It’s here; the morning of your wedding day has arrived! You’ve arranged all the last-minute plans. As well as have handled any last-minute details. You had a wonderful rehearsal the night before and now all of your closest friends and family are up with you and getting ready for the big day! Let’s talk about how you can have a stress-free wedding morning.

Stress-Free Wedding Morning

This part of the day should be fun, relaxing and exciting as you begin one of the greatest days of your life! Surrounded by the people you love most. But when not planned well, this portion of the day can instead be a key factor in introducing stress, upset and major delays in your wedding timeline. I want to be sure this does not happen to you. That you are as prepared as possible so that your wedding day starts off right and runs as smoothly and as stress-free as possible from the moment you wake up! So without further ado, I present my Top 8 Tips for the most stress-free morning:

Schedule Early Hair & Makeup

Schedule your hair and makeup early. I cannot stress this tip enough; it is THAT important. In my experience, I would have to say that at least 8/10 times a wedding runs late is because hair and makeup fall behind. Whether it’s because the hair and makeup artist arrived late, they did not accurately estimate the amount of time (or the number of artists) it would take to get everyone done. Or maybe bridesmaids or family members arrive late, someone’s hair or makeup gets ruined (or they don’t like it) and it has to be re-done. And even everyone has too much fun talking and it runs behind!

The list is endless, but the fact remains that if you want to ensure that your morning runs smoothly. Then schedule your hair and makeup to be done at LEAST an hour earlier than the estimated time, if not more. To have a stress-free wedding morning, this is key! Worst comes to worst, you are ready early. And have that much more time to relax and to take more portraits. I have seen hair and makeup push back a wedding timeline by as much 3 hours. They were almost late to their own ceremony. Don’t let this be you – plan to be ready early!!

Keep It Clean

Be sure to keep the “getting ready” space clean. I highly recommend designating a corner of the room where everyone can keep their stuff! When your photographers arrive they will do 1 of 2 things. They will either start shooting as is. Which means all of your bags, clothes, cell phone chargers, food and trash will be in the background of all of these images. Trust me, this does not make for clean and pretty images! Or they will spend a good 5-10 minutes re-arranging and cleaning up the room to ensure your photos are clean and clear of clutter. Which could have been time spent photographing you and your details instead.

Detail Shots

Have all of your details out and ready. Usually when your photographer arrives in the morning the first thing they will start photographing. As you’re finishing up your hair and makeup, they will capture your details. Having all of your details laid out and ready for your photographer before they get there allows them to waste no time. As well as get right to shooting upon arrival. Details would include: dress, veil, shoes, jewelry, garter, bouquet, rings, stationery, etc. For men, this would include: a suit, tie or bow tie, cufflinks, shoes, watch, socks, etc.

Everyone Before The Bride

Have everyone else’s hair and makeup ready and dressed before you start getting dressed. Many brides and grooms like to have their friends and family participate in the “getting ready” portion of the morning. This is when the bride steps into her dress and her friends and family help her put on all of her details. And the groom puts on his tux/suit and all of his details. If you would like your parents or best friends to be a part of these images. Then I would recommend they be dressed and ready to go before you start changing into your dress/tux. This will give your images a more clean and polished feel. While lessening the chances of your morning and your photos being delayed. As well as help you have stress-free wedding morning.

Lighting

Have a lot of window light. This point doesn’t affect your timeline so much as the quality of your images. So I felt it was necessary to mention it. Window light usually offers very beautiful and flattering light for your getting-ready images. So the more of it, the better! It is also not very likely you will have another opportunity to use it throughout the rest of your wedding day. It adds great variety to the types of images you could be receiving. Side note: going back to point #2. It is likely that your photographer will choose to shoot in the space with the most window/natural lighting. Be sure to designate a corner of the room for your things away from the windows.

EAT!

I mean it, you really do need to eat and drink water. After this “getting ready” portion of the day the rest of it goes by so quickly and you never know when the next chance you’ll get to eat is. If your maid of honor or someone could carry around a few snacks for you. That’s always a great option! You’ll be surprised at how much energy you exert on your wedding day and by keeping fed and hydrated it will make your day a lot more enjoyable!

I have experienced weddings (luckily none of my brides), where the bride hadn’t eaten or drunk anything all day. She ended up feeling very faint and sick to her stomach before the reception. It took us almost an hour to get her up and moving again. Which ate up all of their time for couple’s portraits and pushed back their reception time. This is never a fun option when you have hungry guests waiting for you! So trust me, staying fed and hydrated is very important!

Use Your Bridesmaids

Hand over any last-minute details or responsibilities to someone else. Come the morning of your wedding, your job as “wedding planner” is officially over and it’s time to step exclusively into your role as the bride. Which means you get to sit back, relax and enjoy every second of what is to come. You’ve worked your butt off to get everything planned as perfectly as you can and now it’s time for your coordinator, maid of honor or family member to take over and let you step back and enjoy.

Breathe

Last, but definitely not least; take a deep breath, let everything go and simply enjoy every minute of your day. This may seem silly to say, but it is absolutely the most important thing to remember. Your day is going to unfold as it does and I encourage you to enjoy it and make the best of every second. Not every little detail has to be absolutely perfect for it to be a perfect day; trust me. There is nothing more you can do once the day comes, so you might as well have fun with it! The most important thing to remember is that you’re marrying your best friend. That’s what this day is all about anyway, isn’t it? It’s about celebrating you and the love of your life. As long as you have each other, then that is all you need to have the perfect day! Now, let’s chat more about your wedding day! I can’t wait to capture it all!