Helpful Wedding Tips to Reduce Stress on The Big Day

Recently, I came across my wedding binder while looking through my memorabilia. Page after page of information, it was fantastic that we were able to complete everything on time. I couldn't believe it. It was super organized. At that point, I began organizing for clients without knowing what I was doing. But looking back now, I realize that it was constructive for me, my mom, and everyone involved that I was so organized. This post shares wedding tips that I found helpful to reduce stress on the big day.

While my immediate family wasn't huge, we had several relatives coming from other countries, like Australia, Italy, and Canada. The house was bursting at the seams. While it was exciting, it was also stressful having everyone nearby. But, I realized it was essential to be organized, or it could have been a lot worse.

Jump to:

Take your time and pick the right places.
Set up a binder to hold all your papers.
Transportation Tips
Gift Registry Tips
Videographer Tips
The Week Before Your Wedding Tips
Things to do on your wedding day!

To help you prepare for your special day, I've put together these helpful tips.

Take your time and pick the right places.

Whether you're going to a church or an excursion, you'll need to plan and conduct your research before committing to a location. It's going to take time, so allowing at least one to one and a half years for planning and scheduling will help out when you get closer to the big day.

The place you have your wedding is essential and will help you focus on what you want to do with all the details. One of my clients got married in the woods because they had a King Arthur-themed wedding. Their wedding was lovely, and they were able to rent large tents to protect them and their guests if it rained.

How to find a venue?

To find a venue, search "Wedding Venues near me" or "Wedding Venues in (a city)" to get the most up-to-date information about venues online. This will give you enough options.

Do your research and visit the venue as soon as possible.

Visit each of their websites and always visit the venue to get a tour. Call them as soon as possible, ask them a few questions, and check to make sure they have your date available. If everything sounds good, schedule a tour. This is not the time to procrastinate. The venue is the one place that will go fast.

What to do on the venue tour?

When you arrive at the venue, take photos of both the ceremony area and the party area. This will help you remember and make an informed decision after you've visited all the places.

After you have decided on a venue, be sure to get a copy of the floor plan from the owner. This task will help you visualize how they will be laying out the hall for the reception and/or the wedding. Below are some tips on how to pick a venue

Set up a binder to hold all your papers.

Print Out All The Agreements. Digital copies of contracts are great to have on hand, but paper is often considered more reliable. You can quickly lose emails or forget you even got the email.

Divide the sections in your binder into the following tabs (affiliate link).

Rehearsal dinner
Dress and Logistics
- Bride's clothing details
- Groom's clothing details
- Bridesmaids and groom's men's clothing
Wedding ceremony
- Venue
- Transportation
- Itinerary
- Entertainment
Gift Registry and other parties
- Bridal Shower
- Bachelorette Party
- Bachelor party
Wedding party
- Favor gifts
Honeymoon

If you prefer to organize this digitally on your phone or laptop, use the above titles for your folders and label (affiliate link) all your digital files with the name payee receipt, the date (i.e., 12-12-2024-hair-styling-appt-for-party) so that you can easily find them. You can also fill out the tag and description information on the file to make it easier to find in a search.

I like using spreadsheets. It is easy to create and will allow me to list things that I need to know, like the timeframe of each activity for the day. Start out with a time for arrival at the bride's and groom's house to get ready. The time for the hairstylist and makeup artist to arrive, etc... Adding the time to the first column and the activity to the second column gives you a clear understanding of what is happening and when. And it is all on one sheet.

Time	Activities
9 AM	bridesmaids arriving at the house

Example of the spreadsheet Wedding Day Timeline

Use an app to organize your big day.

Instead of doing a binder or a spreadsheet, it may be best for you to purchase an app. It is ideal for reminders of what needs to be done next. There are numerous apps available; here are the most popular ones in the App Store. Below are a variety of Apps you can check out to help you organize your Wedding.

Transportation Tips

If you want to save money, you can have people in your party drive their own cars and pick up the other wedding party members. Decorating the cars with streamers and other car decorations will give them a unified look without breaking the bank.

How to make a car driver list for the bridal party

If you have several cars transporting people, as I did, create a drawing or list of every individual and their assigned vehicle. Something like this is below.

Car Driven	Name of Driver	Name of Passengers	Time to Pick Up

Car Driver and Passengers List

It was extremely helpful on the day of our wedding. Below are some car decorations for weddings I found on Amazon (affiliate link) for your wedding.

By planning your transportation thoroughly and adding it to your app or binder, you will see how your event comes together. It will also help you identify any time overlaps that may result in issues on your wedding day.

Gift Registry Tips

Having a wedding gift registry at multiple places is recommended, allowing people to see what you need or want. Keep in mind it is recommended to have between two to five registry stores to make sure you have enough options for your guests to choose from; a combo of online and brick-and-mortar stores works best. But, to keep track of these places, you will need to manage them.

Before you create a registry, do this.

Be sure to create a practical registry. Walk around your existing home and determine what you will need when you move in together. If you are already living together, you may want to select only a few items and then create a honeymoon fund or ask for cash. Visit my post about how to create a practical wedding registry for ideas. On this post, there is a printable registry(Free).

If you are buying a new home and need items for it, make sure to create a list before setting up the registry. This helped us a lot because we needed so much, and having a list helped us know what to look for and add.

Is more than one registry acceptable?

If you plan to have multiple registries, be sure to log in online to verify that your information is accurate. Check all the information, including what you picked, the address, and the spelling on the account. This way, you can make sure nothing gets lost or sent to the wrong address.

Watch out for duplicate items.

Also, ensure that you are not duplicating products from one store to another. If you need more than one item, you can easily add the quantity to one registry, and then the person can buy one or two of the items instead of the entire quantity. Another option is you can also sign up for The Knot Registry. You can combine all your registries in one list.

Pick enough gifts for people to choose from.

Select at least twice as many items as your guests, ensuring there are plenty of options to choose from.

Cash and Gift Cards Work, too

And, if you are overwhelmed, add gift cards, experience gifts, or cash or honeymoon funds to your registry. Below are five options to create a Honeymoon Fund registry.

There are several additional options for the Honeymoon Fund registry, but I've only selected five of them. Each one has its fees and will either be charged to you or the gift giver. Pick the one that is right for you and your guests.

Videographer Tips

If many people are unable to attend, consider having someone record the ceremony so they can watch it online. You can also stream the ceremony on your Facebook Live and Zoom (here are instructions and tips) and share the link before the wedding so people can watch. You can livestream anywhere from 40 minutes to 24 hours as Matthew says on Matthewlimphotography.com.

Ensure you have someone knowledgeable about creating videos. Bark has a videographer section to help you find one near you.

I wish I were able to do this when I got married. My grandmother, who lived in Europe, couldn't attend, but it would have been wonderful to have had her at least watch it.

The Week Before Your Wedding Tips

Now that you have planned and scheduled everything, it's time to complete a few additional tasks to get you ready for the big day.

Confirm with everyone.

This is important for this wedding tips post. So there are no issues on your wedding day. Confirm with all the following people. Be sure to review the arrival times with them, including the time of the rehearsal dinner, its location, and the addresses for all the events.

photographer
videographer
limo driver, or who is driving
The makeup artist
Hairstylist
The hotel (if you are staying in one)
Your bridesmaids and grooms' men
Church and venue contact
Entertainment contact

And be sure to pick up the dress and accessories you will be wearing on your wedding day.

Now that all these people are ready and know what to do. You can now relax.

Practice Self Care

Another thing to add to these wedding tips is the practice self-care. Planning may be stressful so it is time to take care of yourself (affiliate link). If possible, consider getting a massage, a manicure, and a pedicure with your maid of honor. It's a fun way to end the craziness of planning. I also found going to get a massage or facial a week before the wedding helped keep me calm.

Things to do on your wedding day!

Now that you have planned and written out all your activities, you are ready for the big day. Below are tips to help you relax and enjoy the moment. It will go fast!

Hiring a Stylist Tips

If you have stylists coming over to do people's hair and nails, write up what time each individual has their appointment so they know when to arrive. This tip is especially helpful if you have more than a few people getting their hair or nails done. And people are not hanging around waiting for their turn.

Remember, it is your day, and if things go wrong, it will work itself out. It's not all up to you. That is why the bridesmaids and groomsmen are there.

I hope these wedding tips help you create a memorable and stress-free wedding. Now, it's your turn; what is your favorite tip to reduce stress before your wedding day? Please leave a comment below.

Please note these are affiliate links through Amazon (affiliate link) and other affiliates, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn affiliate fees if you decide to make a purchase.