Wedding Day of Details- Do's and Don'ts

So you’re in your planning stage of the wedding but the day will come and you want to make it as stress free as possible. I thought back to when I got married, when friend’s got married, and what I have noticed other couples have done or wish they would have done. (Stationary & details wise at least)

Let’s start with the DO’s shall we? I’m a good news first type of gal!

DO’s

1. Fold Tent Cards

   Now this may be your place cards, escort cards, or descriptions of food from the buffet or snack bar! But when they are folded the day of they may slowly flatten out because they are use to being folded. This can be something easily forgotten because they were mailed to you flat in a nice box and tucked away with everything for the day of, but I recommend digging those guys out folding them ahead of time and either cozy them snuggly in a box or rubber band them together so that they get use to being folded. Plus that’s a time saver for who ever would have to fold them the day of!

2. Have Directional Signage!

   This is a life saver! You don’t want your guests to be lost or confused, you want the wedding and reception to go as smoothly as possible. I went to a wedding once (beautiful location!) and the ceremony was over the hill and slightly in the woods. Not just by the reception venue, I mean a journey to get there and not visible by the road or parking lot. So we walked up to the barn and no one was in there so we walked around the barn until we heard laughter, so we followed the laughter. I felt like I was missing something and was so confused! Maybe this isn’t the way your venue is set up but even directing your guest to the game area, the cocktail hour location, or the ceremony to reception location. Signage will help!

3. Have a Seating Chart or Escort Cards

   Now this may seem like directional signage, because it is... kinda. But this is something that is almost expected now when someone goes to a wedding or formal event. I know I am not a fan of open seating because I am a rather introverted person (luckily my husband is very extroverted so he acts like my safety blanket in those situations) and going to a table that has an empty chair that appears to not be taken can be nerve wracking for me. I also think seating charts are a great way to control where certain guests sit. Your parents, grandparents, and other VIPs of your wedding will want to sit closer to the head table, you don’t want the cousin 3 times removed that you haven’t talked to in years to snag that spot your mom wanted!

4. Have a Designated Person in Charge of these Details

   Now this is where a planner really can help (well the help a thousand times more than making sure your signage and stationary are in place but this is so helpful too) but if you don’t have a planner you will want to either ask your venue if you can drop these items off a few days before to the coordinator or have a very trusting relative/friend take these items before the day of your wedding to take to the venue for you when it is needed. You can’t do it all! You shouldn’t do it all! The day of should be a day, from start to finish, of celebrations for you. So delegate those tasks that stress you out to trusting people.

5. Have an emergency kit

   This isn’t just for you and your bridesmaids, you can have an emergency kit for the little extra details you have. Have a few extra place cards, have some tape for when the wind starts to pick up, have extra pens or markers just in case someone needs to quickly add or fix something. Things happen and you can’t stress it when it does, but if there are a couple emergency items you can take or give someone to prevent some mis-haps go for it. But really, if it is outside, tape is huge!

Duh Duh Duhhhhhh…

Onto those Don’ts! Those things that you don’t want to do the day of your wedding!

DON’TS

1. Don’t Wait Till the Last Minute to Finalize the Guest List

   This is huge! Whether you have hired someone to create your place cards, escort cards, seating chart OR you are doing them yourself; you really want to get that in a minimum of 3 weeks before your wedding if not a month before. To get every guest placed where you want then to have to create your seating chart for the day of, it’s a timely task. So the sooner the better!

2. Don’t Stress the Day of About a Few Extra Guests

   Now this one kind of goes with number one but in a contradicting way… But RSVPs will happen. You will have some who never responded or said no actually show up to your wedding. You will also have guests that said Yes not come. I always recommend planning ahead with a few extra seats and a few extra meals for this reason! This definitely happened at my wedding. I had a whole table for one of my family member’s whole family and they didn’t show. But luckily I had some guests that brought a plus one they didn’t ask to bring that could move to that table, so it worked out! But there is no reason to let that upset you. It happens to us all! And if you brought extra place cards someone could quickly write there name down! If not that’s ok too!

3. Don’t DIY the Morning (Or Even Week) Of!

   Like I said earlier, this is a day of celebration! Do not leave anything left to do the day of. If you did, forget about it, unless it’s rather important then Delegate! I did kind of did this… more the week of/night before. I wanted to do the Chinese tradition of folding a thousand paper cranes for a backdrop and I put off the bulk of it till the week before. I highly suggest if you know it needs to be done and you haven’t forgotten about it by accident don’t put it off till the week before. The week before is for those things you forgot, and there will be something whether big or small! Just don’t put it off because it will take up valuable time you could be using for something different.

4. Don’t wait till the day of to write your vows

   That kind of goes without saying but I know a lot of people (mainly grooms) who waited till the day of. I wanted to make sure I got everything I wanted to say in there so I did it way in advance. Anytime I would think of something I wanted to write I would jot it down. Then about two weeks before I wrote them out and just tweaked it as I wanted till the night before.

5. Don’t Forget Stationary or Any Details you Want Photographed

   Honestly, this one completely slipped my mind when I got married and I wish I had a photo of mat invitation suite all together. I feel like that would be a super cute keepsake (and you don’t have to actually keep an invitation suite…). Also think about other details you want photographed and mention it to your photographer. Did you have personalized hangers made with your bridesmaids names? Did you get matching wine glasses to drink wine and mimosas all morning with? Think about those details ahead of time, jot them down, tell your photographer!

Are there any Do’s or Don’ts I forgot or that you were told to not forget about?

Let me know in the comments! I would love to hear about them and I am sure other’s would like more helpful tips too!