While planning for a wedding requires a great deal of time and energy, it’s also incredibly exciting. The day before your wedding day can be the most exciting, and it can also be the most nerve-wracking day of all, so you’ll definitely want to ensure you’ve got everything in order. To ensure that the thought of “I’m getting married tomorrow!” will bring you a sense of joy rather than stress, it’s necessary to know that everything is aligned in order to make your nuptials go smoothly. We’ve developed the perfect list of 8 things you’ll want to do the night before your big day in order to make sure your day is absolutely perfect!
12 Things To Do the Night Before the Wedding
1. Make a List: When planning an event as big as your wedding day, organization is necessary. Keep track of all of the items you need to bring with you to the venue and check off each item when you pack up your car in the morning. Be sure to check your list twice. A third time couldn’t hurt, either. Here are a few things you’ll want to remember the night before the wedding:
- Emergency Kit – check out our Ulitimate Wedding Emergency Kit to ensure you don’t forget anything!
- Give checks to someone to ensure all of your vendors are paid on time – a family member or reliable friend is always a good choice here.
- Give rings to someone reliable in the wedding party – MOH or Best Man typically
- Day-of itinerary – make sure the wedding party and vendors have a copy as well
- And of course – your dress, veil/headpiece, accessories, undergarments, shoes, a CHANGE of shoes, etc.
2. Touch Base with Your Vendors: Erase the worries of no-show vendor nightmares by calling your team the night before the wedding to confirm arrival times and other details. Ask yourself questions like, “What time is the photographer arriving to set up? When will you need to be ready for hair and makeup? What time are the flowers going to be delivered?”, and then speak with the vendors to get secured answers.
After checking in with each vendor, you can also minimize stress by designating his or her tip amounts and how the tips will be delivered ahead of time. You can sort all the due payments digitally via PayPal or other server, or maybe have all the checks ready in properly marked envelopes and hand them to your wedding planner or trusted bridesmaid or relative.
It’ll be super useful for them to have in hand a list of vendors, too.
3. Spend Time with Family and Friends: RELAX as much as possible the day and night before your big day. After your rehearsal, have a slumber party with a family member or your MOH, but don’t forget to get some good quality shut-eye! It’s probably best to keep it low-key and have one or two gals spend the night with you instead of the whole wedding party.
4. Drink a lot of water: considering that our bodies are composed of 70% water, this suggestion isn’t a surprise. Drinking water will help to lower your anxiety levels, apart from increasing your energy and relieve fatigue. An adequate intake of water promotes weight loss, flushes out toxins and improves skin complexion! And the best of all: it puts you in a very good mood. So, drink as much water as possible the night before the wedding!
5. Eat a healthy meal. There’s no need to explain why the phrase “you are what you eat” is so right. The food you ingest the day before your wedding day can help you to prevent bloating and even puffy eyes. So, try to eat food that energizes you and also provides the exact amounts of vitamins and proteins you need. It might be easier to grab a hamburger or any kind of fast food to avoid the hassle of actually cooking, but the benefits of having fresh vegetables and low-fat foods are always worth the time invested in preparing them.
6. Pack your personal items (and some extras!): Packing too much is never a good thing, but being underprepared for the big day is worse. For a start, get some cash and give it to a trusted person. Prepare your boxes, suitcases, and bags to bring to the ceremony or reception, and send them in advance to the hotel, if possible, or just put them in the car the night before the wedding.
If you’re having the reception in a place that lacks a first aid kit, make sure to bring one with you! Our wedding day emergency kit might be a helpful reference tool for you!
Also, this is a list of essential things that brides will appreciate to have in handy:
- Extra undergarments
- Breath mints
- Button-down shirt
- Perfume and deodorant
- Tape
- Extra buttons
- Hair styling products and makeup
- Safety pins
- Small sewing kit
- Tissues
- Toothbrush and toothpaste
7. Check Your Tech: One of the best things about technology is how easily it allows us to capture memories. However, technology has an odd way of breaking down just when we need it the most. Whether you plan on using a camera for snapping before the ceremony moments or on a tripod for a DIY photo booth station, make sure that you fully charge the device and have plenty of memory space on your camera and phone (I know I’m always running out of space on mine!). Pack your chargers, USB cords, and extra memory cards to make sure you can capture all the fun throughout your wedding. PS – giving your phone or personal camera (if you still use one) to one of your besties is a great idea since you will likely be too busy throughout the day to snap as many pics of your own!
8. Run Through Your Vows or Speech: All eyes and ears will be on you and your groom as you say your “I dos.” If you’re uneasy about tripping over ultra-important words like “to have and to hold” or drawing a blank if you’re reciting vows you wrote yourself – practice, practice, practice! While you and your gal pals are having that low-key slumber party, if you feel comfortable with them hearing your vows ahead of time, the night before the wedding may be the perfect time to practice! They can give you some advice and ensure you feel comfortable enough beforehand. If you’re planning to give a little “thank you” speech at the reception, practice this with your ladies or your groom beforehand as well.
9. Turn your phone on silent. It’s important to show the world how happy and excited you are for your wedding day, but make sure that your inner self is balanced and in peace amidst all the things going on around you. Use the method you like the most -- yoga, mindful meditation, or just a walk in the park, -- to think about all the things you’re grateful for and all the virtues you’ve cultivated in yourself.
10. Get Romantic: Take time to reminisce on your relationship with your Prince Charming by looking through old pictures and love letters. Allow yourself to appreciate how amazing it feels to have found the love of your life. After you soak it all in, maybe you’ll be inspired to do something extra special for your groom, such as writing him a heartfelt letter to give to him before you walk down the aisle – AWW!
11. Primp and Prep: On the night before your wedding day, give yourself a sweet spa session. Go get a mani/pedi with your ladies, exfoliate with a soothing peppermint cleanser, and boost your skin's moisture with this serum and cream combination, and don't forget to throw on a deep-cleansing face mask! Remember that now is not at all the time to be experimenting with new beauty products! You definitely don’t want to end up with irritated skin the day of your wedding, so make sure you’re using these products regularly at least 6 months before your event!
12. Relax and Rest: As we said before, RELAX as much as possible the day and night before your wedding. You’ve been waiting your whole life for this day, so you’ll certainly be feeling some butterflies the night before. To banish worrisome “What if?” thoughts, trust in all of the planning that you have done and simply try to enjoy yourself. Watch an episode of your favorite show, do some yoga, read a book, or something else you enjoy to calm your mind. Most importantly, get plenty of beauty sleep.
I hope that these tips will save you some stress and keep you from feeling frazzled on the day before your big day. Planning for a wedding is hard work, so remember to let your last day of planning be a day of confirming, double-checking, and taking it easy. Make sure you don’t leave any DIY projects until the last minute – you don’t need any additional stress! For a smooth, seamless wedding day, it’s important not to procrastinate. Saving any big projects to work on the night before will leave you feeling frantic, and the time crunch will also lead to sacrifices on the quality of your project. Plan ahead! Make sure you’re following your checklist in your DIY Wedding Planning Binder!
What are you planning on doing the day and night before your wedding day? Let us know in the comments below!
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