Things you should know in advance as a bride that no one will tell you

You will probably be given plenty of advice prior to the day of your wedding, but sometimes there are some rather important aspects that people leave out.  So here are some things you might not have thought about in advance, and some solutions regarding what to do about them. And for more great tips sign up for our Something Blue Blog Newsletter.

Baby Powder, Anti-Perspirant or Monistat Chafing Relief Powder Gel  is a must!

• Wedding dresses are VERY hot.  I don’t mean hot in a sexy way, I mean temperature.  Unless you get a sheath dress that is very simple, and you aren’t wearing any special undergarments like spanx or a corset, you will be much warmer than you normally are.  Stunning wedding dresses can often credit their enchanting appearance to layers of crinoline, taffeta, silk, beading, embroidery, lace, and swarovski crystals.  Unfortunately, all this finery is also the perfect mix to create a very well insulated dress that retains all of your body heat.  When you go and try on your dress at the dress shop, you may notice at first that the store is set at the temperature of an icebox.  This is to make those trying on the dresses more comfortable.  Unless you choose to get a short dress, this unexpected rise in temperature is basically unavoidable.  Unfortunately, there are many consequences of this.  Other than just feeling warm, it can lead to excessive sweating between your legs which can lead to painful chaffing.  This is not the way you are going to want to start your honeymoon!  So, take the advice the wonderful women at Katherine’s Bridal Boutique gave me.  Get a small thing of baby powder, and cover your inner thighs with a light coating of it.   What they didn’t tell me was the fairly obvious instruction of doing this BEFORE you put on your dress.  Unfortunately for me, the day of my wedding, I was completely laced up into my dress, hair done, etc, and then it hit me, OH NO! WE FORGOT THE BABY POWDER!  It felt like a scene out of my Big Fat Greek Wedding.  At this point, we realized there was no way we had time to take off the whole dress, and do that, so instead, my wonderful bridesmaid who was a medical doctor and had just completed her obstetrics rotation had the bright idea of me laying on my back and legs up as if they were in the stirrups and she put her head up the layers andlayers of fabric and squirted many poofs of baby powder.  Of course at that very moment, the best man brought up the flower girl to have her hair done, and he let out a huge “What on EARTH is going on here!” and got out his camera to try to take a photo.  In what I hope was my only bridezilla moment of the day, I let out a scream,”GET OUT!  you take that photo, you die!”  So long story short, do use a poof or two of baby powder between your thighs to avoid chaffing, and make sure to do so BEFORE you put on your wedding dress.  Antiperspirant, Body Glide for Her, and Monistat Anti-Chaffing gel work even better than baby powder.  You might also consider having a small fan placed under your table in front of where you will be sitting.  If the linens are long, no one will be able to see it.  I have had more than one bride express to me that they’d wish they’d had a fan under the table.

• Stay hydrated.  This goes hand in hand with the wedding dresses are hot point.  It’s a tricky situation.  I have seen many brides try to not drink many fluids that day to avoid having to use the restroom, to try and fit in their dresses better, or just plain have been so busy that they forgot to drink some water.  Unfortunately, the lack of drinking fluids in combination with the very hot dresses, can quickly lead to finding yourself extremely dehydrated.  Along with all the activity of the day, this can lead brides to pass out.  So in the end, ask yourself, which is more embarrassing, having to use the rest rooms a few times with your wonderful bridesmaids assisting you, or passing out at your own wedding.  I’m guessing the latter.  To avoid this problem try to remember to drink a fair amount of water while you are getting ready in the morning and during the reception.  Be sure to use the restroom right before you put on your dress.  Ask your servers to keep your glass full of water if you have servers, and if not ask members of your bridal party to bring you water when they can.
• Tone your arms and back.  Just about every bride I know tries to get into better shape before her wedding so she can look her best on her big day.  Unfortunately most of us don’t have tons of time to hit the gym so it’s important to know where you are going the get the most bang for your limited exercise time buck.  Most wedding dresses combined with good shape-wear hide our least favorite parts of our bodies, but they do put our arms and back on display.  So if you want a quick and easy way to make a big difference with how you’ll look on your wedding day try this simple 5 minute work out that concentrates on toning your arms and back put together by my friend and personal trainer extraordinaire, Lauren Hefez, that you can do in your own home! For more workouts you can subscribe to Lauren’s youtube channel.

• Avoid the appearance of a double chin with proper posing.  So many brides (and grooms!) are worried they will have the appearance of a double chin in their wedding photos. This can easily be avoided using a posing technique called “the turtle” that is borrowed from the fashion industry. Follow my steps in the video below and you will be able to keep your neck looking long and lean in your wedding formals.

• Tell your photographer key information in advance.  From special family situations like divorces and mobility limitations, to special details you want to make sure are captured, there are several things you need to share with your photographer in advance.  For more information on this check out this post highlighting the most important things you need to let your photographer know about before your wedding day.

• Bring a bridal emergency kit with you.  On the day of your wedding, you want everything to go right.  Inevitably though, something goes awry.  That’s why you should bring a bridal first aid kit with you that has everything and anything you could possibly need on your wedding day.  For more information on why these items are so important to have with you check out this post.

• Have wireless mics and speakers at an outdoor ceremony.  Unless you are having an intimate gathering of 10 people or so for your outdoor wedding, the groom and your officiant should be mic’d up, with a speaker or two spread through the audience.  If you don’t, then only the first or second row, tops, will be able to hear you and the officiant unless each of you speak at unnaturally loud levels.  So make things easier on you and your guests, and if you are doing an outdoor ceremony, get microphones, or start practicing projecting your voice.If it is very windy out, skip the microphones and just try to project your voice.
• Have all your rings and other wedding details ready to be photographed in advance: While you are getting ready the photographer will likely want to take photographs of the rings, your jewelry, your invitations, your shoes, bouquets, and any other special items you are using that day.  For a complete list of what you should have set aside in advance to decrease your stress that day, check out our blog post here.  Be sure to get your engagement ring cleaned before your big day.  Soap residue can really ruin how sparkly your diamond will look in photos.
• Get bridal magazine subscriptions: Most people these days are planning weddings for over a year and buy just about every bridal magazine that comes out during that time.  You can save yourself a boatload by buying 1-year subscriptions online to these magazines, like Martha Stewart Weddings and Brides instead of buying them at your local grocery stores.  Be sure to cancel them at the end of the year though so you don’t keep getting them year after year.

• If you found this post helpful email the link to your friends when they get engaged or if they are bridesmaids in a wedding.