As a Bride, you’d think you had enough on your plate organising your Wedding. However, now you’ve locked in all of the obvious pre-Wedding suppliers, it’s time to talk about the nitty-gritty. These are the Wedding Day necessities that most girls overlook until the Big Day – and by then, it’s often too late!

To ensure you don’t have a Bridal faux pas, we’ve talked to Brides from all around the world to get the most commonly forgotten Wedding Day tasks.

1. Group Tanning Sessions

You’ve probably booked in a session for a spray tan in the lead-up to the Big Day, but have you thought to book in your ‘Maids? You don’t necessarily need to cover the bill for their pre-Wedding beauty prep, but you should always invite them along. The last thing anyone wants in the Wedding photos is for half the Bridal Party to be rocking St Tropez glows, while the other half have the ‘Englishman’s tan.’

2. Forgetting a Make-Up Touch-Up

Oftentimes, your Mum and Dad will want to talk to you just before you walk down the aisle. Unfortunately, the moment for this generally comes after all the hair and makeup has been done, so to avoid the emotional tears, Brides will often tell their parents to hold their thoughts until the reception. The only problem is that when the special moment passes, it often passes forever. Make sure you have your makeup artist on-hand for a final touch-up just before you leave for the church. That way, there’s no excuse to miss out on the heart-wrenching words you’ll share with your nearest and dearest.

3. Meals for the Bridal Party

You will probably be too nervous to think about eating on your Big Day, but not only is it important to make sure you delegate time for your meals, but you need to organise food for your Bridal Party. Start with a light breakfast of easy-to-eat foods (think cut fruit, pastries and juice), have protein balls, nuts and museli bars on-hand for snacking and arrange finger food for lunch (sushi, mini sandwiches). Your Bridesmaids and Groomsmen need to be on their A-team and no one can perform at their best when hungry!

4. Options for Guests

Generally, your guests will have a few hours to kill between the ceremony and the reception and it always tends to be an awkward amount of time – too short to travel home, but too long to wait at the reception venue. Make sure you give your guests some suggestions of things to do while they’re waiting for the party to kick on. Suggest local pubs, shopping centres, parks and restaurants so that they can decide what will suit them best.

5. Wedding Day Time-Sheet

If you don’t have a Wedding Planner, this is something you have to do yourself. Organise a basic run-sheet for your Big Day including who’s taking on the role of MC (if anyone), what time each of the speeches are (and in what order), when you want the first dance and when you’d like the cake cutting. Print this out and provide to your venue manager, MoH and any of the guests who are speaking throughout the night.

6. Delegating Someone to Take

After the reception, there will probably be leftover flowers, bomboniere, stationary, gifts and cake – and it’s not something you and the Groom should have to worry about. Ask a family member or friend to be responsible for boxing up the leftover Wedding Day goodies and transporting it back to your home for you. This will save you from trying to coordinate a Wedding night pack-up while you’re still in your Wedding Dress!

7. The Overnight Bag

Caught up in the pre-Wedding rush means you often forget the little things, like packing an overnight bag with a pair of PJs, your cleansers and moisturisers, shampoo and conditioner and makeup. You’ll want to leave your hotel in the morning as fresh as possible, so having all your favourite beauty products is a must (it’s probably a good idea to pack some aspirin too!).

Main image from Teresa and Saul’s Wedding. Photography by Michael Segal Photography.