TwentyTwentyTwenty Four Hours to Go…
…’Til Your Wedding Day? Don’t get sedated. Just get ready.
Yes. I did just type that. When it comes to weddings, I have no shame.
It's On It's Way...
The first thing you do need to do is to not panic. You’ve spent months, heck, years, even, planning this day, so you have to believe that everything is going to be fabulous. And it will be, I promise. But like Jesus (or maybe it was Winston Churchill) said, “Faith without works is dead.”
Dawn is fast approaching. Let’s get started.
So, what else do you need?
You need to pack for the next day. Comfortable clothes and shoes for before the wedding, including a button-down shirt so you don’t mess up your hair and make-up when you get undressed in order to get into your dress. Double-check that you have all your accessories. As far as what you need during the wedding, here’s the emergency kit that I bring to all my weddings, with a list of what’s in it, so you can build your own. It lives in my car in the meantime – you’d be surprised how much this stuff comes in handy on a regular basis! When you’re about to walk into a meeting and look down and realize that you’re covered in dog hair, the lint roller is a life-saver. Sigh. I don’t want to talk about it, I just keep it in the back seat.
If you’re like me, and you can’t keep a manicure decent for 48 hours, the day before your wedding is the time to have one, plus, it’s a nice way to relax. That’s the great thing about manicures – pretty much the only thing you can do during it is, well, have a manicure. Bring a bridesmaid or two with you.
However, the day before your wedding is NOT the time to get a bikini wax. Just trust me on that one.
Smile! You're gettitng married tomorrow!
You need to figure out when and where you’re going to eat before your wedding. You know how I feel about that. Eat breakfast, even if you don’t normally eat breakfast. If you’re staying at a hotel the night before, order room service, schedule a time to go downstairs and eat in the restaurant, or make sure that someone is going to bring you sustenance. It’s going to be a long day. Don’t be a hero. If you know you’re going to imbibe freely at your rehearsal dinner the night before, make sure you have your proven hangover remedies available. And drink water, plenty of water. Pee before you put on your dress!
Hopefully, you’ve spent the week before confirming your vendors, and if you’ve missed someone, give them a quick call before your rehearsal dinner. Call, not email, because there’s a better chance that you’ll be able to get a hold of them, and that they’ll be able to get back to you. And you already have the best numbers to reach everyone on your wedding day, right, just in case it’s a different number? That goes for any family and friends that are going to be helping you out, too. Your wedding rehearsal is a great time for this. Confirm – nicely – what it is they have agreed to do, and when they’ve agreed to do it. Give them whatever materials and supplies they need to get the job(s) done. And don’t forget to say Thank You!
Make a list of everyone who needs to be paid on the big day, and write all your checks and separate your cash out, including tips, then decide how and where you’re going to take it with you tomorrow. Ah, yes, tips? Hairstylist, Make-up artist, Limo driver, bartender(s), although that last one is considered a judgment call if they have a tip jar at the bar. You’re welcome!
What are you worried about getting taken care of the day before your wedding? I’m taking your questions in the comments!
This Week’s Deals:
You New Yorkers are in luck – The Wedding Salon is holding their next Wedding Bootcamp on Monday, July 19th at Dylan’s Candy Bar. This educational seminar features the best vendors from the weddings industry who will teach you how to avoid hidden costs and save money, and give you step by step details, loopholes and “tricks of the trade.” Plus, cake, cocktails and candy, of course. The really lucky part? Use the code BABNC when you register online for two complimentary tickets.
And, also in NYC, Wedding Cabaret is doing a free portrait session giveaway, and if you don’t win, you can still take advantage of her special: a one-hour portrait session with a CD of high resolution images for only $75 between July 17-22nd. The shoot style is up to you – engagement, boudoir, trash the dress… whatever tickles your fancy!
For you DIY brides who want to save money on your bouquets and arrangements, RealSimple.com is helping you out with a per-stem cost breakdown of the most popular wedding flowers. This is only one of the reasons why I keep renewing my subscription to the magazine.
David’s Bridal’s $99 sale goes until July 26th. Pretty, pretty gowns at low, low prices. Have fun!
Wedding Chicks is having a 50% off sale in their online shop, just use the code “weddingchannel” to take advantage of the store-wide discount.
Speaking of wedding channel, today is your last day to vote for Broke-Ass Bride as Best Budget Wedding Blog on WeddingChannel.com. Go, click, vote… please, and thankyouverymuch!
And don’t forget to sign up for the soon-to-be launched Broke-Ass Bride weekly newsletter! It will soon be your only access to great deals like these, plus tons of exclusive steals, giveaways and content we’re lining up for ya!
See you at the end of the aisle,
thank you for this, liz. i'm sending it to my groom right now to read (he's running point til the big day!)
Very nice post, I'll be mentioning this one on our blog.
All part of the service, Ma'am.
One thing we did is put our tips and day-of payements in seperate envelopes that were marked with persons or vendors name and had our best man take care of it so it would be one less thing we had to take care of.
i’m really concerned about getting all my diy’s to the wedding unscathed… how does one transport a Manzanita? spray glittered curly willow? flower arrangements? doh!!
@Kelly – suv, buffer around it as much as you can. Separate willows from containers to make them easier to transport, take pics of what it’s supposed to look like to give to whoevers setting up. Hope this helps!
This is fantastic. I will be revisiting this the week before my wedding fo sho.
My biggest worry… is my fiance sleeping.
My fiance is a super night-owl and typically goes to bed around 6am. He's been talking about doing the same the night before our wedding, and has mentioned going to a party that night as well. (Normally, both of us would go – but I'm skipping it. I expected he would as well, but so far, that's not the case.) A male friend of ours is going to see what he can do about getting him not to go, but my fella so far can't be convinced that he should, you know, get more than 4 hours of sleep before our wedding.
Anything I can say, or should i let my friends try and talk some sense into him?
Oh yeah, and our wedding is 10 am the next day, so we should all be getting up at 8am at the latest.
Oooh, I'm not quite sure what you can do with this one. Is it fair to assume that this is something that he's used to doing – staying up really late and then getting up and getting through whatever needs to get done the next day?
If not, and you have SPECIFIC EXAMPLES of when it just didn't work out, then the only thing you can do is ask him not to stay out late, point to those specific examples (nicely, don't get into fight, and you know what WILL get you into a fight), and tell him that you just want the both of you to have a great day.Plus, if you think about it, just because he stays home doesn't mean he's going to sleep, it just means he's staying home. If he thinks he can handle it regardless, then it's on him, and you're just going to have to trust him.
Thanks for all the great tips, Liz!
I wish my sister had read this story before she got married.. especially the part about eating breakfast. She felt like crap later that day with her stomach already being in knots!
-Sylvia, wedding cake toppers
I thank you humbly for shinarg your wisdom JJWY