1. Food. This is where the Maid of Honour or best man can really shine. Even the Mother of the Bride can get in on the action as mine did on the morning of my wedding. I don't mean eating, I mean making! Preparing! Getting some breakfast into your belly. If you're like many brides, and it doesn't matter if your wedding is big or small, rustic or classic, vintage or posh, the one thing they all have in common is a generally early start to a long day. Get your team to make you a good snacking breakfast; things like boiled eggs, toast pieces, fruit, croissants...you know, that sort of thing.
2. Take a Moment. Actually this is the most important one. Wedding days from the moment you wake up are busy busy busy. Even at my wedding, and the brides I've photographed who have been pretty chilled, from the moment we opened our eyes it was go go go. You have hair and makeup and bridesmaids arriving, last minute preparations, waiting for the groom, doing first looks (more on that in a later post), having photos done, drinking prosecco, toasting, gifts for the crew, getting dressed... the list goes on. The most important advice I give to my brides, and this is on repeat reminder the whole day, is to 'breathe'. Stop for a moment, take it all in. Feel the essence of the day. It flies by all too quickly after so many months of planning.
3. Delegate. For anything last minute that needs doing...don't do it unless absolutely necessary...delegate! Start getting other people to do what needs doing...things like paying suppliers final balances, organising where the DJ will go, seating arrangements double checking. All the small things that make the day...but it's your day. You need to sit back and relax, this is your moment after months of planning, and you need to let someone else take the reins of doing.
4. Don't Sweat the Small Stuff. No really. I know, months of planning and something goes wrong. It happens. I booked my wedding in the middle of a heat wave....and woke up to thunder and lightning and pouring rain on the morning of the big day. And it rained all day. Gutted but expected in England of course, except that I had fireworks scheduled in the evening and a bouncy castle for the reception as a surprise for hubby. Sigh. However, what can you do? You just have to roll with it right? Don't sweat the small stuff. Or, as they say, don't sweat the petty things...pet the sweaty things! ;)
5. Get Together with Your New Hubby! How weird to say this on a wedding day right?! Of course the assumption is that as you're getting married you'll be hanging out all day together, but no, that's not how it happens. As the B&G your jobs are not only to enjoy the day and get married, but to also entertain and host the guests, and in a weird twist of fate, most couples realise that by the end of the wedding they've barely seen their spouse. I normally grab my couples just after the wedding and family photos, and before the reception kicks off, to take some time away from the crowds. We go for a stroll and do our couple photos. It doesn't have to be long, just 15mins or so. Just enough time to get you together and alone so you can talk about the day so far and glow in each other's company. It's so so important just to take that time.