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Day of Wedding Checklist: What Are Your Must-Do’s?

wedding bride

Now that you’ve planned the months leading up to your wedding, it’s time to make your day-of wedding checklist. There are so many tiny details that go into the actual day that can be easily overlooked. Having this list and delegating to your awesome bridesmaids will let you celebrate in peace, knowing everything is being taken care of. So, without further ado, here are six things to add to your day-of checklist!

Prepare The “Getting Ready Room”

Every bride needs a space for her and her girls to do hair, makeup, and get dressed up for the big day. Even if you’re going to a salon for hair and makeup, you’ll still need a space to rest before the ceremony, store your essentials, and take fun getting ready photos! If you have a choice, aim for a room with good lighting, so everyone’s makeup will look flawless! If the room has plenty of mirrors, that’s wonderful. If not, consider having someone bring a few. You’ll need lots of mirror space for you and your bridesmaids to primp and prepare. It may help to assign a trusted friend to get the room all ready, so when you and your bridesmaids arrive you can settle right in with everything you need within arms reach.

This room should be stocked with all the makeup and hair products you’ll be using, the dresses, shoes, and an emergency kit so you can tackle wedding day mishaps without flinching. Think of the kit as a combination first-aid and wardrobe malfunction kit. Here’s a handy list to get you started on it.

  • Breath mints
  • Stain remover pen
  • Sewing kit
  • Safety pins
  • Fashion tape
  • Bandaids
  • Tylenol or some other painkiller
  • Tampons and pads
  • Clear nail polish
  • Bobby pins

Finally, the most important thing in the room will be the food and drinks. So many brides neglect to eat on their wedding day for a myriad of reasons. Whether it be the nerves affecting their appetite or simply not having the time to sit down and eat, there is a serious demand for the bride to be able to eat before walking down the aisle. Instead of guessing what she’ll want days before, opt for a more personalized experience. With new technologies available, you can have her favourite snacks and drinks ordered online and delivered to the room, the day of. This way, as you’re getting ready, it will give you the opportunity to hydrate and snack on options you’ll actually enjoy! Ultimately ensuring you don’t go the entire day on an empty stomach.

bride and bridesmaids

Organize Your Tips

Hopefully, you’ve already paid your vendors prior to the wedding, but you’ll also want to show your appreciation by tipping them for a job well done. Instead of frantically fumbling with cash on your wedding day, prepare tip envelopes sealed with cash already inside. Clearly label each one for “Wedding DJ“, “Caterer”, “Bartender”, “Wedding Officiant“, “Wedding Videographer“, etc. Then hand them off to a member of the wedding party or trusted friend to give out at the close of the wedding.

If preparing a pile of envelopes slips your mind or just isn’t your style, don’t freak out. Assign someone from your wedding party to manage the tips right from their smartphone. Just set them up with your Venmo account, give them a budget, and voila! All taken care of!

Give Itineraries To All Essential People

You don’t want people constantly asking you what’s next or any other questions that are indeed important but could easily be handled by someone else on your special day. The best way to avoid this is to hand all parties involved a wedding itinerary. Creating this handy sheet ahead of time will save you from having to facilitate and direct people all day. The itinerary should have two distinct sections.

First, a detailed schedule complete with times and locations, as well as who is included in each step. For example, while a first look should absolutely be on the schedule, you could indicate that only the bride, groom, and wedding photographer are needed for this intimate moment. While you’re at it, be sure you’ve also set aside a designated time and place for you, your partner, your two witnesses, and the officiant to sign the marriage license.

Second, a list of contacts is valuable so people can keep track of each other, help one another if they’re running late, and ask the right personal questions. A good rule of thumb is if they need an itinerary, then their contact information should be on it. This is because only people who have a major role in your wedding actually need all the details this sheet will include. The only major exception should be the bridesmaids and groomsmen. All of them may need the timeline, but only the Maid of Honor and Best Man’s contacts are really necessary. Here’s a list of a few people who absolutely must be included!

Hand Off Your Honeymoon Bag

wedding couple on the beach

You’ve probably spent weeks trying on and choosing the perfect honeymoon luggage, dresses, and lingerie. To ensure your bag makes it to your destination, hand it off to one of your bridesmaids once it’s all packed and ask her to personally see that it ends up in the getaway car. If you want your makeup bag, emergency kit, or even a few slices of wedding cake added to your luggage, let her know and she can make sure that gets packed as well. After all, you don’t want to be focused on tracking bags down between or after your wedding. Instead, you should be able to get in the car hand in hand with your new husband, trusting that everything you want is packed safely in the trunk.

Don’t Forget To Savor The Memories

Whatever you do, remember that your wedding day will fly by, so trust your bridesmaids and other close friends to make sure things go smoothly, that way you can take time to enjoy it. Don’t forget to slow down and live in the moment. Before the big day, ask yourself what would help you stay focused, rested, and fully present when you know the day will be a blur. Some brides find some quiet to write their groom a letter, some set aside 20 minutes between the ceremony and reception to be alone with their significant other to talk, and eat some snacks. No matter what living in the moment looks like for you, be sure to savor the day.

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How I Had a Socially Distant Wedding during COVID-19

bridal dress

2020 has created some extraordinary tales. Following is the story of how the pandemic affected my wedding.

March 2020 was supposed to be the most important month of my life. It was the month where I’d get hitched with the man I love. The man that makes me whole.  

Daniel popped the question in the last week of January. Today, it seems like a memory from another world. The bar was buzzing with people, there were no social distancing protocols in place. People weren’t afraid to shake hands, hug and kiss one another. 

That day, Daniel drove me to a local bar in what I assumed would be a casual Wednesday night date. 

It was our favorite place in town that we regularly visited. This was also the bar where Daniel slipped me a napkin that said, “I like you”. We were friends who liked each other but never dared to express it. Daniel took the initiative in the only way he could. 

Five years later, he once again handed me a napkin. Only this time, the text read, “Will you marry me?”. It got awkward real quick. He jammed the ring in the wrong finger. Just as I was putting it right, our friend showed up to congratulate. I am sure someone spilled a drink too. 

The Wedding is delayed 

We had planned the wedding on 21st of March. Everything was going according to plan. I spent weeks picking what I think was the perfect wedding dress. The venue was booked. Invitations were sent out. All that was left to do was for us to walk down the aisle, exchange vows and begin our lives as a married couple. 

A week before all this, the pandemic caused the whole country to go in isolation. Businesses started closing and states issued stay-at-home orders. We knew our dream wedding couldn’t go on as planned and had to be postponed. 

As a couple, Daniel and I had seen our fair share of tough times. But never in a million year did we think a pandemic would come our way. The worst thing was not knowing when things will go back to normal and we would be able to wed in front of our loved ones. 

Unfortunately, things never went back to normal. At least not the normal we were expecting. 

Our Wedding in the “New Normal”

Knowing the pandemic will not be over anytime soon, Daniel and I decided to go ahead with the wedding. Fortunately, the COVID-19 outbreak in our state is under control and the government is allowing people to go on with their lives while advising some precautions. 

Keeping this in mind, we changed the venue of our wedding from a local church to a getaway house in the countryside. It was a large enough establishment to host a socially distant wedding. 

The pandemic didn’t adversely affect our financial situation. We had it better than most people. But still, we made a conscious decision to reduce the wedding expenses. Having an extravagant wedding while many others are struggling to make ends meet just didn’t sit right with us. 

It’s hard to have a wedding on a budget. However, I was able to find online guides that help me significantly reduce my wedding expenditure. Meanwhile, I also utilized websites such RetailMeNot and EMUCoupon to find discounts on everything from decorations to the drinks that were to be served. 

We also made sure to keep everyone safe. The list of guests was cut down to only our immediate families. Our friends watched via live stream. There were sanitizers on every table and all guests were asked to wear masks. 

wedding decor

Some tables were left deliberately empty to remind people they needed to exercise precaution. Looking back, these empty tables did make the atmosphere a bit gloomy. 

wedding decoration

Our revised wedding venue has hosted several marriage ceremonies. It came with extraordinary wedding decorations that added a taste of royalty in the ceremony. 

wedding decor

The guests were served cupcakes baked by the groom’s mother. Suffice to say, there were more than enough for everyone.

bridal decor

We chipped in with some of our decorations as well. 

wedding dress

It’s not easy to be the bride when you’re trying to interact with as little people as possible. Since I’m not that skilled with a makeup brush, I had to take my chances with a stylist. She did a swell job though.

wedding gown

Being all dressed up for my big day, all I wanted was to be surrounded by my best friends. Unfortunately, the bridesmaids were not there physically but joined in via Zoom.

wedding hair

A bride is not a bride without some pearl in her hair. This is the same accessory my mom wore at her wedding. I think I have started a nice little family tradition here.

bridal dress

Finally, the bride and the groom, bridal dress. Despite everything that has transpired in the last few months, I have held onto my sanity thanks to my now-husband. He has been my rock through every up and down. Even though the wedding wasn’t as big as we planned —what matters is that it happened and now, I am one with my true love.