Today, I’m going to provide you some great tips specifically for the wedding day. These tips are designed to help enhance your day and make it a little easier too!

Tip #1 Rest is Best

Our very first tip is to make sure that you get a good night’s rest. While it’s an exciting time, go to bed early and don’t go out late with friends drinking.

One of the most common mistakes I see brides make is that they hang out with the bridesmaids and drink the night away. Make sure that you are well rested for the wedding day!

Tip #2 Have Something to Eat During Bridal Prep

Another common mistake that I often see when filming couples getting ready for their big day, is that their hunger gets the best of them. Often times I will see the bride and her bridesmaids getting ready but they’ll complain about being hungry and needing something to snack on.

Bring a bunch of snacks, cheese, and crackers, chips, brunch items, or whatever you might fancy. When you do, you’ll feel better having a little something on your stomach and your wedding party will thank you too!

Tip #3 Soak in the Moments

As a career-long wedding venue owner, I will tell you one thing, your wedding day WILL fly by. Make sure that throughout the day, take little moments to yourself and soak in the moments while you can.

Although your photographer and videographer will be able to capture those moments, being able to live in those moments is far more important.

Tip #4 Say Something to Your Guests

Many times at the speeches, it’s all about the bride and groom, but there is another mistake that couples tend to forget, addressing the wedding guests and thanking them.

While the speeches are generally the maid of honor or best man, it’s also a time to give thanks to the loved ones that came to celebrate your big day.

Take a few minutes after the speeches to make a statement about how much each and every one means to you and your new spouse. It will make a huge impact on your guests being there and everyone will appreciate it too.

Tip #5 Take All Your photos BEFORE the ceremony

A little unknown secret that I’ve learned over the years is that if you can take the majority of your photos before the ceremony, you will have a LOT more time with your friends and family at your reception.

Taking the family portraits, pictures of you and your spouse as well as the wedding portraits before the ceremony will save you about an hour’s time and you’ll be able to enjoy that with your wedding guests.

While that’s not for everyone, it is a little wedding hack that I picked up about 7-8 years ago.

Tip #6 Say ‘Hello’ to the New In-Laws

During the wedding reception, be sure to take a minute and talk to the in-laws. They will truly appreciate your willingness to talk with them and it will make them feel great in the process.

Besides, you’ll score some bonus points with them if you make their day by taking time out of your day to thank them for being apart of yours!

Tip #7 Practice Reading Your Vows

On your wedding day, make sure that you take a little time to read and say out loud your wedding vows. Make sure they sound good and you may even ask your maid-of-honor if it sounds right too. Practice in front of a mirror or with your bridal party, but make sure that it comes across with what you want to say to your new spouse.

You can usually tell those that have prepared and those that just wing it, trust me, be prepared.

Tip #8 Make Sure Your Ready for the Honeymoon

If you’re planning to take a honeymoon, pack the bags before your wedding day. The wedding will go by so swiftly, the last thing you’ll be thinking about is what you need to pack.

In fact, a recent survey from The Wedding Report found that only 47% of couples had the bags packed for a honeymoon. That’s a low number.

Don’t be scrambling to toss things in a bag if you leave the next day for a fun adventure.

Tip #9 Break in those New Shoes

If you can, wear the wedding shoes ahead of time to break them in if you can. New heels can be hard on your feet, especially if you are walking in the grass.

And speaking of that, we recommend that you get those heel protectors, mostly for you not sinking into the ground or getting the heel stuck in decking or the like.

It might take a while to break in the new shoes, but trust me, it’ll be worth it.

Tip #10 Time, Time, Time

Something I see too many times is that brides seem to never have enough time to get ready. Make sure that you have plenty of time the day of the wedding to take a long shower, have the makeup and hair artist do you upright, and just have time to soak things in.

Many times brides will come to a venue at 12 noon and think they’ll be ready by 3 to have a 4 pm wedding.

The truth is that many don’t have that time and they wind up shorting the hair or makeup session. Worse, they’re rushed through everything and they don’t have time to enjoy themselves or their bridesmaids.

We suggest that you allow yourself 4-5 hours to get ready. That way your wedding photographer and videographer can grab the shots they want all the while you have time to enjoy yourself.

Tip #11 Naps and Candy

Flower girls and ring bearers many times get cranky at the wedding ceremony and while that might seem cute, they need sleep and they also need something to do, a task if you will.

I’ve found that allowing them to have their routine nap works great for them walking down the aisle and it’s less likely that they will start crying during the ceremony.

My other trick I learned from a grandmother and that’s the use of candy or a small toy.

Many times a flower girl or ring bearer (sometimes both) will stop in the middle of walking down the aisle and start having a meltdown.

Crying!

Having someone at the front of the church or venue with candy or a toy that the little ones like will entice them to be good and also stay focused on walking down happy, so the professionals can get those cute smiling faces instead of tears running down their face. You should give it a try, trust me it works more than you think it does!

Tip #12 Let Your Planner Manage the Day

My next tip is simple, use the power of your wedding planner. If you don’t have one, get one.

I’m going to let you in on a little secret. The longer you work with a wedding planner (more than the ‘day-of’), the better the planner will be at their job, and in turn, the less you have to worry about the details of the day while it’s happening.

The mistake of hiring just for the day-of is a common one and the thought process has to do with money, trying to save it with just hiring for the day.

The truth is, hiring for the wedding planning process and the day of the wedding can actually save you more money than you thought.

A recent study by The Wedding Report found that couples that hired planners long term saved roughly $4,650 more than those that only hired the day of the wedding.

That has to do with the repeat business of a vendor.

Allowing the planner to manage your day will put money back in your pocket and it will also let you relax at the wedding too.

Tip #13 MOH Duties

While the maid of honor (or MOH) is usually a very close friend or family member, they actually are supposed to have duties. The maid of honor is supposed to be the right-hand lady of the bride, helping her out with everything from micromanaging the bridal prep for her to keeping things on track.

Now, that doesn’t mean you should be a boss, but it does mean you should let her help with some of the duties of the day, like making sure the boys are getting ready, making sure the vendors are doing what they need to do and report back if anything needs attention while you are in bridal prep.

the Best man and Maid of honor are your support team emotionally as well as physically if needed. Use them (within reason) as a way to help organize the day and make sure that the little things are being taken care of during the day too.

Tip #14 Set the Bridal Prep Tone, with Music!

Have some music playing on your phone or through a blue tooth speaker in your bridal prep room. Having music helps make things fun and can often time put you at ease while you might have those butterflies in your stomach.

We don’t recommend blasting out to whatever tune you like, but we do recommend having something to listen to while you and the girls are getting ready for the day.

Music also helps set the tone of the day and mood that you’re in or it could put you in a more relaxing place. While this is a small tip, it’s something worth bringing in.

Tip #15 Don’t Drink Before the Ceremony

One of the common mistakes I see in the bridal prep room is you and the girls having a drink, usually a mimosa or the like. While having a drink might loosen things up a bit, I don’t recommend it until after the ceremony.

I’ve seen one too many times where one drink leads to another, a couple of hours go by and suddenly you’re tipsy or drunk and you have to walk down the aisle.

No one wants that!

Tip #16 Trust Your Vendors

It’s your wedding day and you might be freaking out a bit, at least worried about the day’s events and having everything come together.

Well, if you did everything right, you have a complete team of wedding vendors that will handle the day.

Trust on them to make everything come together. Professionals know what to do and how to handle things, I mean, that’s why you hired them to start because they are professionals.

If you have questions about something or want something to set up a certain way, just tell them. Most of us have been in the wedding industry for a while, some much longer than others, but my point is that they should be able to handle most situations in a professional and calm manner. Especially during times of COVID, trust your wedding vendors to take the best safety measures too.

One secret I will tell you is this, I’ve NEVER been to a perfect wedding and neither will you in your lifetime.

The truth is that every wedding, no matter how much money you throw at, it’s never perfect. There is always something and needs to be addressed. It could be so small only vendors notice it, it could be big, like a 3-year meltdown at 4 in the afternoon during the ceremony.

I’ve been covering weddings for 11 years now and people think that if you spend a lot of money at a wedding, it will be perfect. Nope, that’s not the case.

So, let the professionals handle the things that might go wrong and if they happen in plain view, just react in a positive manner, laugh it off and just know that life happens sometimes and you will have professionals to help cover whatever is troubling you.

Tip #17 Treat Your Vendors to Dinner

Vendors work hard during your wedding day and they too need a small break and a dinner along with everyone else. Most have a vendor table to a table off to the side for us, but we generally get to eat something.

One tip we suggest is that you let the vendor eat when the wedding party does, this does a couple of things.

First, it allows us to eat while the wedding party does, giving us a break. By the time the wedding party is finished, they will be talking with the guests and mingling, which is a time for us vendors to perk up for the second half of our evening.

Second, for some of us, like wedding photographers, DJ’s and filmmakers, we get to switch out batteries in cameras and mics, lenses on our cameras, and prep for the reception. In all, about 2-30 minutes is all we really need to get us through.

I recommend that you make sure vendors have a meal. These typically include:

Officiant
Wedding Planner
DJ
Photographer
Videographer/Filmmaker

Tip #18 Have a Refreshment Station at the Ceremony

Getting married in the heat of the summer?

If you are, then you should consider having a drink station. It could be manned or unmanned, but have a place where guests can grab a soda or ice-cold bottled water before they sit down at the ceremony. It’s a cost-effective way to keep everyone cool during the ceremony and keeps everyone hydrated too.

A bucket of ice, a couple of cases of bottled water (generic ones), and a large tub to put everything in, it can be done for under $100.

You can also choose to personalize your bottled water if you wish, we recommend that you check out My Wedding Water. It’s a bit more expensive but it adds a nice touch to the ceremony.

Great Wedding Tips for Your Big Day