You’re putting a lot of time and attention into planning your wedding, but don’t forget about getting ready on your wedding morning. There’s a lot that can happen during the time before your ceremony, and there’s plenty of opportunity to celebrate this time and ensure you have quality time with your wedding party. And while your photographer captures those wedding morning moments, you want to make sure you’re relaxed enough to set your day in the right direction.
So I have compiled 10 of my top tips to make your wedding morning better. These tips are coming straight from a wedding photographer with 14 years of experience.
Wedding Morning Tip #1: Work with a Wedding Planner
Working with a wedding planner is one of the surest ways you can relax. It’s one of the best ways to ensure you don’t have to worry about anything because a pro is handling all of the tiny details for you.
Wedding Morning Tip #2: Carefully Choose Your Getting Ready Location
While there are plenty of options for you to choose from when it comes to getting ready on your wedding morning, you still want to carefully choose your location. Think about natural lighting; the more natural light a location has, the better your Hair and Makeup Artist will be able to see and the better photos your photographer can take.
Some Getting-Ready Location ideas:
- Your Wedding Venue (if there’s a private room available)
- A Nearby Hotel
- A Private Residence
- An AirBnB or VRBO
- A Salon
Pro Tip: Make sure there are enough outlets. If you have a bunch of people in a room, not only will they want to plug their phone chargers in, but your Hair and Makeup Artists are going to need outlets for curling irons, hot rollers, straighteners, and other hair tools.
Wedding Morning Tip #3: Give Yourself Plenty of Time for Hair and Makeup
It takes longer than most people think to get their hair and makeup done on the morning of the wedding. Give yourself 60-90 minutes for your hair and 60-90 minutes for your makeup. You can estimate 30-45 minutes for your bridesmaids’ hair and 30-45 minutes for their makeup.
Wedding Morning Tip #4: Choose Something Fun to Wear
If you’ve scrolled through Pinterest any amount of time while searching for wedding inspiration, you’ve likely seen the cute photos of brides and bridesmaids wearing matching outfits to get ready. Why not? It’s cute. It’s fun. And the matching outfits make for great photos.
Some Getting-Ready Outfit Ideas:
- Robes
- Pajamas
- Rompers
- Button-Up Shirts (just steer clear of anything you have to pull over your head)
Wedding Morning Tip #5: Choose Who You Want to Be in Your Room with You When You Put on Your Dress
You can implement all the tips in the world to make sure your wedding morning is relaxed and enjoyable, but it’s still going to have its moments of hustle and bustle. No one says you have to have every single bridesmaid in the room when you get in your wedding dress. Plus, your photographer and videographer are going to be in the room, so that makes a couple extra people. Why not choose 1 – 3 people to join you and then surprise everyone else with your dress reveal? Maybe that means your mom, sister, and best friend help you put on your dress. Or maybe it’s your mom, maid of honor, and wedding planner. Whoever you choose, ask them in advance to join you, and kindly ask (or have your wedding planner) ask everyone else to wait patiently in another room.
Wedding Morning Tip #6: Hang Your Dress Up & Let It Breathe
One of the first things you should do on your wedding morning is take your dress and veil out of their bags and hang them so they can breathe. Hang them as high as you possibly can so it has room to actually hang. This will help air out any wrinkles.
Wedding Morning Tip #7: Keep the Clutter Clear
Nothing makes for more distracted photos than a cluttered background. And with so many girls gathered together for a morning of celebration, hair, and makeup, it’s easy for the room to attract clutter. Suitcases, plastic bags from dry cleaners, blow dryers, half eaten plates of food… these are all things that make a room (and photos) look messy and cluttered. Have your wedding planner ask your bridesmaids to help keep the room tidied.
Wedding Morning Tip #8: Gather All of Your Details Together
If you love details and want your wedding photographer to capture some of those important details for you, go ahead and gather them together before your wedding day. Then, on your wedding morning, put everything in one easily accessible spot for your photographer. That way, your photographer doesn’t have to bug you or a bridesmaid about where a particular item is located.
Here’s a list of wedding day details you may want to consider gathering for your photographer:
- Your Veil or Headpiece
- Your jewelry (earrings, necklace, etc.)
- Your rings and ring box(es)
- Your shoes
- Your dress
- Your perfume
- Your clutch or purse
- Your invitation suite
- Your Welcome Bags
- Your Vow Books
Wedding Morning Tip #9: Plan Food and Drinks in Advance
While you may not want to eat much on your wedding morning, you need to make sure you eat something. And you definitely want to be a good hostess and have food and drink available for your bridesmaids. Avoid anything heavy. Opt for lighter fare like sandwiches, fruit, salads, veggies, and yogurt. See if there’s a local deli or restaurant who will deliver it to you that morning, or send a couple of your girls to run and pick it up.
Be sure you have plenty of water for everyone, too.
Pro Tip: Don’t overdo it on alcohol or coffee. Overdoing it makes you run the risk of having extra jitters or anxiety.
Wedding Morning Tip #10: Put Your Phone Away
It can be overwhelming to have your phone tied to you on your wedding day. While I like to think that most people have enough common sense not to text you, asking you questions on your wedding day, it inevitably happens. So either give your phone to someone else to manage or turn it off and put it away. You don’t have to take photos because your photographer will be there to capture your morning. Send your soon-to-be spouse a quick text that morning, tell them you’ll see them down the aisle (or during your First Look), and enjoy your wedding morning with your closest gals.
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