The morning before a wedding can be a hectic one, with essential last-minute jobs to complete before the special day begins. As the bride, this can easily feel overwhelming if you are left to do it all on your own - this is NOT a recipe for wedding morning success.
The most stress-free weddings I have worked on have been the ones where everyone has a job to do, to make sure everything comes together at the 11th hour. You don’t want to be co-ordinating everything on the day and don’t forget that at your wedding, everyone is there to support YOU – to do whatever you need to make your day as wonderful as possible.
Photo Credit: Bloomwood Photography
Venue: Quendon Hall
Have you thought about delegating some of these jobs so that everyone knows how they can help you? Do you have a super organised bridesmaid that could arrange who does what on your behalf – I have seen this work really well.
Having worked on many weddings, here are some ideas of wedding morning tasks you could delegate to your bridesmaids to make sure that you don’t have too much on your plate when it comes to your special day.
1. Music
Why not ask your bridesmaid(s) to create a fabulous playlist for the wedding morning with great tunes? This will help to get everyone in the right mood for the day ahead. Depending on what mood you’re looking to create, this could be party music or tunes with a chilled vibe.
Photo Credit: Pure Image Photography
Venue: Downham Hall
TIP: there are plenty of wedding morning-specific playlists on Spotify and don’t forget to download it onto the phone in advance as venues can have poor WIFI. Oh, and make sure you bring a speaker and charger!
2. Snacks & Drinks
Prosecco, soft drinks, hot drinks – you’ll need to keep your energy levels up and remain hydrated. So ask your bridesmaids to get involved in keeping on top of this essential (but often overlooked) wedding day job that will ensure everyone stays happy - including you!
Photo Credit: Dominic Lemoine Photography (left)
Venue: Crondon Park
TIP: A grazing platter is a perfect idea for people to snack on. Mints are handy to have too!
3. Hair & Make-up Schedule
It is important to check that everyone knows where they need to be and at what time, as well as ensuring that hair is prepared as advised by the hairdresser. Be aware of the time you need to get into your dress. The most organised weddings have usually had a bridesmaid in charge of the hair and make-up schedule!
Photo Credit: Sophie Lou Photography
Venue: Leez Priory
TIP: Allow time for gift opening on the wedding morning – schedule this or do it before the hair/make-up starts or even the night before if you are all together.
4. Looking after the dresses & accessories:
Ask your bridesmaids to lend a hand with taking care of those all-important dresses and accessories. The last thing you want is an outfit disaster to sabotage your wedding morning success! Here are a few organisation tips:
Hang the dresses up out of the way and steam if needed BUT make sure you do this BEFORE make-up and hair have been done (there’s nothing like a bit of steam to make hair frizz and make-up start to slide).
Cut the labels off of dresses in advance and also the ribbons under the arms that have kept the dresses on the hanger.
Remove sticky labels from your shoes beforehand so that you don’t ruin your nails!
Bring scissors, safety pins, and a sewing kit.
Also, don’t forget to ensure the following questions have been considered in advance of the wedding morning.
Who is dressing the bride?
Think about this one in advance and make sure you allow time for it on the wedding morning. The person dressing you must have had their hair and make-up completed well before this so that they have time to get dressed beforehand.
Is there anything they need to know about getting you into the dress? Lots of buttons? – bring a crochet hook.
Photo Credit: GD Photographer (left), Flowtography Weddings (right)
Venue: Apton Hall
Have the Bridesmaids practiced putting on their dresses?
Ensure that the bridesmaids have practiced putting their dresses on before the big day, especially if they have a multi-way dress. On numerous weddings I have seen bridesmaids struggle to remember how to do up the dresses, getting hot and bothered in the process.
Photo Credit: InvogueUK
Venue: The Lion Inn Hotel
TIP: There are videos on YouTube to help with this.
5. Photographs
Deciding on your photography preferences in advance is key to ensuring that those picture-perfect memories reflect your wedding exactly the way you want them to!
Photo Credit: Gavin Woollard Photography
Venue: Channels Estate, Chelmsford
Consider the following for your wedding morning: Will there be photos in dressing gowns? A first look? Perhaps you would like your photographer to take shots of the gift opening? It is good to know these details beforehand so the schedule can take these things into account - and your bridesmaids can help to ensure that these are noted!
TIP: Don't forget to let your hair and make-up team know about timings for any of these so that they can take these into account on their schedule. For example, if you are having a first look with the photographer present, you may need to be ready a little earlier.
6. Behind-the-scenes footage
Allocate someone to take some videos/photos of you all getting ready, capturing this time informally can be so lovely to look back on and you’ll get to see it way before your official photos.
Photo Credit: Dominic Lemoine Photography
Venue: Crondon Park
TIP: Some brides like to set up a shared Google Drive for any photos/videos to be uploaded so that it's all in one place.
7. Prepping your Beautiful Bouquets
When the florist arrives with your bouquets, they will advise you to take the flowers out of the water and dry them on a towel for about 20 minutes before you need them to avoid watermarks on the dresses.
Photo Credit: Kirsty Mackenzie Photography
Venue: Friern Manor
However, it is so important to allocate this task to someone in advance so that when the florist arrives, they will listen to the instructions and take responsibility for getting this done at the right time with the help of the other bridesmaids.
8. Plan in advance for Wedding Morning Success
Why not have a girl’s night to go through these essential jobs over a glass of bubbles?
People want to help on the day of the wedding but often don’t know how! So, if everyone knows in advance what to expect, things will run much more smoothly - and they may even have some ideas of their own.
Having an in-person meet-up with your bridesmaids also gives a great opportunity to have a fun get-together ahead of the big day.
Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed reading this blog on how to achieve wedding morning success with the help of your lovely bridesmaids!
Do you have any other suggestions for things that would really help? Let me know in the comments! And don’t forget to share this blog with your bridal party to get the ball rolling :)
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Photo credit: Claire Naylor Photography
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