Top Tips for Brides: Getting Ready on your Wedding Day
With the UK currently marking National Spa Week, we thought we’d share some of our top tips for brides getting ready on their wedding day! The hours leading up to the ceremony are emotionally charged, as you spend time with those closest to you, get dressed up together, and prepare to walk down the aisle. It’s only natural to experience pre-wedding nerves, but with a little careful planning, the memories you make during this time can be among the most cherished from your wedding day.
1. Allow plenty of time
If there’s one piece of advice to stick to when planning the morning of your wedding day, it’s to allow more time than you think you’ll need! If things run to schedule, this will allow ample time to get to the venue, enabling you to relax before the ceremony, rather than frantically looking at your watch and rushing to get there. It will also allow you to spend quality, quiet moments with your bridal party ahead of the ceremony. If you’ve only planned just enough time to get ready and something takes longer than expected, this can throw the schedule off track, putting you under pressure and stress, limiting your enjoyment of the moment.
2. Location, location, location!
Where will you get ready? The choices open to you may depend on your venue – our wedding packages include accommodation in The Pipers’ Tryst Hotel, and our rooms are ideal to get ready in, especially if you’re holding your ceremony with us. Perhaps you live nearby your ceremony venue and would like to leave from your home to go to the ceremony? Wherever you decide to get ready, you should ideally choose a space that will comfortably accommodate you and your bridal party, and anyone you’ve hired to assist on the day, from make-up artists to photographers. Having ample space allows you to relax, and reduces the chances of feeling on top of one another.
3. The Dress
The bridal gown needs time to breathe before you wear it, so it’s important that you take it out of its container to hang it up – ideally away from any food or drinks! This will not only allow any creases to fall out naturally, but the dress on its hanger is a lovely shot for your photographer to take ahead of the ceremony.
4. Hair & Make-Up
Whether you’ve decided to do your hair and make-up by yourself, asked a trusty bridesmaid to help, or hired professionals, allocating plenty of time for this is a guaranteed way to reduce stress levels on the morning of your wedding! It’s also a good idea to have a full make-up and hair trial before the big day to make sure you’re happy with the look. If you get unexpected results on the day it can be a major source of stress, especially if you’re unhappy and haven’t scheduled enough time to allow for alterations.
If you have a large bridal party, it’s also worth considering their requirements – when hiring help, some brides try and cut costs by only having one hairstylist and one make-up artist to work on everyone, but it’s best not to cram in this way. A good rule of thumb is to allow 30-45 minutes for hair and the same amount of time for make-up for the mother of the bride and per bridesmaid. For the bride, it’s recommended to increase the allocated time for each step to 60-90 minutes. If it seems as though you may be squeezed for time from the outset, then it’s a good idea to ask your stylists if they’ll be able to bring an assistant, and query any additional charges that may be incurred for this.
5. Invite your Photographer
There are a host of lovely moments to capture whilst getting ready – from the bride having her make-up applied, to close-up details of bouquets or buttonholes. Following the wedding, these photographs will allow you to share and reflect on your final moments before starting your new life together. In order to do this it’s a good idea to book your photographer to arrive around an hour before you’re ready to leave.
6. Travelling to the Ceremony
If you need to travel to your venue, then it’s best to allocate double the time it would usually take to get there to allow for any traffic. Should the roads be busy, this will allow you to still arrive on time, and if not, gives you an extra few minutes to gather yourself before making your walk up the aisle. Take a deep breath, let the moment soak in, and enjoy!
If you'd like to find out more about getting married at The National Piping Centre, contact us on 0141 353 5551 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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