The big mornings (what I call the morning of the wedding) can be a busy one. This is when all your bride tribe congregate together, questions are being thrown around the room, photographers and videographers are zooming around, someone's stress cleaning the room, the dresses are being steamed, etc... it gets BUSY and it can also be quite overwhelming. Almost like a kitchen with too many cooks. For an easier and smoother mornings, the key are your timings.
So here's where it's important to hire a bridal specialist when it comes to your suppliers. Now, this is my time to shine. I get my brides ready an hour before they need to be. So say your ceremony is at 1pm. I will want to get you ready for 12pm so that you have an hour to get those 'getting ready' photos (like the ones with you and your girls in their robes), for you get into your dress (those button are fiddlier than you think!) you also have an opportunity to do a big reveal to your bridesmaids, and lastly some time to actually chill out. This is really the only chance you get to be calm and mentally prepare for the busy day. It's a chance for you to recharge those social battery and take some grounding breaths. Don't forget, if you're having a registrar, they will probably come to you 15 minutes before the ceremony.
Going along with this hypothetical 1pm ceremony and a 12pm ready time, I spend 30 minutes for each makeup client. Part of this is because no one wants to be sat still for ages, especially if they're also getting their hair done too. For the sake of their back, they'll want a wriggle in between other wise they'll get a very numb bum! And plus, they'll want to get back to they group before they start to get FOMO.
Unless you've got an early ceremony or lots and lots of bridesmaids, you won't want to start any earlier than 7am, 6am at a push. It's a long day for you and you'll be so excited the night before you probably wont be getting much sleep so enjoy a quiet coffee before the morning starts and wake yourself up gently rather than have everyone up at 5am for a 1pm ceremony.
If you have lots of bridesmaid and/or a early ceremony I'd have a second artist working with me. I have a team of stylists and artists that I love to work with so if you're having a second artist, make sure they are compatible with your main artist. For my own wedding, I have 8 bridesmaids, 2 mums, and myself for hair and makeup so I'll be booking my 4 incredible hair and makeup artists that I know can stick to my 30 minutes per person timetable and can work together consecutively.*
*More about my wedding planning dilemmas in another post!
Timing is one of those things that has taken me a good few years to figure out and to this day is definitely a skill that I think is my strong point. This is a massive talking point in my bridal trials and I believe is the most important ingredient to a smooth morning. A smooth morning sets the tone for the rest of the day, and that goes for all mornings, not just the big one!
