Your wedding morning can sometimes be stressful, there's so much craziness going on with hair, make-up, getting dressed, making sure you have everything you need, the list goes on! But being a natural wedding photographer based in Dorset and seeing many a morning for both brides and grooms, I've definitely picked up on a thing or two. So below are a list of tips for your wedding morning and suggestions that I can give to both brides and grooms that will hopefully make your morning run smoothly and with as little stress as possible.
Book Those Trials!
When it comes to both wedding hair and make-up do make sure you've booked in your trial so you're both aware what style you're going for and the time it'll take to complete. This way your suppliers can come up with a timeline that'll easily fit in you and the rest of your wedding party they need to cover.
Get a Bustle On!
Whatever style your dress is, make sure to assign someone to help you with putting on your dress and that they know what they're doing. Bustle's can be particularly time consuming and tricky, so having someone ready to go on the day will help with time planning and relax you with knowing your dress won't be moving anywhere. Maybe think about taking the assigned person with you to your final fitting so the dress shop can explain to them, and they can also take videos just in case.
Know Your Venue
You may be getting ready at home, your venue or you might've even booked a Airbnb, whichever your circumstance, make sure you have somewhere to hang your dress/suit. Most of the time there's curtain rails, but they aren't always long enough or reliable (I've seen one break), so make sure you're happy with the placement. Do also think if it'll be ideal for a photo opportunity, no point having somewhere to hang it then it looks like a rubbish spot. Lastly, make sure there's enough space to hang everyone's outfits, no one wants to be the one with the awkward creases on their dress before the aisle walk!
Plan Your Times
Not only do you need to plan your timings for your hair and make-up, think about the length of time it takes to get to your venue, how long it'll take you to get dresses, if you wants photos before you leave and also some time to relax. Giving yourself more time than you think is a great idea. Typically I'd suggest being in your dress and ready at least 30 minutes before you need to leave, therefore you're not stressing you'll be late but also you've got sometime for some group shots if you wish.
Check for Tags!
Many a time when it comes to getting dressed there's always tags left on outfits (of course this is typically the men!) Make sure these are all removed and sorted before the big day arrives and it means you can just slip in and you're ready. Another thing to check is labels on shoes and and suit jackets that maybe stitched still. Scrap that, maybe just bring some scissors, you never know when they might be needed!
Remember to Eat!
Without a doubt in the whirlwind of the morning you'll most likely forget to eat, but please don't! Typically ceremonies begin after midday and then you're bombarded with greetings and congratulations, which then flow in to photos. At this point if you've not eaten all day, you're probably feel rubbish, especially on a summers day, and no one can survive until 3pm or later on a canape or two. Please drink and eat.
All the Details
One of my favourite parts to photograph on a wedding morning is the details! There's a long old list of things you could include, I'll pop some below, but I highly recommend making sure you have your details all together and separated - some brides have boxed everything together - from your bridesmaids and groomsmen. This way your photographer can get started on them without having to ask you where everything is and not get them confused with anyone else. Things to include can be: dress/suit, rings, shoes, jewellery, cufflinks, buttonhole, flowers, perfume, invites, tie, hairpieces.
Keep the Area Clean
Making sure the area where you're getting ready is kept tidy is really handy. On the photos side of things, you'll then have clean shots to look through and it saves your photographer wasting time on tidying spaces. Also, it'll help to keep your mind clearer.
Wear in Your Shoes!
It might seem really obvious, but you'd be surprised in the amount of couples that forget to wear in their shoes and can't wait to get in a pair of flipflops! So please make sure that you've worn them in enough before the day. Nothing if worse than feeling uncomfortable and not having anything to change in to.
Buttonholes
Every time I arrive to groom prep the gents are always asking me how to put on a buttonhole, which usually follow with me putting them on for you then losing that chance to capture any shots of your dad or best man doing it. Definitely get your florist to give you a demonstration, or watch a Youtube tutorial in the morning. These shots are always so lovely and you wouldn't want to waste them,
Any Extras...
Here's for some final suggestions I've picked up. If you know you'll be emotional on the day but don't want to ruin your make up, bring some cotton buds on the day. It'll look weird but putting these to your eye ducts will stop from any tear streak marks.
Do you have a button up dress? Then bring a crochet hook. I've seen dresses being done up with hangers to make it easier, but the photos don't look quite as good!
Maybe think about a gift or a letter to give one another, if you've got a second photographer having both of these moments captured along side one another are just incredibly special.
Well I hope some of these tips were helpful for you, and do save the link to this blog and check back over it a week or so before the day to refresh your memory. But most of all, remember to enjoy your wedding morning, it's time to take it all in and to not let things overwhelm you. Also give me a comment or a like if you've enjoyed this read or found it helpful in anyway, I will continue to do some more tips for throughout the day if this blog is successful.