Top tips for making your wedding day less stressful
Don’t leave the planning and making too late
The saying ‘the early bird catches the worm’ couldn’t be more true in wedding planning. Once you have booked a venue and therefore decided on the date, next on the to-do list is to make yourself a schedule of when you want to have everything else done by. Once that is made, it’s just a case of following the plan- simple! In terms of suppliers, start with the ones that are most important to you. You will find that suppliers can get booked up early so the sooner the better so that you can book the ones you really love without having to compromise. I, for example, get booked a to two in advance so no time is too soon to start enquiring! When you get down to the detail, allow yourself more time than you think you’ll need so that you can enjoy it. You don’t want to be rushing to make your 150th intricately handmade wedding favour a week before the wedding!
Rehearse with children where needed
Children can be a fantastic addition to any wedding but how many times have kids done the opposite of what we expect them to?! If you’re having any kids play an active part in the wedding, just telling them what to do won’t be enough. Prepare them as best you can with rehearsals so that when everyone is looking at them and they aren’t sure what they’re supposed to do, they can think back what they did last time. And it’s always a good idea to buddy kids up with someone else in the wedding party so that if they aren’t sure, they know who to look to for a reminder!
Have a timed plan for the day
Having a timed plan for the day makes sense to most brides and grooms but it’s always a good shout to run this past your suppliers as well. They’ll be able to give you some helpful pointers or point out if you haven’t left them enough time for x, y and z. And try not to pack the day so full that you have no wiggle room. You and your guests will be thankful for some breathing space rather than a jam packed schedule of events. With my own couples, I do a timings run through with them in the lead up to their wedding just to make sure things are all going to work together. I’ve been photographing weddings for nearly a decade so can often spot things that a couple might overlook.
Put someone in charge of the timings
Once you have your plan for the day, you need one carefully selected person from your wedding party, or perhaps your wedding planner or coordinator, who has a copy of the schedule for the whole day and the ability to get people to stick to it. They are the ones who need to have one eye on the clock for the day (until the party starts!), and not you! Make sure to choose someone who is organised and not afraid to speak up- perhaps you can even picture them now?!
Allow more time than you think you need
Even the most organised couple with the most well thought out timeline can find themselves a little behind schedule on the big day. Sometimes things don’t go exactly as planned. People can get caught in traffic, a dress can malfunction and, as a rule of thumb, everything will take a little bit longer than you expect. Adding an extra 15 minutes to your getting ready time, travel times and portrait time will help keep things running smoothly. If you don’t need it there’s absolutely nothing lost. Sit back and enjoy yourself!
Make contingency plans for what can go wrong
Of course, we can’t plan for every eventuality (hello Covid!), but it’s a good idea to have a plan B for some of the most likely curveballs. For example, if the vintage wedding car breaks down, who can drive you to the church? If it rains all day, where will your couple photos need to move to? If Uncle Bob has one too many champagnes and needs an early night, who will call him a cab?!
Get ahead of the game for the group photos
If not well organised, this can be the turning point in the day where everything else starts to fall out of schedule. In order to avoid that, make sure to provide your photographer with a detailed list of the groups you want photographs of. Make sure to remind those people the night before where to be and when, as well as asking them not to leave that spot until the photographer is finished. And most importantly, have a trusty groomsman rounding up the groups in preparation for their photograph. It’s also helpful to have a family member (or even one from each side) on hand to find missing family members. Your photographer doesn’t know who people are so they are not the best ones to track down people for family and group photos!
Delegate as much as possible
On the day, you don’t want to be thinking about anything that looks remotely like a to-do list! You want to be having FUN, catching up with old friends, enjoying your first day as a married couple, and generally enjoying this day that you have spent so much time and money on! You’ve spent months checking off to-do lists, so on the big day itself, give everyone else the to-do lists. Spread the jobs out amongst your wedding party and give each person some easy-to-remember ‘must dos’ for the day and any timings they need to keep in mind. They all want you to have the time of your lives so will welcome the opportunity to do their bit to make that happen!
Trust your vendors
It’s really important to search out those vendors that will perfectly slot into your day and to book people that you trust. Make sure to do your research and read plenty of reviews to find the suppliers that are right for you. However, when the wedding day comes, it’s time to let it all fade into the background. The whole point of your research is so that you can relax on your wedding day! People who work in the wedding industry (and do it well) are prepared for pretty much anything. They know how to do their job so you need to do yours and enjoy your wedding!
Let the little things go
Let me tell you now, your wedding day won’t run perfectly smoothly! It can certainly be the amazing day for you and your partner but whether you know about it or not, something will go awry. And that’s ok! If you notice something is out of place or not quite on time, do your best to let it go and not worry about it. And if it needs fixing, let your wedding party or suppliers handle it. At the end of the day, you’re there to get married so make sure you focus on celebrating that as much as you possibly can!
If you’re interested in hearing about how I can help photograph your amazing wedding day, then I’d love to hear from you. I have a limited amount of available slots in my calendar for weddings over the next couple of years so don’t hesitate to get in contact with me using the contact form below.