How to savour your wedding day
My wedding day won’t go that fast... Will it?
I’ve been planning weddings throughout the East/South East of England for many years now and the one thing I stress to my couples is that the day is going to fly by faster than your guests heading to the free bar!
Do you know the first thing they say to me after the wedding day? ‘Wow, we really didn’t think it would go as fast as you said it would’
Let me give you an example… you plan a holiday (well, not exactly right now with Covid going on but you get where I’m going?) you spend months and months preparing; diets, clothes, skin care, beauty prepping, shopping, to-do lists, organising, the list goes on. Then BAM! You’re back home with nothing more than dodgy tan lines and a million selfies to show for your time away, oh and maybe a cheesy souvenir or two!
The exact same thing will happen on your wedding day and I’ll tell you why… you will literally forget to savor the day. But… there is a solution! Ta-dah!
Check out my top tips!
1) Don’t go into autopilot - I’m confident you have someone looking after you be that a Wedding Planner or a Wedding Coordinator. LET THEM TAKE THE STRESS AWAY, after all, we know weddings more than anyone else so leave it to the experts, we’ve got your back, I promise.
2) Prepare your build up - by this I mean make sure that the night before, you get organised. Don’t just say ‘Ah me and the girls/guys are just going to chill, have a bite to eat and chat’. Make sure you plan a healthy dinner, get an early night (set your bed time) and drink lots of water. I’d even go as far to say meditate or fall asleep listening to some hypnosis. Trust me, it works!
3) Have a good breakfast - as with the night before you do NOT want to be feeling sluggish on your wedding day, the last thing you want is for your dress or trousers to feel tight or your skin to feel all puffy. It’s not going to help. Have a continental breakfast but something filling that will keep you going until your canapes. Oats are a slow release energy source and are great for breakfast!
4) Get your timeline right - again, if you have a planner on board, they will have checked your timeline but, you want to make sure you know where you stand on the day… what time is your photographer getting there? What time will your make-up start? What time do you need to be ready by? What time will you give your Bridesmaids/Groomsmen their gifts? You will feel much better prepared and more likely to be able to savor the day if you know what’s going on
5) Have a ‘safe word’ - something I do is giving my Brides and Grooms a safe word. If I hear them use this word when talking to me, I’ll know they are finding it overwhelming and I whisk them off to a different room or I ask everyone to leave. This just gives them time to regather thoughts, have a chat in private with me or simply take a breather away from the hustle and bustle of the morning
6) Don’t sweat the small stuff - I promise you that the things you are stressing about, you will not even think about on your wedding day. However, if you are naturally anxious, be prepared and have a thorough to-do list for your planner so that nothing gets missed off. I regularly get given a list of ‘The card box needs to face 40’ south and 5 inches away from the signing book with the ballpoint pen facing diagonally next to it precisely half way down the book’ (maybe I’m slightly exaggerating)
7) Communicate with your photographer - you will probably spend as much time with your photographer/videographer as you do your new hubby/wifey. It is integral that you tell them how you are feeling. If you feel like there’s too many photos going on (and believe me, it can feel that way) be open and honest with them, they are there for you and will be able to support how you are feeling by coming up with an alternative suggestion
8) Jont git zoo drank - exactly. I love seeing everyone having fun but there’s drunk and then there’s druuuuuuuuuunk! Pace yourself or before you know it, the night will be gone and you’ll be left remembering nothing, nadda, zilch (apart from potentially falling off the table to Bon Jovi’s Living on a Prayer). Are you really spending all that money for a lash up?
9) Have no regrets - Make sure that you are 100% confident with your suppliers and that you don’t spend the whole day thinking ‘I really don’t like my make-up’ or ‘what the heck is that cake, that’s not what I ordered’. Get all your ducks in a row and don’t settle. Your suppliers are pulling your vision together so it’s (in my opinion) the most important part of the planning
10) Take time out - I always schedule time out for my couples, at various points in the day I allow them to spend some time alone together. It’s really important for you to see the fruits of your labour and just take a little drink together, savor the moment!
So there you have it, my vital tips to ensuring you can savor the day all gathered from my years of wedding planning experience! You’re welcome!
Good luck savoring your big day and for more useful tips, check out my other blogs or head over to my Instagram page.
Your ultimate wedding day emergency kit!
What should you carry in your emergency kit? Get the best advice you can from a real wedding planner!
As a successful Wedding Planner across Essex & Suffolk. trust me when I say that anything can go awry on your wedding day - now, that’s not to frighten you but it’s true. Having a team of professionals on hand gives you a huge sense of relief that you know everything is being dealt with professionally and on time for your nuptials.
Here I am going to give you an insight into some of the things I have in my kit on any wedding day or event all of these items have been asked from me over my many years in the industry.
First aid kit
Blister plasters
Buttonhole pins
Sewing kit
Deodorant
Snacks
Razor
Tissues
Stain remover
Mints
Hair pins
Cotton buds
Boob tape
Blotting sheets
Tampax
Condoms (yes, really)
A Straw
Clear nail polish
Rehydration salts
This isn’t even my full list… I have a box in the back of my car with much more in because… you can never be too prepared (yes I was a Brownie back in the day!)
It’s a bit like going on holidays… you have to be fully prepared for any eventuality. If you are using a wedding planner, you should trust that they have everything for you but, it’s worth checking with them.
For my full intensive emergency kit list, drop me a message and it can be all yours for just £7.50!
Be prepared!
Contact Hayley
How to become less Wedding stressed in 6 easy steps
TIPS FROM ESSEX Wedding Planner
There are so many elements to overcome whilst planning a wedding and it’s meant to be one of the happiest times of your life, so why do you feel so stressed?!
I know fun and stress don’t usually go together but… I had so much fun talking about this subject. Make sure you catch up on my YouTube channel to find out how to become less wedding stressed HERE in just over 30 minutes!
If you don’t have time to watch or you just can’t stand my voice/face, here’s a real quick overview of the points!
There’s so much pressure from everyone about this being the most perfect day. It is, but there will also be many other ‘perfect days’. We put ourselves under a lot of stress and pressure (by the way, found a new name for this following a tongue tie… streshure - good right?!) and whether we accept that we feel that way is a different thing.
So, here’s how to avoid it.
1) Take a step back - easier said than done I know. Recently, I felt I was juggling a lot of plates having taken on a full time job during lockdown as well as running my own business, family, friends, course work, I was struggling. So take a bath, meditate, read, chill, whatever you need to do to relax.
2) Reassess - think about WHAT is stressing you out, what is causing these issues to escalate and become the catapult for making you feel that way. This is a journey you are taking, it’s a long ride so no wonder it can be tiresome. Fall back in love with your Wedding Planning.
3) Organise & Prioritise - If you are feeling like you are not organised, paperwork everywhere, everything out of date, this could be one of the catapults as to why you are feeling stressed. I have a budget planner you can request from me and it’s FREE! Prioritise everything, have a look at what you have and have not organised, there is a tendency to prioritise the ‘nice’ things to do. Treat it as a job and make sure you schedule in time to concentrate on planning for your wedding.
4) Set expectations - this is for you and others. Many couples make decisions based on peer pressure and this can come from outside sources, friends or family members? Whilst it may not be intentional, others have a vision on how they believe your wedding should look/be. By setting your own expectations, you will find it easier to manage other people.
5) Communicate - communication is key! If you are marrying someone who never gets involved with the planning (throughout the relationship), you have to have a level of acceptance of this. They won’t suddenly start planning when they are just not that way inclined. Sit down with your partner and have that discussion, set your expectations of each other. Have a plan of action and set out who is doing what.
5.1) (sorry, I snuck one in) - Do not argue. It’s not worth it.
6) Learn to say no - this happens a lot where you feel like you' can’t say no. I have an example, Mother in Law wanted to pay for the wedding cake, Bride and Groom helped choose the cake but the Mother In Law didn’t follow through and order the right colour. Turns out the Bride wasn’t happy about the MIL helping in the first place! So, learn to say no.
If you still want to talk, message me. I love to talk and apparently, I give really good advice!
Contact Hayley.
