Your wedding day is going to be one of the most special and impactful moments of your life. You will look back one day and remember all of the emotions and feelings that you felt. Emotions and feelings you never thought could be so life-changing but let me say… it is. However, leading up to that moment can be what’s the tricky part. Wedding planning can be tough and if you’re not equipped with tips and tricks along the way, it can be a very overwhelming process. Over the years of me photographing a lot of weddings, I’ve put together 5 of my best tips to prepare for your wedding day. These tips will essentially help you in making sure you are better prepared for the actual day of your wedding. You will walk in confident, poised, and ready to take on the world… I mean hey, you’re getting freakin’ married after all!
1.) Monitor Your Budget + Expenses
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Let me just start off with one of if not the most important tips to prepare for your wedding day. Make sure that throughout the wedding planning process you are monitoring your budget and expenses and sticking to it! It can be very easy to justify spending tons of $$ because it’s your wedding day. Thoughts like “I want this” or “I need this” will run through your mind a million times per day (this may be an exaggeration but you get the gist"). Items can start racking up and it can be very easy to get over your budget and then you’ve got yourself in a pickle.
What I would suggest is establishing your budget prior to making any large purchases. Include things like your venue, decor, *cough cough* your photographer and/or videographer. If you’re still in search for your dream wedding venue, I have a blog all about my top 5 wedding venues in New Jersey that you’re gonna want to check out. Ensure that you are constantly checking back in with you and your partner’s budget and keep track of those expenses. This will save you a ton of stress and money in the long run - trust me!
2.) Don’t Worry About Everyone’s Schedules
Just like a majority of things in life, you can’t control a lot of what happens. This includes timing everything perfectly to fit everyone’s schedules. Say it with me nobody is perfect. While you may try everything in your power to ensure that everyone can make it to any and all pre-scheduled events, life just happens and that might not be the case. Not every bridesmaid will be able to come to a fitting or to your bridal shower — and that’s okay. That doesn’t mean that they don’t care about you, they may just have previous engagements that can’t be rescheduled.
Don’t worry too much about the timing of everything and having to work around every person’s schedule. This can be near impossible and it will create additional stress and worry that is definitely not needed. Just remember to try your best to accommodate different schedules, but don’t freak out if not everyone can make it to every single one. It may/may not happen, so be prepared and take one day at a time! It will all work out in the end, I promise.
3.) Plan For Buffer Time
As much as we don’t want anything to go wrong on your special day, things happen. While we do everything in our power to avoid it, it is also important to be realistic and prepare if something unexpected happens. That’s why I am a strong proponent of planning for buffer time when thinking of timing out the actual timeline of your wedding day. Buffer time essentially gives some grace time if appointments run behind or we need some extra time throughout the day. This can include if your hair & makeup are running later than predicted or you’re needing a few extra minutes to prepare for a wild day ahead.
My advice to you is to remember that buffer time is completely normal, and oftentimes suggested. Especially when working with a wedding photographer, they will often go over your wedding day timeline and will oftentimes account for buffer time for these reasons. You would much rather have more time to take beautiful photos than feel like you are completely rushed throughout the day and can’t enjoy the moment.
4.) Hair & Makeup Trials Are A Must
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This is pretty self-explanatory and most makeup-wearers know this, but please know that hair and makeup trials are an absolute must! Especially if you are having professional wedding photography done, you’re going to be wanting to look and feel your best. Most of the time your hair and makeup artist will suggest coming in for trials in order to ensure that no one is winging it the day of your wedding. This is usually standard practice with most hair and makeup artists.
However, if you are doing your own makeup on your wedding day this still applies to you! You still should be doing trial runs for your makeup and ensuring that everything is all set to go on the day of your wedding.
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Natural Light - Try doing your makeup in front of a window where there is a ton of natural light or with very good professional lighting. Natural light will show you the best true-to-tone colors and ensure that everything is color matched and looks flawless
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Practice w/ Flash- Make sure that whether you are having your makeup artist do your wedding makeup, or you’re doing it yourself, that you are practicing it with flash photography. Wedding photographers will often use flash especially if you’re venue is a bit darker or you plan on taking photos when it’s dark out. After finishing all of your makeup, take several flash photos and see if you have any flashbacks or if anything is off. Tweak your makeup based on what you feel is necessary!
5.) Don’t Overstress
When it comes to planning your wedding, it can be really easy to get overwhelmed with loads of information that you’re given and to-do lists. The most important thing is that you try not to overstress and aim to enjoy this process as much as possible. As a wedding photographer, I aim to ensure that all of my couples are enjoying their engagement to the absolute fullest. This is a moment of celebration, so live it up and celebrate as much as you can! Self-care is incredibly important during this time. This can include getting a massage, getting your hair and nails done, and also getting your engagement photos done! Yes, getting your engagement photos taken by a photographer is a form of self-care, trust me. If you’re looking to book your engagement session and are in need of a photographer, click here to fill out my contact form, and let’s chat details!
Oh, and if you’re loving this blog then go ahead and take a look at some of my others for some wedding inspiration here!