Question: How do you have a smooth AF wedding day?
Simple answer: Planning!!
If you’re at ANY step between getting engaged & getting married, you’ll know there’s a lot of logistics, vendors, timing and planning involved. Whether it’s only just starting out to look at venues, or sorting out the tiny details close to your day… Planning is THE key.
Let’s get into some of our best tips on planning your wedding day.
- BE REALISTIC
You might really want to squeeze in a million activities, pic poses ideas, and entertainment… But because of the nature of weddings (100+ people all getting ready to be on time), things can run behind.
Planning for a bit of extra time for each step of your wedding day is the best advice we can give, straight off the bat. For example if your phone map says it’ll take you 10 mins to get to your ceremony, leave 20 mins to allow for traffic or any other delays.
If you’re planning a winter wedding, that’s a whole other ballgame! Read our blog post on planning your winter wedding here!
If you try to cram 3 tasks or activities into a short period of time you’ll end up feeling stressed and rushed, which is totally not what you want for your wedding day! You want to be able to savour every moment.
2. GETTING READY
As briefly mentioned in the last point, the distance between where you get ready and where your ceremony is can play a big part in the timing of your day.
As a wedding photographer who’s shot countless weddings, I’ve seen it all! Breakdowns (the cars and the bride…), wardrobe mishaps, traffic jams, flat tyres, main roads shut… You get the idea! Obviously, in situations where this is all a potential, you wanna get ready as close to your ceremony venue as possible. If you have the option of actually getting ready at your venue, I highly recommend this! It takes out so much stress of the day.
But, if that’s not a possibility, don’t panic! Just make sure you leave way more time than you need to get ready and travel. It’s so much better and less stressful having plenty of time to play with than rushing so much that you miss the exciting bliss of getting ready and travelling to marry the love of your life!
3. ASK FOR HELP
Sometimes when it comes to wedding planning, couples feel like they want to do everything themselves, because it’s such a special time! Each detail is personal and carefully arranged – I get it. But I can’t stress enough that asking for help, especially in advance for the actual day, will be such a lifesaver.
You don’t want to be managing and directing everyone on the day. That ain’t it and I bet your other half doesn’t wanna be chasing around your wedding party, or working, ensuring things are getting done.
On the leadup to your day, seek out help from wedding professionals. That can mean taking on a wedding planner or coordinator, or asking your venue for a dedicated member of staff to help you. That’s what they’re there for!
As a photographer, I can also guarantee that we’re also experienced in getting wedding day timelines right. After all, we’re with you from the first stroke of makeup up until the last dance. We can definitely help when it comes to getting your timings right. Timing of your photos, especially ones like group photos, can play a huge part in how your day pans out. Never hesitate to drop a message and get me involved in planning your timeline!
4. WEDDING GUIDE
If you’re one of my couples, we provide a free wedding guide to help you boss your planning, including getting those timings right.
If you’ve not received it yet, let me know and I’ll send it over for you! 🖤
Don’t forget to check out my Instagram for regular inspo, updates, blog posts & all our beaut alt couples in love! ⚡
