How to Have a Totally Stress-Free Wedding Morning

Over and over again, I’ve seen how a lovely calm wedding morning can turn into a stressful nightmare. Brides going into panic mode trying to get ready in time for their wedding ceremony is more common than you’d think. But it doesn’t have to be that way! Here are my top tips for keeping your wedding morning stress-free and it’s not as difficult as you might think.

All in the planning

Have you ever heard of the ‘Seven Ps of Planning’? They go something like this: “Proper planning and preparation prevents p*** poor performance”! So, start planning well in advance of the day itself and get it all written down. You’ll feel much more prepared and calmer knowing that it’s all pre-organised.

Create a timeline

Coordinate with your hairdresser and makeup artist in advance to figure out how long it’ll take for everyone to be styled before they start getting dressed. The more bridesmaids you have, the longer things will take. You may need to start getting ready earlier than anticipated. Make sure your bridesmaids know exactly when they need to be there. And check with your Mum to see if she wants to be included in the timeline too.

 Your bridesmaids should have their hair and makeup done first. You, as the bride, should be the last to be done, so it all stays perfect for as long as possible. Communicate clearly with your hair and makeup team the time you need to be ready. Don’t forget to allow time to put your dress on, your veil and any finishing touches too.

 Truthfully, we humans always underestimate how long things are going to take. Trust your makeup artist and hairdresser to give experienced estimates and advice. But it’s best to allow for any possible problems along the way and add more time on to be sure.

What you can prepare

There are certain preparations you can put in place the morning of your wedding that will make things far less stressful for you.

 First, ask your florist to deliver your flowers before your wedding photographer arrives. It’s lovely to capture the looks of joy on everyone’s faces as they arrive. But it can interrupt the flow of things a bit and put the timeline behind. So, get them to deliver the flowers as early as possible and keep them somewhere cool for safekeeping. Your photographer will want to get some photographs of the flowers too, so let them know where they are.

 Also, have all the important bits like your jewellery, shoes, the dress, a copy of the wedding invitation and any other details laid out or hung up ready. Your photographer will want to get photos of these as part of the story of your day. So, it will be helpful if they’re all in one place, so no one has to go scrabbling around for them!

Delegation is key

Remember, you will not be alone on the morning of your wedding. You’ll have family and friends around you, and they’ll all be able to help you get things done. So, don’t be afraid to give them jobs to do.

 Have one person take charge of keeping your preparation space tidy and clutter-free. A tidy space will prevent you from feeling stressed. It’ll also look much nicer to have tidy backgrounds in your prep photos.

 If there are any payments due on the morning of your wedding, get a responsible person to make them for you. Also, have one person manning the phone, just in case any problems arise and need to be dealt with. You should also have someone on food and drink duty. It’s important to have something to eat in the morning as it might be a while before you eat again.

 Ultimately, you should be relaxing as much as possible at this point of the day. So, while others are doing all the running around for you, sit back and sip on some champagne whilst having your hair and makeup done.

Those last few minutes

Pandemonium usually kicks in in the minutes before you’re due to be leaving and heading to your wedding ceremony. Aim to be ready and dressed at least 30 minutes before you need to leave. This will give your photographer time to get some lovely portraits of you before they need to go. They will usually leave a little bit before you. It will also allow for any last-minute glitches to be fixed.

 Ensure your bridesmaids are ready and dressed before you so that they can help you get your dress on. This will look much better in your photographs than having a stressed out, red-faced bridesmaid still in her dressing gown behind you! And, of course, it’ll ensure everyone is ready, making sure you’ll all get to the ceremony bang on time.

Looking for a calm and relaxed photographer who will capture your wedding preparations in a fun and memorable way? Then drop me a message and let’s have a chat!