Getting Ready On Your Wedding Day

So, you’ve made it. It’s finally your big day! The pre-wedding nerves and excitement are well and truly setting in and you need to quell your jitters. There are a few hours to go before the ceremony kicks off and there’s still a lot to do.

Take a moment for yourself before you get out of bed, treat yourself to a bubble bath to wash away any worries or stress and enjoy your last moments of silence before the beautiful chaos begins.

Once your family and bridal party have arrived at the venue where you’re getting ready, it’s time to kick the event's preparations into second gear. It’s going to be a long day, but a great day. Let’s get it started with a bang!

Photography

More and more now you’ll see plenty of wedding photography shots that take place in the bridal suite before the wedding. This is a great opportunity to get some behind the scenes shots that the majority of your guests and your new spouse won’t have experienced.

An important thing to consider when you’re organising your getting-ready photography shoot is how busy you’re going to be. Sure, all the photos look super calm, elegant, beautiful and composed, but rarely does this part of the day run smoothly. Stress is at a high from the bride, to the mother of the bride, to the bridesmaids and more.

Before you start a shoot, speak to your photographer about what point in the morning they’re going to come in. You don’t want them there from the very start. Instead, stagger their arrival shortly after your hair and makeup people get there. That way, the photographer isn’t just hanging around and you don’t feel like you should be entertaining them. If your photographer does weddings a lot, they’ll know at what point they need to show up and they’ll align with your existing wedding morning schedule.

Despite all this, it is worth getting these pre-wedding shots as they often provide beautiful candids and capture the positive nervous energy that comes with the ceremony preparations.

Logistics

Now, the thought of logistics might not be the sexiest or most romantic thing to think about on your wedding day, but it is essential for lowering your stress levels and allowing the day to run smoothly. Before the big day, chances are you’ve sent out a wedding day schedule to your guests so they know when to arrive for the ceremony, when the reception starts and when they should be booking taxis home. This is the public schedule, you’ll have a private one.

This secret schedule should have everything from when you need to start getting ready, hair and makeup for both you and your bridesmaids, when you need to leave for the venue, photoshoot times, speeches, first dances and more. Weddings may seem like they just naturally flow from section to section, but in reality, somewhere there is a Type A person in the wedding party with a checklist and a watch.

When you’re making this schedule, it’s important to add in contingency time so there’s not a rushed freakout if there’s traffic or if you have an extra five minutes luxuriating in the bubble bath before you get ready. It’s supposed to serve as a guide.

Let your bridal party know this schedule ahead of time so they know what the plan is and when they should arrive. Maybe even tell them ten minutes earlier than they need to be there, just to be on the safe side. We all have that consistently late friend!

Food and drink

In the mad panic and whirlwind of getting ready, it’s easy to forget to eat and drink. Although you might not want a full meal that might cause bloating before you get into your dress, you absolutely have to eat and drink something. Wedding days are long. It’s going to be hours before the food at your reception and there’s a lot of standing around before that point.

Even if it’s just a small bowl of cereal, some fruit or even an egg-white omelette, you and your bridal party should grab some food before you start getting ready. Also, make sure that you stay hydrated. The instinct may be to jump straight to the mimosas – and we love a mimosa moment – but there are limited opportunities to drink water or carry around a Hydroflask when you’re wearing a wedding dress. The last thing you want is to feel light-headed, faint or just get tipsy really quickly at your reception.

Final tips

Okay, let’s round out this article with a final few tips for getting ready on your wedding day:

• Get a cool playlist going that gets you increasingly hyped up. Getting ready can take hours so make a playlist that starts off relaxing and calm and gradually gets you ready to go and marry the love of your life by the end. Great music is an amazing way to take your mind off stress and nerves. If nothing else, it’ll get everyone in the mood for a party and any singalongs or dancing will make for great candid shots.
• Keep your bridal party close. If possible, get your bridal party to stay in the same place as you the night before. Whether you guys have a slumber party, a couple of drinks, or a nice meal the night before, it’ll be reassuring to know that they’re on-site for the big day. No need to worry about traffic or people oversleeping!
• Leave time to breathe. It’s going to be a long day so make sure you leave time to go off and have a moment to yourself. Especially if you’re more of an introvert, you’re going to be surrounded by people all day and even though they’re loved ones, it can be a lot. If you need to schedule this time just to sit, relax, or even scroll through Instagram, do it – it’s your day!

Bubble Bath Boudoir

From Sergey Veresk Fine Art Photography – “The earlier periods of the 20^th century inspired this bridal boudoir photo shoot. It was amazing to dream up the theme! The restored cottages from that period of time in St. Petersburg made the perfect setting for this vintage boudoir editorial. The interiors seemed to be frozen in time and our creative team of wedding pros breathed new life into them!”

From Sergey Veresk Fine Art Photography – “There is refinement, elegance, a bit of restraint, and a bit of naughtiness in these photographs – everything you’d want in a bridal boudoir session. The love, languor, springtime details, and sense of expectation in such gentle light all reflects youth. This story is a dream about one beautiful morning!”

Credits: Photography: Veresk Fine Art Photography // Organization: Sladkaya Vata Wedding Agency // Décor: Botanica Décor // Beauty: Natali Smirnova // Dresses & Accessories: Boudoir-Wedding // Venue: Skandinavia Hotel & Spa in St. Petersburg, Russia.