3 pro tips to make your wedding stress-free

Weddings are stressful! There’s all of the planning leading up to the big day: who’s coming, venue, florals, photographer, catering, what color palette do you want, what style of wedding dress do you want, wedding party attire, save the dates and invitations, DJ or live band, cake or donuts—the list goes on. And then there’s the day of: getting ready, arriving at the venue, do you want to do a first look, wedding party photos, family formals, guests arriving, following the timeline, and having back up plans for if something goes wrong. There’s no denying it: weddings can be mentally and emotionally draining. And that can really take away from the most important part of the day—being present and celebrating your love and commitment to your partner surrounded by the people who matter the most to you two.

Don’t worry! There are ways to mitigate some of this stress leading up to and on the day of your wedding. That way you two can be fully present and enjoy your wedding!!

3 simple ways you can prevent stress on your wedding day

1. Create a timeline

   Whether you create a timeline with your wedding coordinator, wedding photographer, venue, or videographer, having a timeline will significantly help decrease your wedding day stress. It’s important to know when and where you’ll need to be on the day, but it’s even more important for your vendors, that way they can help guide you and your wedding party (and your family) through the day.

   Here are a few key details you should make sure to include on your timeline:

   • When do you need to start getting ready?

   • What time do you need to be ready? (I always recommend at least two hours before your ceremony.)

   • Are you going to do a first look?

   • When will you do your family formal photos and wedding party photos? (If you do a first look, you can get these photos out of the way before your ceremony and then go straight to your cocktail hour after!)

   • How long will your ceremony last?

   • What time is dinner going to be served?

   • What time is sunset? (If you want to do golden our photos, this could affect what time you do toasts and other wedding reception activities.)

   • Are you going to do a grand exit?

   • What time do you have to leave your venue?

2. Create a formal photo checklist

   Above all else, communication is the most important aspect of a stress-free wedding day. So help your family members, wedding party, and vendors by communicating when they’ll need to be ready, when they’ll need to be at the venue, and where they should wait for photos. This will help when it comes time to collect everyone for group photos.

   A great way to do this is to create a list of family formal grouping photos in advance of the wedding day, that way your photographer can have the shot list on hand and easily and effectively capture these must-have photos. Be sure to include names and relations, that way your vendor can be sure to get everyone’s names correct and know who to look for.

   By outlining who will be in the photos, you will also be creating the list of family members you will need to communicate with in advance of the day to let them know when they’ll need to be ready and where they should wait to be collected.

   Some examples of family formal group photos include:

   • Spouse 1, Spouse 2, Spouse 1’s parents

   • Spouse 1, Spouse 2, Spouse 1’s parents and siblings

   • Spouse 1, Spouse 1’s parents

   • Spouse 1, Spouse 1’s siblings

   • Spouse 1, Spouse 2, Spouse 2’s parents

   • Spouse 1, Spouse 2, Spouse 2’s parents and siblings

   • Spouse 2, Spouse 2’s parents

   • Spouse 2, Spouse 2’s siblings

3. Hire a wedding coordinator

   I cannot stress this enough: if your budget allows, I absolutely recommend hiring a wedding coordinator. This could be a full wedding coordinator or month-of/week-of/day-of coordinator. Either way, having someone there who can help coordinate setup, follow the timeline, run last minute errands, track people down, and coordinate the tear down, will really help take some pressure off of you on the day of your wedding. After all, who wants to have to tell the DJ where they can set up when they’re trying to put on a wedding dress?

   By hiring a wedding coordinator, you’re also allowing your other vendors to focus on what they do best: their specific area of wedding expertise. Instead of having your wedding photographer helping put on everyone’s boutonnieres, they can focus on capturing the moment. Instead of having one of your wedding party running off to get last minute items or track down people, they can be present for photos.

   If you hire a wedding planner for the month, week, or day of your wedding, be sure to ask them how involved their services are. Some planners only help with setup and tear down, while others may be more involved with creating a timeline, running errands, and coordinating last minute details.

Be prepared to go with the flow

Even the most well-planned wedding can get a little derailed. So it’s important to keep in mind what is truly important about your wedding day: you and your love. Flexibility is one of the best mindsets to have on your wedding day. And so long as you’ve hired some amazing vendors and have your loved ones around you, they’ll all be there to help you stay on track and be present on your day.

Deep breath in. Deep breath out. And enjoy the ride!

Photos in this blog were captured second shooting for The Poffs at a Paso Robles, California, vineyard wedding venue.