Knowing that, at the end of the day, this inconvenience/deviation won’t really matter in the long run. What would matter was that we were there with each other, making the most of every minute and celebrating with all of our favorite people.

We knew things would go awry. But, never in our wildest dreams could we have imagined just how crazy everything would have gone. (But, that’s a blog for another day, ha!) No matter how prepared you are, or how thorough your wedding preparation list; you can never completely predict how the day is going to unfold. Having this in place helped keep things in perspective for us and kept the day incredibly fun and funny amidst all the chaos. I couldn’t recommend this enough. And have fun with it! The more fun you can have with it, the better!

8. Hire a Coordinator – No, But Seriously

This tip applies to both local and destination weddings. However, I can very confidently say that our Jamaican destination wedding would have ended up a complete and utter disaster if it hadn’t been for our incredible coordinator/travel agent/goddess, Alicia. So, working with a coordinator, without a doubt, was one of the most important things I did to prepare for my wedding.

It is quite literally impossible to list all of the reasons why we loved and appreciated having a coordinator (Alicia specifically). But, I’m going to try my best to summarize!

An experienced and talented coordinator will have a unique approach to guide you step by step through the overwhelming journey of planning a wedding. Ensuring you’re never inundated with unnecessary details. And, instead, calmly guiding you through the decision-making labyrinth. Having a wedding preparation list and a planning tool in my back pocket was so helpful! But having a coordinator was truly invaluable.

There were SO many things we had never thought of when it came to planning a wedding in another country specifically. And having Alicia by our side, guiding us through it was truly invaluable. When I say we never would have had the destination wedding of our dreams if we hadn’t worked with her, I am not exaggerating even a little. She knew the parameters of what was possible (or helped us to find out). And had so many valuable connections and was intimately familiar with the local culture (which, we quickly learned, was an invaluable piece of the puzzle when coordinating an event of this magnitude – in a country we weren’t too familiar with ourselves.) 

She handled our families’ big personalities with ease and grace. Put out countless fires throughout our wedding experience – and solved them all before they ever even reached us. She embraced our wild wedding dreams and helped to make them a reality – while still managing realistic expectations along the way. She felt like family by our wedding day and is part of our core memories when it comes to our entire wedding experience. We couldn’t be more grateful for her!

I could go on and on detailing everything she and her team did for us… but I’ll leave it by reiterating that working with Alicia was one of the best decisions we made. From the bottom of my heart, I couldn’t recommend working with a great coordinator enough.

If you’re planning a destination wedding and are on the hunt for the best travel agent/coordinator, I couldn’t recommend Alicia with Two Pineapples In Paradise enough. If you have any questions about working with her, please feel free to message me! I have no doubt in my mind that working with her will be the best decision you make as well!

Her expertise not only navigated the complexities of a destination wedding but also made the process enjoyable and stress-free. And, for a bride, stress-free is our number one priority, am I right? The deep love and appreciation we have for Alicia is immeasurable. So, if a stress-free day is, in fact, one of your priorities as well: I strongly recommend considering a coordinator. Let this be high on your list of things you add to your wedding preparation list!

Looking for a local one? Reach out, I’d be happy to share some of my favorite coordinators in the DFW area!

Wedding Preparations Conclusion

There you have it – the 8 game-changing things on my wedding preparation list. For all you bride-to-be’s out there, I’d love to hear from you! Did any of these resonate with you, or do you have your own unique wedding prep stories to share? Feel free to drop your thoughts, questions, or even your own experiences in the comments below.

And hey, if you want more insights and inspiration, keep scouring the blog for even more tips and advice. Your wedding journey is a unique story, and I’m here to help you make it extraordinary. In the meantime, if you’re interested in chatting about your own wedding photography, don’t hesitate to reach out! I’d love to connect!

Until next time, happy planning!

(All images in this blog post are of my own Jamaican destination wedding by our lovely photographer Jennifer Lourie!)