Singaporebrides | Weddings 101

May 2022

10 Things Brides Should Do On The Morning of Their Wedding

By Audrie Soh

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Proper planning starts from the morning of your wedding day, so make sure you have these things taken care of beforehand!

For most, the morning of the wedding tends to be the busiest time of the day where the bride has to go through a flurry of activities before her solemnisation ceremony and wedding reception. Without proper pacing of these activities, you may find yourself in a mad rush, short of time to complete all of them, or worse, you may even miss out some key moments that you would like to include in your wedding!

To prevent you from being stressed out from these situations that may arise due to insufficient planning of your morning activities, we’ve put together a list of 10 things you should do for the morning of your big day beforehand, for a stress-free and enjoyable wedding.

1. Prepare a timeline for the morning’s activity

You might have a wedding day timeline, but have you prepared a timeline for your wedding morning’s activities? If you haven’t, then you should. Having a detailed timeline of what activities will be happening in the morning is crucial in helping you managing your time on the day itself, so you don’t end up in a rush or run late, or forget important moments or details.

Instead of glossing over details for the morning portion in your wedding day schedule, you should put down in detail how much time you’ll be allocating for your hair and makeup, photos with your parents and/or bridal party, gatecrash, tea ceremony, without forgetting to include the time you’ll need to wash up in the morning and time needed to travel between places.

Penning down the number of activities you have in the morning and allocating a duration to each activity will help you better visualise the time you have before your solemnisation or wedding reception begins. This is especially important for brides who are hosting a wedding lunch reception, as you may not have much buffer time between your morning activities and wedding lunch reception, so it is essential that you plan your time well right down to the last minute.

2. Pace your morning activities; don’t overpack your morning schedule

That being said, you should try to space out your morning activities. Try not to overpack your schedule with too many activities such that you have little to no buffer time between them. You might feel stressed out and miss out on the opportunity to enjoy and savour your special day. No time to fit in a tea ceremony for your family in the morning? Have it before your wedding dinner reception instead. No time for a bridal party photo session in between your morning gatecrash and church reception? Then, consider doing it after your church reception where you’d have more time to spare. Try to be as flexible as you need to be so you do not overpack your schedule with too many activities.

3. Set aside some time for photos with your family, bridal party and groom!

Photographs of your wedding day are a way for you to re-live one of your life’s most important and happiest moments, so don’t forget to set aside some time in the morning for some photographs with your immediate family, bridal party and of course, your groom! If you’re on a tight schedule, you might want to let your photographer know that you would like to have some photo taking with your bridal party or immediate family before the boys arrive for the gatecrash, so that they can better pace themselves.

If you have ample time, let your photographer know that you would like to have a short photo session with your bridal party after the morning activities or in between your travels from one venue to another. You can include these details into the timeline of your morning activities and share it with your photographer, so that he or she is aware of what photographs you’d like in addition to the usual getting ready ones.

4. Always set aside ample time to get ready

Getting ready takes time, so it is advisable to set aside more than enough time for you to get dolled up. Brides usually take anywhere between 90 minutes to 2 hours to get ready, depending on several factors such as the length of their hair, the look they’ve chosen and how many people are working on them at a time. If you’ve been for a trial hair and makeup session with your chosen vendor, you may take note of the time needed to get your desired look. You should also double check with them on the duration they’ll need on the actual day, and if they’d have a second person working on you at the same time on the day itself.

Part of getting ready also includes you getting up from bed, washing up and having your breakfast, so don’t forget to factor in the time you’ll need for these before your hair and makeup artist shows up.

5. Get Ready in an easy-to-remove outfit that you’re comfortable in

After spending close to two hours to get your hair and makeup ready, the last thing you’d want is for your outfit to ruin them when you try to remove it by pulling it over your head as you prepare to change into your wedding gown. Not only would you have wasted your hair and makeup artist’s time and effort in perfecting your look, you might also not have the time to redo your hair and makeup before the gatecrash starts.

To ensure that you don’t mess up your hair and makeup, you should get dolled up in an easy-to-remove outfit that you can be comfortable in for more than an hour. Choose a soft, button down top or dress, or a robe, that you can easily remove to change into your wedding gown. You should also avoid wearing your wedding gown for your hair and makeup to avoid dirtying the dress in case of spills or stains.

6. Prepare the items you need the night before or on the morning of the wedding

To avoid getting ready in a rush, you should lay out the items you need for your wedding day ahead of time, such as your wedding gown, shoes, bridal accessories, and anything else that you’d require for the morning of your wedding day. You can do this a day or two before the actual day, so that you have time to prepare anything that you’ve missed out. Try not to leave it until the last minute, as you might be pressed for time and forget to prepare one or two items.

7. Prepare food and refreshments for your bridal party and vendors

Your wedding is going to be a long day, and the morning will be filled with a flurry of activities that can start from early as 4 a.m. in the morning, depending on which dialect you belong to, so it is important to keep your bridal party and vendors well fed and hydrated by preparing some food and drinks for them.

Instead of one big meal, consider getting some easy to eat food such as sandwiches, tarts, granola bars or some crackers, so that they can grab and eat on the go, or eat as they prepare for the morning’s activities. If you have to get ready before the sun is up, you may want to treat your bridal party and vendors to a cup of coffee or tea, to make the early morning easier for them.

You might also want to prepare bottles of water for them to carry along throughout the day to keep them hydrated.

8. Remember to feed and hydrate yourself too

You should also remember to feed and hydrate yourself on your wedding day, despite the flurry of activities! While you might want to cut down on the amount of water and food you consume on the day to avoid getting bloated or reduce the number of toilet trips in your gown, it is best you don’t do so. You’ll need the energy to get through the day, so have some breakfast and keep your water intake up!

Instead of a big breakfast meal, go for small meals like sandwiches, a cereal bar, or a small bowl of cereal. Bring along some easy to munch on snacks such as granola bars or mixed nuts to snack on throughout the day as you get hungry. And don’t forget to drink up! When you’re properly hydrated, your skin will look better and more supple, your makeup will stay on better, resulting in that much sought after bridal glow. So, don’t skip the water, but drink enough of it to keep yourself hydrated throughout the day!

9. Entrust your bridal emergency kit to your maid of honour

Anything can happen on your wedding day – a seam may come undone, your dress might be stained, or your makeup might need to be freshened up but your makeup artist is nowhere to be found. That’s where a bridal emergency kit comes in to save the day. Packed with items such as a travel sewing kit, essential makeup items, hairspray and hair pins, tissues, stain removers, snacks and more, a bridal emergency kit is a must for every bride.

Make sure you pack a bridal emergency kit filled with items that you think you might need in the case of emergencies, and entrust the bag to your maid of honour on your wedding day. She will be the one in charge of ensuring that the bag is always within reach should you need it.

10. Be Present and Leave the worrying to your bridal party and vendors

Lastly, we know you want to make sure that your vendors are on time, the venue is decorated as you’ve wanted, your guests are well taken care of, and so on, but try to leave the coordinating and worrying to your bridal party and vendors, and enjoy your day as a bride.

On a day as important as your wedding day, you’d want to be present in the moment, to savour every little detail and moment, as your families and friends come together to celebrate a milestone of your lifetime with you. You definitely don’t want to spend the day worrying about whether your flowers are of the right colour or if your guests are served refreshments during the cocktail hour. Leave all these to your bridal party and vendors to handle.

Hand over the reins to them a day or two before the wedding, and run them through your wedding day schedule and lists of vendors to contact to prep them. Once you’ve done that, just sit back and enjoy the day as a bride. If they run into a serious problem that they cannot solve, they will take it to you. Otherwise, just let them coordinate the party on your behalf while you bask in your special day.

Credits: Feature Image taken from Cleo and Paul’s Minimalist and Ethereal Art Gallery Wedding by Iki Company

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