“An emergency kit is a MUST! A safety pin or a stick of deodorant can be a LIFESAVER day-of.”

Making emergency kits is a great way to be prepared for anything the day might bring. What you include in your kit can be customized to you, but staples like safety pins, a mini sewing kit, fashion tape, super glue, a stain removal pen, tissues, floss, deodorant, bobby pins, bandaids, and snacks are always useful.

“Plan for breakfast and lunch. I was so busy planning the reception dinner, I forgot there were other meals in a day.”

You’d be surprised how many couples say their reception dinner was the first meal they ate that day. It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement and forget you need to eat, so plan ahead and put breakfast and lunch on your schedule. Either designate someone to make or pick up food for you or get catering from your favorite fast food or local joint. Remember to feed your bridal party too!

“Get your marriage license! We forgot to apply for ours until the day before the wedding. It was stressful trying to fit the trip into our already busy rehearsal schedule.”

The wedding ceremony is what helps it feel real, but the wedding certificate is what makes it all legal. Be sure to look up the requirements for obtaining a marriage certificate in your county, as well as any deadlines associated with it. As of 2019, Alabama no longer requires a marriage license, but you still need to fill out the necessary forms, get them notarized, and turn them in to the probate court. In other states, like Tennessee, marriage licenses are still required.

“Make sure you have a getaway driver. I was almost stranded at my own wedding because I forgot we couldn’t drive after drinking! Thankfully a family member stepped in to get us where we needed to go.”

A getaway vehicle is a must to get you from your wedding to wherever you are spending your wedding night, but if you and your spouse both plan to drink at your wedding, you will also need to designate a getaway driver. This can be a hired driver, a family member, or a friend. Just make sure if your driver is a guest they know about their role beforehand so they can skip the drinks and drive you safely to your destination.

“Check your wrists for hair ties and make sure the guys take their phones and wallets out of their pockets. My poor photographer had to edit them out of every photo.”

Hair ties and full pockets is a photographer’s pet peeve, and for good reason. If left in the photos, they’re a distraction. If edited out, they’re a lot of work. Save yourself and your photographer the trouble by making sure everyone has empty wrists and empty pockets before the photos begin.

“Don’t forget yourself in the headcount! I kept wondering why my numbers seemed off until I realized I wasn’t counting myself and my fiancé!”

An accurate headcount is important for determining how much space and how many seats you need, but it’s especially important for determining how much food you need. When giving your vendors your final numbers, be sure to include yourself and your spouse. When it comes to your caterer, include numbers for your other vendors as well. Your photographer, DJ, wedding coordinator, and officiant need to eat too, and many of these have a hot meal included in their contracts. 

“Write your vows early. I forgot mine until the morning of, and I wish I had given myself more time to come up with what to say.”

If you are writing your own vows, they should be personal and from the heart, so give yourself the time to write exactly what you want to say without the pressure of wedding jitters and time constraints.

“Go over expectations with your officiant so they know what to say and what not to say in their speech.”

If you want your officiant to say or do specific things during your ceremony, communicate that with them. This can mean asking them to step aside for your first kiss or announcing who needs to stay for photos and who can head to cocktail hour, or it can mean asking them to go over what they plan to say in their speech so you can make sure it aligns with your expectations.

“Get your passport updated! Seriously, it can take weeks to process, and you do NOT want to run out of time and miss your destination honeymoon.”

While a passport may not be required for a flight across the country, it is definitely required for international travel, so if you’re heading overseas for the honeymoon, make sure you both have up-to-date passports. Processing a new passport can take six weeks or longer, so make sure to get those applications in as soon as you know you need them.

“If you don’t have a day-of coordinator, choose someone to be a secondary contact that is not you or your fiance. You’ll be too busy on the day to be answering questions and running around fixing problems. Delegate that to someone else.”

We are strong believers that the bride and groom should not have to be in charge of anything on their wedding day other than getting ready, relaxing, and soaking in the moment. The truth is that a wedding is a big event with a lot of moving parts, meaning there is always going to be someone or something that needs answers or attention. The best thing you can do for yourself on your wedding day is let someone else handle all running, communicating, and fixing. Include this person in your planning process so they know exactly what you expect, hand them your planning binder, and set them loose. Trust in the plan you worked so hard to put in place, and let yourself enjoy the day.