As your wedding day approaches and you are feverishly planning, how can you be sure you are ready? Here are 10 things that every bride and groom needs to know (but no one remembers to tell them) before the wedding.
1. Schedule Time for Photos
Photos of your special day are so important. In fact, outside of the dress, photography can be one of the biggest expenses of the wedding day. Make sure you have enough time to get the most out of your photographer.
As you are scheduling the time for photos, consider scheduling the posed shots before the ceremony. This will give you the chance to get all of the images you want, without having to make your guests wait at the reception while you rush through photos.
2. Don’t Forget to Have Fun!
Your wedding needs to be fun for the bride and groom. It’s easy to get lost in the hustle and bustle of the day and forget to enjoy yourself. Schedule the day so that you have the time you need to really relax and enjoy your guests and your special day.
3. Pack an Emergency Kit
Have your maid of honor pack an emergency kit for the unexpected problems that will occur. This kit should have a small first aid kit, complete with bandages and medication for aches, pains and headaches, as well as a small sewing kit, double-sided tape, bobby pins and emergency snacks. Throw in one of those stain removal pens to ensure you can get a spill out of your dress or tux. Consider other emergency items you might need and add them to the stash. Remember, accidents will happen, and you will feel much less stress if you are prepared.
4. Follow Up with Vendors
You booked the reception, caterer and photographer, right? So the morning of your wedding everything will be ready to go! Unfortunately, people make mistakes, and the last thing you want is to find out that there was a scheduling error the day of your wedding. Follow up with all of your vendors and locations a couple of weeks before the wedding to confirm the day, time and cost, so you don’t have unexpected surprises on your big day.
5. Keep a Guest and Gift List
No matter how small your ceremony may be, you are going to forget who came and what they brought. Assign someone in your family with the task of keeping a running list of people who came and the gifts you received. Also, start this list early, because some gifts will come in before the wedding. Consider keeping the list with your list of invited guests, so you can have the addresses close at hand for the thank-you notes.
6. Schedule Alone Time with Your Soon-to-Be Spouse
Weddings are a time when guests want to express their well-wishes to the bride and groom. Unfortunately, many forget that the day is about the bride and groom. Make sure you schedule some alone time as a couple. For some, this might be the moment the groom sees the bride in her dress for the first time. For others, who wish to have that reveal moment be when she walks down the aisle, it is some time right after the ceremony. This alone time is crucial to helping you seal your memories of the day as a couple.
7. You Need Extra Thank-You Gifts
No matter how carefully you think through everything, chances are you will forget someone that requires a thank-you gift. Avoid embarrassment by simply buying a few extras and wrapping them ahead of time. Then you can pull out the extra gift and hand it to the individual and never even let on that you forgot.
8. Choose Who Gives the Toast
Be careful who you choose to give the toast at your reception. When the wine and other drinks start to flow, people’s mouths start to get a little looser. Make sure the person who is toasting to you as a couple is not going to divulge any secrets that you wish were kept private. If you have someone you do not want to be toasting, let your DJ or MC know ahead of time that the mic is off-limits for those individuals.
9. Give Someone Phone Duty
You don’t want to be answering phone calls or texts the day of your wedding, but you need your phone to be available if someone needs something last minute. Give your phone to someone you trust and ask them to be the designated “texter” for the day. This will ensure important messages are not lost while protecting you from a constant bombardment of well-wishes.
10. Don’t Forget to Eat
The day gets so busy and it can be easy to forget to eat. Make sure you have breakfast and try to have at least one other meal or substantial snack. You don’t want either of you passing out from low blood sugar during the ceremony! Your wedding day is one that you will look back on with fondness. Yes, problems will come up, but with these tips, you will be well poised to handle them when they do!
