As a former bride, trust me, I remember just how stressful and scary the whole process of getting ready on the morning of you wedding can be! There is so much going on and such a huge lead up to that big day. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that weddings, while joyful and wonderful, can also be quite stressful! This is a huge celebration with a lot of people and a lot of moving parts, so there are bound to be a few snags along the way!

You wake up nervous, and yet full of excitement. It’s the day you have been waiting for and planning for months. It’s your wedding day! With your bridal party coming and going, a timeline to follow, and all those pre wedding emotions, it’s easy to become stressed. BUT stress not!

To help you prepare for your wedding day morning, and make it as relaxed as possible, I have put together my 12 Tips For A Relaxed and Calm Wedding Morning blog post!

The biggest tip I can give is to enjoy every moment of the day, starts with a relaxing and calm morning. I always do my best to educate my brides on how to plan for an stress-free wedding day, particularly for this part of the day. The last thing I want is for the bride/groom to be so stressed and frazzled during this time! So here are some of the ways that couples can plan ahead to ensure they have a relaxing and stress-free wedding morning!

This is a blog post full of info! You don’t want to forget to bookmark!

The most IMPORTANT tip, is to go to bed early on your wedding eve (the night before your wedding day) With excitement and nerves running high, it may be hard to get to sleep, but being tired on such a high strung day will not help. Try drinking tea to calm your nerves, listen to a relaxing music playlist, or do a lot the day before so your tired body will naturally be ready to fall asleep! I have had COUNTLESS brides / grooms tell me that they only had 4 hours of sleep the night before. Lack of sleep makes it hard to enjoy when a wedding day runs for 10 + hours.

When I arrive, I want to take all the detail shots to one area to photograph. I always ask my couples to get those items together before I arrive to save time. Have your dress hanging up in your dream spot. Have the labels cut off all your pretty new details such as lingerie, garter, and the dress itself. The last thing you want is to have to dig around for those details items when I arrive to start photographing.

Speaking of hanging dresses, heres another tip! Make sure to purchase a cute, custom or wooden hanger for your dress shot. Bridal shops will give you the dress on a plastic hanger- which does not photograph well. You can find beautiful dress hangers on Etsy, or Amazon. Even Target sells wooden hangers. Make that already gorgeous dress shot, even extra beautiful!

Get your engagement and wedding rings CLEANED so those diamonds are extra sparkly and theres no grub stuck in the stones- it happens to every wedding ring :) But by getting it cleaned, it will be in tip top shape ready to photograph!

Although you may say you feel too anxious or excited to eat in the morning, it is super important to have a healthy and hearty breakfast to get your morning started. After you leave the hotel, you really won’t have time to eat until dinner- and YIKES, that can be a long time on an empty stomach during a high strung day. So make sure to order breakfast for room service, or if getting ready at a family members house, to order some breakfast for the crew! Eat something with those morning mimosas!

As a wedding photographer, the one thing that always seems to run late like clock work is the bridal hair and makeup. It happens, but at least by reading this you are ahead of the game and can avoid this! As you’re planning your wedding-day timeline, ask your hair/makeup artist for an estimated time on how long this process will take, and then add AT LEAST a 45 minute as a buffer. Confirm with the make-up artists the bridal parties schedule and how long each member will take, so there’s no surprises!

Create a wedding morning playlist! Pack a set of portable speakers in your overnight bag, if you aren’t getting ready at home. Some fun music will bring some life to the bridal prep. Create a playlist with your bridesmaids so everyone has some of their favorite tunes to listen to while getting ready. It will bring life into the room and create fun moments together.

As a wedding photographer who has documented countless weddings, I can say the most important aspect of a stress free day is a perfected timeline. It makes the day run a lot smoother. Confirm the timeline with ALL of your vendors involved in your special day. This includes hair and makeup artist, flower delivery, the photographer and videographer. Have all of your vendors payments in labeled envelopes ready to go and handed over to a trusted bridal party member such as your bridesmaid or best man to hand out.

Try to only surround yourself with only the people you want with you on the morning of your wedding. The getting ready part of the day should be low key, relaxing and limited to just the VIPs. Having extra people in the room can bring chaos! Ask any other visitors that isn’t in this group to be respectful of your time while getting ready. Perhaps have a note on the door. So make it clear to your mom, maid of honor, etc that there are only certain people that you want to have access to your getting ready space in order to avoid this chaos.

Nominate a person in your bridal party, or wedding planner to direct questions too. Have that person take any phone calls to avoid last minute panic and take any pressures away from you, so you can enjoy the morning more relaxed. Let the people around you help take any stress away before it can even begin!

I have found that the getting ready part of the day is more often than not running behind schedule. Between getting everyone’s hair and makeup done to all the little last minute details, time can really get away from you!

Part of my planning process with every couple, is to go over your timeline in great details. If anything looks like it may need extra time, I will modify it or suggest it to be changed. Even with a confirmed timeline, I still recommend time buffers. Things always happen, and you don’t want to feel rushed if timing runs over.

Always give yourself a makeup time buffer, as makeup can run behind, especially with a large amount of bridesmaids. If they makeup artist quotes you at 30 minutes per bridesmaid, give yourself 45 minutes per bridesmaid; always better to have extra time to relax, then be running late.

I recommend that you aim to be fully ready and leaving to the ceremony location / first look location, ONE HOUR in advance. This allows time buffer while traveling, in case of unexpected traffic.

Even if everyone has to wake up a little earlier to start getting ready, I promise it’s worth it!

We all know that our phones are a daily distraction, and it will be on your wedding day, so put it away! Put it in your clutch, have your maid of honor have it in case any important calls come in, or ask a family member to carry it for emergencies only. Remember, you hired a professional photographer to capture the moments, so you don’t need to take photos. Anyone you would text or call will be at your wedding with you in person. If there is ever a time to disconnect, your wedding day is it. Enjoy and experience the day without all those texts and messages interrupting you.

If you want to relax on your wedding day, worry free, then you must trust the team you’ve put in place to execute it. Bringing on vendors that are reliable, experienced and talented will remove so much worry about whats going on behind the scenes. Trust your photographer / videographer team to document the memories and help the day flow. Having a wedding planner handle all the details and logistics of the day will help as well. Hire the dream team that will make your day run smooth and as perfect as possible.

Give yourself enough time to take your time while getting dressed. This is one of the most emotional parts of bridal prep because the moment you put that dress on, it gets real. Always include extra time because all of those buttons or strings can add time. Allow yourself to soak it all in and take in the magnitude of this day. Have someone special like mom or a best friend help you get in your dress and be there for those special photos.

If your dress has more than a zipper, allow 15 extra minutes! Believe it or not, lace up gowns, buttons and crisscross backs take a lot longer than you think. The people in the bridal gown store as masters at getting dresses on and make it look easy. When your bride tribe starts to get it going, it will FOR SURE take longer than thought.

One of my favorite things to document during prep is love notes. Write each other a love note, and give it to your soon to be spouse before their prep. Have your photographer document you opening and reading this special note- to capture all those reactions. It really is a special moment. If you have a videographer, they can film the entire letter, including your tears, laughter and joy as you read the love note from your soon to be spouse.

So with wedding season right around the corner and a lot of couples out there planning the final details of their wedding day, I hope you can find these tips helpful in ensuring you have a stress free wedding morning that will then turn into a perfect wedding day! Happy Planning!

Here are some other posts with helpful tips for couples!

12 Tips From Your Wedding Photographer

Why Should We Do a First Look?

Why You NEED Engagement Photos

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I will get back to you right away to talk about your wedding plans!