Because you deserve a stress free wedding morning
After months (or years!) of anticipation, preparation and excitement, your wedding day is here! Whether you hired a wedding planner, or took a DIY approach, you’ve invested so much into creating a beautiful day to celebrate your union in front of loved ones. We couldn’t be happier for you.
What magical moments will the day hold? Will everything go according to plan? Will I have the wedding of my dreams? Will Uncle Luke insist on making a speech?
A recent survey found that 94% of engaged or newlywed couples found wedding planning to be extremely stressful. When the morning of your wedding sets the tone for the rest of the day, you want to make sure it will be fun, relaxing and stress-free.
But how can you have a stress-free wedding morning if there is still so much on your mind? Follow these simple tips to prepare for a memorable (in a good way!) wedding morning.
How To Set Yourself Up For Wedded Bliss
After photographing over 100 weddings, we’ve experienced all types of wedding morning scenarios. We picked up tips from the brides and grooms who enjoyed cool, calm and collected wedding mornings so you can avoid falling down a stress rabbit hole.
Before we dive into the list of things to organize before your wedding morning, it’s important to set yourself up for success. No matter how many deep breaths you take, if you don’t hire trusted vendors, you will be scrambling on the day of your wedding. We put together 5 tips for hiring a wedding photographer so you can feel confident that your wedding photography vision will become a reality.
Helpful Things to Do the Day (or Two) Before Your Wedding:
(So your wedding morning can be pure bliss)
- Hang up and steam your dress – This is not the kind of detail you’ll want to handle on your relaxed wedding morning! Give yourself a break and do it (or have a trusted member of your wedding party) the evening before your wedding.
- Write a loving note to your fiancee – There are a lot of wedding traditions that you can take or leave. But the tradition of exchanging loving notes with your partner on the morning of your wedding is one of our favourite! Don’t put yourself on the spot though. Give yourself some time to decide what loving words you want to share with your fiancee.
- Plan what you’ll have for breakfast – What is going to make you feel good? Is it fresh fruit? Does your nervous stomach crave toast in big moments? Make sure you have the ingredients you need to make the right breakfast for you. Remember that this will be a long day! You need to nourish yourself when you have time. Some of our couples get so caught up in the details that when dinner rolls around, they realize they haven’t actually eaten anything yet that day. Eat while you can, you’ll thank us later.
- Send out an email to everyone in the wedding party with details – This one is so important, that we repeat it later on! Once your logistics are set, send an email to everyone a couple days in advance. Put all of the information in one place and make it as easy to read as possible (think headlines, bullet points and short sentences). When your wedding party is informed, they can also help take on the burden of last minute questions from guests.
- Create a get ready playlist – You wouldn’t go out for the night with friends without your favourite jams playing, so why would you prep for this wonderful milestone without a curated playlist? Music can help offer a shortcut to feeling good when the stress of wedding planning creeps up on you. When it doubt, dance it out.
Creating a relaxed morning is simple. As long as you make a few arrangements beforehand, you should be able to enjoy whatever morning you like on your wedding day.
Follow These Tips For A Stress-Free Morning
Now that we’ve shared some of the fun ways you prepare for your wedding morning, we’re going to break it down into 5 of the MAJOR reasons we see wedding mornings go smoothly. This list is going to be an MVP on your wedding planning team!
- Build your timeline
- Do the Heavy Lifting Ahead of Time
- Create Special Moments
- Make it a Celebration!
- Make it Comfortable
Build your timeline.
Take it from us – give yourself more time than you think you will need. Despite it being your big day, the world continues to turn (how rude!) Remember that there may be traffic, your hairstylist might be running late, and your sister-in-law has those two kids to wrangle. Be generous with your time so that you can go with the flow of the day.
Consider giving yourself a buffer if you want to include extra photography shots on the morning of, like your mom doing the clasp of your pearl necklace, or placing the boutonniere on your dad’s jacket. Also if you want to include your furry friend in any morning photos, you will need a little extra time. Additional shots for the morning of can include:
- Giving a corsage to your mother or grandmother
- First look with wedding party
- First look with Dad
Your photographer can help you put together your shot list so you can be confident that your most special moments are caught on film.
Once you build your timeline, make sure you communicate it clearly with your wedding party. We recommend sending an email out to your wedding party/vendors three days before the event. The email should include logistics, your timeline, and relevant details. Keeping your wedding party well informed can remove the burden off your plate. This can help you avoid the last minute calls and texts from well-meaning-but-clueless guests on the day of your wedding.
Do the Heavy Lifting Ahead of Time
What we mean by “heavy lifting” can vary from wedding-to-wedding. For some, it literally means moving furniture to make space for wedding photography – think natural light, neutral wall colours if possible! Don’t let background clutter distract from your wedding day glow.
For others, it can mean making sure there are chilled bottles of champagne, and washing the matching glasses. If you want to include detail shots in your wedding album, make sure you have the pieces together. Gather things like your wedding invitation, rings, shoes, ring box and perfume to have ready for the detail shots. Having your flower delivery arrive at the same time as your wedding photographers can mean that you can include gorgeous fresh flowers in your getting-ready photos.
Write out a list of everything that needs to get done before you say “I do”. Delegate tasks and cross off as much as possible before the big day. By doing this, you are literally creating space on your wedding morning to fill with the activities you actually want to do (luxurious bubble bath, anyone?).
Create Special Moments
The beautiful thing about modern weddings is that you can do whatever you want. You and your partner get to create the day that represents your love story – not anyone else.
Having photos taken while you’re getting ready gives you a good reason to be intentional about the special moments you want captured. Maybe you want a first look photo with all of your bridesmaids, the people who have been there through it all. Do you have any family heirlooms included in your wedding outfit? Maybe you want to have your mom place your veil on your head. Some brides are proud aunties and would love a shot of their niece with them getting ready. How sweet!
Some of our couples plan a gift exchange on the morning of their wedding. Setting aside time for the bride and groom gift exchange creates the opportunity for beautiful, emotional photos. These behind-the-scenes moments are so special. You’ll treasure these photos for years to come.
Make it a Celebration!
The party doesn’t start after dinner – you get to spend the entire day celebrating this beautiful moment in your life. You get to decide how you want to feel on the day of your wedding. If you set the intention that you want to enjoy yourself and feel celebrated, then you get to enjoy yourself and feel celebrated!
Start off with breakfast. Fill it with your favourite foods, and the absolute best cup of coffee or tea you can find. Start your playlist, and dance out the pre-wedding jitters. When the bride gives herself permission to stay calm and lighthearted, everyone else will follow suit.
Another way to add to the celebratory nature is to light a new candle as you’re getting ready. Scents can immediately trigger a vivid memory or feeling, so lighting a new candle can create a strong neural pathway. Anytime you want to relive your gorgeous wedding day, you can light the same candle and be transported back!
Make it Comfortable
Prioritize your comfort! If you fall on the introverted side of the spectrum, it can be a big adjustment to be the centre of attention for the entire day. You’ll want your morning to be as comfortable as possible. Bring your creature comforts like a favourite pair of slippers or your favourite blanket and keep it close while you’re getting ready.
Make sure the temperature is suited to your liking. You might have to include this preparation in your night before list, if you have a summer wedding and your getting-ready location lacks air conditioning.
If you’ve decided to invest in matching robes or loungewear with your bridesmaids, make sure they feel comfortable! Yes, matching outfits are cute and look great in photos. But if you don’t feel good in it (maybe it’s much shorter than you thought, or there is an itchy tag), then bring along your actual comfortable clothes and switch out after a few photos.
Simple logistic planning can go a long way for your enjoyable wedding morning. Making sure everyone has a mirror and a place to sit will help keep things organized and ensure that everyone looks their best when it’s time to go.
Conclusion
The beautiful thing about photography is that it encourages us to consider what moments we want captured. Bring that intentionality to your wedding morning and you’ll set yourself – and your entire wedding party – up for an incredible day filled with beautiful moments.
Cheers to a memorable wedding day!
