Wedding Day Advice - The Dos and Dont's
Your Wedding Day will be one of the most important days of your life.
No doubt you have spent years not only dreaming of the perfect day, but also weeks, months and years planning it.
Any project that takes that much precendence in your life will also have an emotional investment attached to it. Many a day (and night) scouring Pinterest, countless hours pining over bridal magazines, filtering through hair and makeup looks, and not to mention the weeks leading upto the big day relentlessly checking the weather forecast.
If like me and countless others, you find it difficult to place your trust in numerous other people, it can be easy to single handedly try and arrange every fine detail for your big day.
Booking the right photographer, finding the perfect florist, ensuring your chosen wedding venue can cater to and create the vision you have assigned to them.
If you begin to feel slightly; frazzled, you are not alone. You are just one, in many brides to be.
Any personal goal or project you undergo in life that demands your time, finances, hopes, dreams, sweat ( and more than likely ) and tears, will be an investment you want to ensure produces the perfect end result.
So it's no suprise that so many brides to be find themselves completely overwhelmed the final few weeks and days leading up to the highly anticipated day.
Once you have decided upon the wedding professionals you will be booking for your big day, you are in turn, placing in them a responsibility to help make your day, all you have ever dreamt of and hoped for. A part of your vision, is now in their hands.
Any experienced, wedding professional, will have worked on hundreds, possibly thousands of weddings. They will understand the workings of a wedding morning. They will understand the timings and how everything fits into place. Every wedding morning is unique, but all will have the same checklist that every professional will want to ensure, gets a big tick.
Countless hours will be spent in correspondance with you, to help bring your Wedding vision, alive.
So like you, we want to ensure your day is the best it can be.
Taking advice from your chosen wedding professionals will not only help ease the pressure, but will also help ensure that they can do their job to the best of their ability and in turn provide the best possible wedding service, for you.
Taking on board just a few pieces of advice, even the smallest detail, can make all the difference to your wedding morning.
Timings
It's always a good idea to ask each of your professionals for an estimate of timings for the day.
Not just arrival time, but any specifics they may need to allocate for. It's very easy to just try and work timings out for yourself, but your professionals will have specifics they need to stick to, to ensure they can provide the service you have booked them for.
You also need to account for that on the morning of your wedding you will have many professionals working together, all needing to work on their specific role, but also work in sync and harmony with each other.
For many Hair/MUAS they need around 50-60 mins pp for hair and then makeup. So if you are booking your entire bridal party in for a pamper be realistic about timings, and expect an early start. There is no magic formula to getting everyone ready. Times need to be carefully planned and each professional will know the time they need to allocate.
The aim of all all Hair/MUAS is to ensure you are all perfectly, beautified, without it being a rushed service. We also have to ensure there is time left over for any possible delays but also time for you to get into dresses and then photos.
Venues - What time can the bridal party arrive to get ready?
Unfortunately there are still venues that do not allow entry for the Bride and Bridal party until late morning. Many will allow earlier arrival of 7am onwards, but there are still some that will not allow you to arrive until 10.30 or later. This may not sound like a problem, but if you have a Midday or 1 pm wedding and want hair and makeup done for even 1 person this will cause issues. If you have your heart set on getting ready at your venue it may be a good idea to ask them when you are permitted to arrive. Alot of brides only find out after they have booked, which again can cause alot of upset.
Always find out this information as soon as possible, and then inform your booked professionals before proceeding with any plans.
Many of my brides in 2017 chose to get ready entirely at home, or they booked a hotel the night before.
I have seen first hand the chaos having to move an entire bridal party, mid morning. It rarely goes to plan and leaves everyone involved very stressed.
Always check with your hair/mua too, as I know from experience many will only offer to get a bridal party ready at one location due to the risks of moving and re-starting a job, mid way.
Breakfast
Yes, basic but often overlooked. Many brides feel they cannot face even a crumb of toast let alone a fry up on the morning of their big day. But I see many before 10am already eyeing up the prosecco.
Most brides are up before 7am on their big day, so in the hustle and bustle of the wedding morning you can be in your dress and out that door by 12 and not a single morsel of food will have passed your lips during this time!
Your adrenaline and nerves will kick in on the wedding morning, so even just half a croissant is better than nothing!
Surround yourself with the right people on your wedding morning
I have seen many well meaning friends/guests/family members be part of a wedding morning, and unintentionally shift their anxieties onto the bride. Feeling anxious or nervous on your big day is perfectly normal, but you do not need everyone elses worries too!
Having visitors is nice, but again this can add to the nervouseness and anxieties of the morning.
Have the people you really need with you on the morning, there. Make it clear to any others, (possibly a few days before as to not cause offence) that you want your morning as relaxed and stress free as possible.
I have seen many a bride go from relaxed and joyful to stressed and tearful, in the space of seconds due to a room full of people.
Change of heart?
It's not unusual for a bride to want to change a few things on the day when it comes to her hair and makeup. Little tweaks here and there are perfectly normal and any experienced professional will handle it like a pro.
If however, you have decided upon a complete overhaul to your bridal look, do not leave this until the day.
The purpose of a trial is to have a play with ideas, and agree upon a look. A tweak of hair, a change of lips is easy done, but to completely change a look on the day can cause alot of problems.
There is no guarantee you will like the look once it is done, and if times have been allocated there may be no time to start all over again. This will cause a time lapse and subsequent stress for everyone involved.
Some professionals only carry the products that they will need on the day, so if you decide last minute to change something, there is no guarantee the professional will have all the products to hand.
If necessary contact your booked artist with any concerns and re arrange a second trial.
Last minute changes.
If for whatever reason you have last minute chages. ie, a location/address change for the morning, always inform your professionals as soon as you know.
Your professionals will need to have all upto date information, to hand.
Adding extra people on for hair and makeup can usually be rectified if your inform the artist before the day.
Purchase a nice clothes hanger
I can imagine many a confused face reading this tip. But many a photographer will be jumping for joy. ( I imagine. )
Almost all brides request, and every photographer wants to capture that perfect shot of the all important dress.
More often than not bridal shops provide a standard, plastic hanger. This does nothing to show off the dress, and even accompanied with the latest pair of Jimmy choos, nothing will detract away from it in photos. Many brides purchase personalised ones now. Even a fancy one covered in silk or fabric looks so much nicer! Trust me, your photographer will thank you for it.
Crochet hook
If you have a dress with many buttons to do up, trust me, this will be a life, time and patience saver.
And finally, trust your professionals. If they have set times out,
stick to them. They will all have reasons as to why they need them that
way. All professionals will have small requests, which may seem
odd or out of the ordinary to you, but will more than likely mean alot
to them to ensure that they can provide you with the best service
possible.
Wedding mornings are an exciting time, and remember, everyone is there to help make your day as perfect as it can be. Enjoy it!
No doubt you have spent years not only dreaming of the perfect day, but also weeks, months and years planning it.
Any project that takes that much precendence in your life will also have an emotional investment attached to it. Many a day (and night) scouring Pinterest, countless hours pining over bridal magazines, filtering through hair and makeup looks, and not to mention the weeks leading upto the big day relentlessly checking the weather forecast.
 | |||
| Makeup: Ruth Elizabeth / Hair: Lauren. Plaits and Pincurls / Photo: Thomas Thomas Photography |
If like me and countless others, you find it difficult to place your trust in numerous other people, it can be easy to single handedly try and arrange every fine detail for your big day.
Booking the right photographer, finding the perfect florist, ensuring your chosen wedding venue can cater to and create the vision you have assigned to them.
If you begin to feel slightly; frazzled, you are not alone. You are just one, in many brides to be.
Any personal goal or project you undergo in life that demands your time, finances, hopes, dreams, sweat ( and more than likely ) and tears, will be an investment you want to ensure produces the perfect end result.
So it's no suprise that so many brides to be find themselves completely overwhelmed the final few weeks and days leading up to the highly anticipated day.
Once you have decided upon the wedding professionals you will be booking for your big day, you are in turn, placing in them a responsibility to help make your day, all you have ever dreamt of and hoped for. A part of your vision, is now in their hands.
 |
| Makeup: Ruth Elizabeth Photography: Karen Masey |
Any experienced, wedding professional, will have worked on hundreds, possibly thousands of weddings. They will understand the workings of a wedding morning. They will understand the timings and how everything fits into place. Every wedding morning is unique, but all will have the same checklist that every professional will want to ensure, gets a big tick.
Countless hours will be spent in correspondance with you, to help bring your Wedding vision, alive.
So like you, we want to ensure your day is the best it can be.
Taking advice from your chosen wedding professionals will not only help ease the pressure, but will also help ensure that they can do their job to the best of their ability and in turn provide the best possible wedding service, for you.
Taking on board just a few pieces of advice, even the smallest detail, can make all the difference to your wedding morning.
Timings
It's always a good idea to ask each of your professionals for an estimate of timings for the day.
Not just arrival time, but any specifics they may need to allocate for. It's very easy to just try and work timings out for yourself, but your professionals will have specifics they need to stick to, to ensure they can provide the service you have booked them for.
You also need to account for that on the morning of your wedding you will have many professionals working together, all needing to work on their specific role, but also work in sync and harmony with each other.
For many Hair/MUAS they need around 50-60 mins pp for hair and then makeup. So if you are booking your entire bridal party in for a pamper be realistic about timings, and expect an early start. There is no magic formula to getting everyone ready. Times need to be carefully planned and each professional will know the time they need to allocate.
The aim of all all Hair/MUAS is to ensure you are all perfectly, beautified, without it being a rushed service. We also have to ensure there is time left over for any possible delays but also time for you to get into dresses and then photos.
 |
| Makeup: Ruth Elizabeth / Hair: Helen Sutcliffe / Photo: Jenny McCare |
Venues - What time can the bridal party arrive to get ready?
Unfortunately there are still venues that do not allow entry for the Bride and Bridal party until late morning. Many will allow earlier arrival of 7am onwards, but there are still some that will not allow you to arrive until 10.30 or later. This may not sound like a problem, but if you have a Midday or 1 pm wedding and want hair and makeup done for even 1 person this will cause issues. If you have your heart set on getting ready at your venue it may be a good idea to ask them when you are permitted to arrive. Alot of brides only find out after they have booked, which again can cause alot of upset.
Always find out this information as soon as possible, and then inform your booked professionals before proceeding with any plans.
Many of my brides in 2017 chose to get ready entirely at home, or they booked a hotel the night before.
I have seen first hand the chaos having to move an entire bridal party, mid morning. It rarely goes to plan and leaves everyone involved very stressed.
Always check with your hair/mua too, as I know from experience many will only offer to get a bridal party ready at one location due to the risks of moving and re-starting a job, mid way.
Breakfast
Yes, basic but often overlooked. Many brides feel they cannot face even a crumb of toast let alone a fry up on the morning of their big day. But I see many before 10am already eyeing up the prosecco.
Most brides are up before 7am on their big day, so in the hustle and bustle of the wedding morning you can be in your dress and out that door by 12 and not a single morsel of food will have passed your lips during this time!
Your adrenaline and nerves will kick in on the wedding morning, so even just half a croissant is better than nothing!
Surround yourself with the right people on your wedding morning
I have seen many well meaning friends/guests/family members be part of a wedding morning, and unintentionally shift their anxieties onto the bride. Feeling anxious or nervous on your big day is perfectly normal, but you do not need everyone elses worries too!
Having visitors is nice, but again this can add to the nervouseness and anxieties of the morning.
Have the people you really need with you on the morning, there. Make it clear to any others, (possibly a few days before as to not cause offence) that you want your morning as relaxed and stress free as possible.
I have seen many a bride go from relaxed and joyful to stressed and tearful, in the space of seconds due to a room full of people.
 |
| Makeup: Ruth Elizabeth Photography: Beaulieu |
Change of heart?
It's not unusual for a bride to want to change a few things on the day when it comes to her hair and makeup. Little tweaks here and there are perfectly normal and any experienced professional will handle it like a pro.
If however, you have decided upon a complete overhaul to your bridal look, do not leave this until the day.
The purpose of a trial is to have a play with ideas, and agree upon a look. A tweak of hair, a change of lips is easy done, but to completely change a look on the day can cause alot of problems.
There is no guarantee you will like the look once it is done, and if times have been allocated there may be no time to start all over again. This will cause a time lapse and subsequent stress for everyone involved.
Some professionals only carry the products that they will need on the day, so if you decide last minute to change something, there is no guarantee the professional will have all the products to hand.
If necessary contact your booked artist with any concerns and re arrange a second trial.
Last minute changes.
If for whatever reason you have last minute chages. ie, a location/address change for the morning, always inform your professionals as soon as you know.
Your professionals will need to have all upto date information, to hand.
Adding extra people on for hair and makeup can usually be rectified if your inform the artist before the day.
 |
| Makeup: Ruth Elizabeth Photography: Beaulieu |
Purchase a nice clothes hanger
I can imagine many a confused face reading this tip. But many a photographer will be jumping for joy. ( I imagine. )
Almost all brides request, and every photographer wants to capture that perfect shot of the all important dress.
More often than not bridal shops provide a standard, plastic hanger. This does nothing to show off the dress, and even accompanied with the latest pair of Jimmy choos, nothing will detract away from it in photos. Many brides purchase personalised ones now. Even a fancy one covered in silk or fabric looks so much nicer! Trust me, your photographer will thank you for it.
Crochet hook
If you have a dress with many buttons to do up, trust me, this will be a life, time and patience saver.
Cut all labels out of dresses, before the day. The number of times no one has a pair of scissors.
Wedding mornings are an exciting time, and remember, everyone is there to help make your day as perfect as it can be. Enjoy it!
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