Hey, you. Bride-to-be. You’re probably getting married for the first time, right? More than likely. Sure, you’ve been a bridesmaid before, attended dozens of weddings, and probably have helped plan one or two.
But, you’ve never been a bride before.
As a wedding hair & makeup pro, and having been a part of hundreds of weddings over the years, I am on the front lines of prep the morning of the wedding.
For an hour or so, I am inches away from the bride’s face moments before she slips on her gown and puts on her veil. I have pretty intimate moments with my brides on that day that most others do not.
I know a thing or two about what goes down and how to keep it cool and positive.
That’s why I’m writing this.
Too often the bride I work with on the day of the wedding is not the same bride I met months before at her trial. She is jittery, controlling, super nervous, and just downright uncomfortable.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
Every girl dreams of her wedding day – getting all dolled up, hanging out with her best friends, drinking mimosas, listening to music, and just generally having a blast.
I’ve got some real advice on how to achieve this without all the added unnecessary stress that too often gets in the way of having a great time.
Shut your phone off. No, really. Who is more important to talk to on your wedding day than the ones in the room getting ready with you? Thought so .
You can look at all the congratulatory texts and Facebook posts the next day when the wedding high is over and reality sets in.
Pro tip: Give everyone your maid of honor or your mom's number for the day of, and let them know ahead of time your phone will be off and you'll be enjoying a technology-free day. They will understand! And, they'll have an alternate contact in case of emergency.
Hire a day-of planner (at least). If a full-blown planner is not in your budget nor is it included with your venue, at least consider hiring a planner for executing those important tasks on the day of your wedding.
Do not, under any circumstances, expect your Mom, Grandma, Aunt, Sister, Bridesmaids, etc. to decorate for you. NO. Don’t even think about it.
It’s downright rude to expect them to do this for you, and guess what? If they’re down at the venue decorating, no one will be left to hang out with you while you get your hair & makeup done, and it will make you really sad.
Don’t invite your great great aunt and long lost cousins to the getting ready mimosa-fest. Getting hair & makeup done professionally is a luxury that not many people get to do. Enjoy it. Embrace it. Treat it like a spa experience.
This is all hard to do when you have an excessive number of unnecessary people there when you and your crew are trying to get ready. They are constantly asking you questions, answering the phone, trying to figure out what time so-and-so needs to be there, etc. and that only creates more stress on you.
Trust me on this.
Confirm the details with all of your vendors beforehand, and then forget about it. Be super detailed and organized about what you want for your wedding in the weeks and months before.
Get all the details nailed down, and then tell your vendors (and family for that matter) that you would prefer not to have to answer any last minute questions on the wedding day.
Stupid things like which color ribbon is supposed to be used on the flower girl’s basket and stuff like that. It doesn’t matter.
And trust me, you won’t care in 3 days that the rental place delivered the wrong silverware, so you better make sure nobody bothers you about it on the wedding day.
Write your vows before the big day. With SO many couples going the non-traditional route and writing their own vows, it's easy to forget about this little detail until the wedding day.
I have seen time and time again stressed out brides who spend the whole morning working out what to say to the love of their life at the altar. If beautiful words don't come naturally to you - DON'T put this off until the day of!
I've had brides late to my hair & makeup chair because they were still writing their vows. You literally have your entire engagement to write your vows - don't spend the morning of your wedding day in a corner stressing out about what to write.
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There are obviously a lot more things I could cover here, but these are the things I see consistently that could make the morning so much less stressful.
Ladies, it doesn’t have to be this way. You deserve a relaxing, fun morning on your wedding day. But, most of all, remember that weddings are one day and marriage is forever <3
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If you have more tips I should know about, hit me up in the comments below. By the way Nashville-area brides – check out our award-winning hair & makeup company Nashville Wedding Stylist.