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I’ve photographed a lot of weddings and so many times I walk away from a day thinking, “Man, I wish I could tell every bride & groom from here on out this one ‘tiny tip’ – it would make things so much better!”
Over the years, I’ve compiled these “tiny tips” in a Google Document – some of them have blossomed into full-blown blog (or Instagram) posts and some have sparked ideas & been incorporated into blog posts, along with other pieces of advice. But I have a handful of things that have just sat in my Google Doc – they are totally random, they don’t really go along with anything else, and I can’t write an entire blog post about just one of these “tiny tips”.
So, I decided that I would compile them altogether & share all 9 of these completely random tiny tips with you today.
Here we go:
- Have a sewing kit on hand – even a small one. You never know when someone’s dress or tux might rip! Trust me, I’ve seen it first hand at way too many weddings!
- SCISSORS. Everyone needs scissors on a wedding day (tags, dress hangers, packaging, etc.) Most of the time, everything people are wearing (this includes the bride & groom, the bridal party, and the parents) is brand new & still has the tags on it. Ripping a tag off of something is scary, so it never fails that someone is running around, looking for scissors.
Better yet – cut all of those tags off of things the day before! Trust me, this saves SO much time on a wedding day! - Does your venue provide toast glasses for the head table? Believe it or not, some do not! Most of the time, the bride & groom will have special (sometimes even personalized) toasting glasses for the head table, but sometimes, they don’t. And further, I’d say it’s about a 50/50 split whether the bridal party has special glasses as well or not.
Trust me: it’s really awkward when the Best Man suggests everyone “raise a glass” and the bridal party doesn’t have glasses – or worse: the bride & groom don’t have glasses!
Along with that: will your venue prep your toast glasses on the head table or does everyone need to fill their glass before toasts? - Many times, a seamstress will steam the bride’s dress & veil as a last step before delivering it after alterations, but a lot of times, a bride will steam her dress & veil in the days leading up to her wedding (just to be sure it’s perfect). While you’re at it, steam the silk robes you’ll be getting ready in too (or at the very least, take them out of their packaging & hang them up at least a week prior to the wedding day).
- Learn how to tie your tie/bowtie & practice a time or two. I have photographed so many weddings where no one (including the groom) knew how to tie their own ties/bowties. This results in everyone watching YouTube videos – which is a fantastic way to get the job done – but is a huge time suck on a wedding day. OR there is one guy who knows how to tie a tie/bowtie & he’s stuck tying everyone’s – again, a massive time suck on a day when there isn’t a lot of extra time to go around.
- Print off your timeline & hand it to everyone, including Mom & Dad. I’ve seen parents get super upset & stressed out thinking that we’re behind schedule, when in reality, we’re right on time. All they can think about is the guests waiting for the bride & groom to be introduced into the reception & they get super anxious. Having a timeline in hand will ease their anxiety & bring their stress levels down.
- Delegate everything – and not just to your bridesmaids, but to other family members & friends. Trust me, people love to feel needed & important on a wedding day!
- Peroxide is super handy to have on hand as it removes red stains (think blood or red wine). Don’t ask me how I know (and yes, fair warning, it will not work on every dress, every material, and every color, so don’t just go dumping peroxide! I have seen it work miracles though!)
- Things will go wrong – just roll with it. I have never been a part of a wedding day in which every single thing went right. Here’s the best part though: most of the time, the only people who know anything is wrong is the bride & groom. Your guests will have no idea that the cake is the wrong flavor, that your flowers are the wrong shade of pink, or that Dad is missing a button.
