It’s the morning of your wedding and you and your closest besties are celebrating with coffee, mimosas or both! You have planned out your wedding day prep for months now. The morning of your wedding day includes drinks, snacks and then you start getting hair and makeup done. I also arrive to start capturing your gorgeous day!

What you haven’t thought about is the space you’ll need for everyone including the vendors! Well no worries! This is where I can provide you with a few tips to make your morning stress free and flow perfectly!!

Let’s get real for a second. If you can plan ahead a little to make your entire morning run smooth, why would you even second guess it?? What bride honestly says “Hey, I want chaos on my wedding day!”? I’ll just answer that for you…not a single one!
Now let’s dig into how you can make a HUGE impact with a LITTLE pre-planning!!

Your timeline matters!

So I typically help 99.9% of my brides plan their timelines! So ask your photographer if they do this or can at least guide you, if you are planning your own.
The reason I do this is so my brides know exactly when we start X,Y and Z! My brides LOVE the guidance and love not having to worry about “ok, what’s next!” I love working with wedding coordinators because they mesh this timeline in with the other vendors so everyone is on the same page!

For example: If my bride is getting into her dress at 12:15pm for the first look at 1pm, then they plan to be done with their hair and make-up by 11:45am/12:00pm. Your hair and make-up artists will love this! Simply because they will never feel rushed even if it runs behind just a little. While you are doing your first look and portraits, the rest of the girls will be finishing up and getting dressed!

Organization will save the day!

On the days leading up to your big day you can prep for the morning of your wedding by having everything in one place. You can get an adorable canvas bag or even a shoebox! This will be the location for your hair pieces, jewelry, invitation suite, heels or spare flats, and anything else you will need that morning.
I have watched a coordinator’s assistant have to drive to a bride’s house because she left her heels at home! So I cannot stress this enough, get a day bag!! This will save you so much stress when you have your hairstylist needing your hair piece and you can just grab your bag! I personally love this too. So when I show up to photograph your gorgeous details, I’m able to find them and keep them all in one place!!

Tidiness is key!

Can we all just agree on something? That no one…and I emphasize no one… wants to have to run around and pick up crudely ‘shaped’ drinking straws or move hot pink feather boas with odd little shapes on them from the room or the background before grandma comes in?? Ok, glad we got that out of the way!! Haha!!
You can designate an area of your AirBnB or Bridal Suite at the venue for food and drinks, bags, dresses, etc. to be a catch-all. This way when you start getting your hair and makeup crew, videographer, photographer and so on all coming in and out, you aren’t having to worry about a big mess! Plus, not having a half eaten breakfast sandwich or a drive-thru cup in the background during your “getting ready portraits” is a HUGE benefit!!

Just a little strategic planning can go a very long way! Ask a couple of your besties to help make sure you have everything in your day bag and to help keep your suite tidy!! You’ll stay stress free and organized. Yayy!!

Check out the Hiring Your Wedding Photographer Blog post from January for more tips for planning your wedding!
If you would like to see more from Logan and Abby’s wedding, you can read their blog post here: Logan + Abby | Gorgeous Central Illinois Wedding.

xo,
Courtney

Venue: The Cannery, Eureka, IL