Bristol Makeup & Beauty Blog

Expert Tips On How To Make Your Wedding Day Run Smoothly.

Jackie Fussell • 1 January 2021

As a wedding Hair and Makeup Artist, I've experienced hundreds of weddings - here are some tips I've picked up along the way!

You've been planning this day for months, even years - remember your wedding day starts when you wake up (if you do manage to get to sleep that is!). Try and surround yourself with the right people who are calming influences and are going to look after you. Thats not always easy with family politics, but its important to put yourself first and ensure you have the best possible stress free start to your big day.

Ensure you allow plenty of time, this includes time to get dressed, do your makeup and hair, travel to the venue etc. The morning can be busy with people popping in and messaging you with congratulations messages, checking final details and flowers arriving. Most importantly make sure you eat - have snacks available! Most wedding ceremonies are just after lunch making it easy to completely miss lunch, it can be quite a busy morning so you don't want your stomach to start rumbling as you walk down the isle! Also allow additional time for your wedding photographer / videographer to take photos of you and your bridesmaids getting ready, as well as group shops before the ceremony. If your bridal party are doing their own hair and makeup ensure you have plenty of mirrors and hair styling tools and stations. If you are looking to book a hair stylist / makeup artist I can help with this, please do get in touch.

Ensure your wedding party have their brows, nails and hair removal done in plenty of time. I see a lot of bridesmaids trying to paint their nails after they are dressed - then help the bride with their dress. Nail polish needs around 1 hour to dry fully and you don't want nail polish on your wedding dress! Shellac is a great long life polish, why not book a pre-wedding pamper party with me for the evening before your wedding day? Its a lovely way to avoid everyone running around and to relax with your girls before the big day. Click here to visit my website.

If you are having children at your wedding morning, make sure you bring toys and activities to keep them occupied while everyone is getting ready (as well as snacks). Make sure you keep the dresses out of way to avoid sticky finger marks as kids can get quite bored or over excited on the wedding morning! Flower girls hair should be done as late as possible so it is perfect as they walk down the isle, otherwise it can fall out when they rolling around on the floor or leaning on seats, it also keeps them busy while you are getting into your bridal gown. A flower crown over the natural hair always looks very cute and is very easy for younger kids! Also get them dressed as late as possible so the outfits are in perfect condition for the wedding ceremony.

Make sure you fully brief your photographer before the big day, or allow time to do this on your wedding morning. Have shoes, dresses, perfume, garter, rings and any wedding presents or keepsakes available for the wedding photographer to photograph as part of your wedding story.

Its a great idea to bring a emergency kit including safety pins, mints, baby wipes - these can be useful if anyone has any accidents on the morning. Also a crochet hook is great for doing up bridal gown buttons.

Everyone always has the worry of how are they going to go to the toilet with their beautiful wedding dress on! Bring a bridesmaid with you to guard the toilet door, walk straight onto the toilet, sitting on the toilet the wrong way round (don't turn round to risk catching your dress), then just reverse out afterwards!

If you are having real wedding flowers, remove from water around 20 minutes before you leave, and blot the stems with a towel. When you are holding the bouquet, cross your fingers in front of the bouquet, with your thumbs behind it near your belly button, and relax your shoulders - we want to see your beautiful face and dress as you walk down the isle! Don't forget to make sure your nails are perfectly manicured and polished - a classic french polish is still very popular, or why not try a light colour to coordinate with your wedding flowers or bridesmaid dresses.

Be aware; something will not go to plan! You have spend a long time planning so many details, so its only the law of averages that something won't go to plan. Try to embrace it, its likely to only be a few people that actually know if the Photo Booth is in a different place or the flowers are slightly different colour - Hopefully everyone will be having such a great time they won't even notice. I know of weddings that forgot to serve the evening Buffett as everyone was having too much fun, the wedding party were eating curry for weeks!

At least one wedding guest will message you on the wedding morning to say they can no longer come - please don't let it spoil your day. Unfortunately someone will always be ill, have transport issues or hungover (yes a bride really did have a guest cancel because they were hungover!) or another issue that means they can no longer come to your wedding - I know how annoying this is and will effect your seating plans etc. but try not to let it upset you as you will be surrounded by loved ones celebrating your wedding.

Weddings aren't cheap and suppliers seem expensive. On one of the the most important (and sometimes stressful) days of your life it is essential for your wedding makeup artist, hair stylist, photographer, florist, cake maker, car etc to be reliable and experienced - not only do you want any extra stress to worry about them turning up on time (or at all) the professionals should be experienced, creating a relaxing and enjoyable presence, keeping you on time and guiding you through your wedding day so it runs as smoothly as possible.

And lastly, try and stay calm and enjoy your big day. As long as you both are there to say your vows in front of your loved ones, then the day has been a success! And if you enjoy yourself your wedding guests will too!

I hope everyone has a wonderful time celebrating your wedding day
Jackie x

Why not try and make your wedding more sustainable, click here to find out how: https://www.77diamonds.com/sustainable-weddings

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