How to Have a Relaxing Wedding Day
1. Be sure to have your hair and makeup trial at least one month before the wedding. This will give you peace of mind to know exactly how you’re going to look and will allow you to make any changes in advance if you end up not liking something. This tip is also included in our reasons to do a bridal portrait session.
2. Have the florist deliver your flowers to where you are getting ready, not to the ceremony location if its different. This will allow us to photograph the flowers at their freshest before they get squished and wilt a little from being out of the water. Plus, you never know when a good photo op will appear and we want to be ready for anything!
3. Find out the rules for photography at your ceremony location. Every venue is different, some places restrict where we are allowed to shoot, when we are allowed to shoot, and if we are allowed to shoot at all. We’ve even run into an officiant at an outdoor ceremony who didn’t want us moving around at ALL during the ceremony. This wasn’t even in a church! So please make sure to ask because we have to follow the rules set or we could be banned from working events at that location in the future.
4. Plan to have all of your formal photos taken before the ceremony. Getting this step out of the way early in the day frees up the rest of your time to spend with guests. You’ll be able to go straight to cocktail hour and catch up with loved ones without stressing about if enough portraits were taken. It’s a new age so it’s no longer considered bad luck for you to see each other before the wedding! Read our reasons for doing a First Look.
5. Its important to eat on the wedding to keep your energy up, so have food delivered to your getting ready location. The reception is a long way off, so make sure you eat a lot of protein and complex carbs.
6. Prepare an emergency wedding kit, you never know what could happen! Include clear nail polish, mints, a mini sewing kit, stain treater, Visine, safety pins, bobby pins, asprin, mini deodorant, bandaids, and a granola bar.
7. Allowing 50% more time for hair and makeup than you originally anticipated alleviates the number one reason most wedding schedules end up running late. Sometimes your hair doesnt curl right, or the winged eyeliner isn’t perfect. The hair and makeup artists are not going to do a half-assed job but sometimes that means it could take them a little longer than you thought it would. So plan accordingly! Professional makeup and hair will stay for much longer than if you do it yourself, so its ok to plan this part of the day a little earlier.
8. Make sure you discuss a rain plan with your venue & wedding planner…just in case. Mother Nature is so unpredictable and its best to have a back up plan. You don’t want to be scrambling the day of!
Katie + Jay of Catherine Ann Photography are Charleston SC Based Wedding & Elopement Photographers specializing in candid & fun wedding photos that feel like you!
Ready to book your wedding with us? Get in touch here!
