How to Make the Most of Your Wedding Morning

Image Credit: Vanessa Bryson Photography

You may not give too much thought to your wedding morning at first. When you’re planning your wedding, it’s easy to focus on the ceremony, wedding breakfast, speeches and evening celebrations. But those first few hours deserve some attention too.

There’s something really special about the build-up before a wedding. The dresses and suits are ready, the flowers arrive, music is playing and the people closest to you are all together, knowing that in just a few hours you’ll be saying “I do”.

At Larkspur Lodge, we regularly see couples delighting in their wedding mornings. And our biggest piece of advice is to give yourself enough time to enjoy yours. With a little planning beforehand, your morning can feel exciting without becoming rushed, giving you the chance to take everything in before the celebrations begin.

Think about where you want to get ready

One of the first things to decide is where you’ll spend your wedding morning.

Some couples choose to get ready at home or at one of the hotels near their venue, while others prefer to get ready on site. There’s no right answer, but it’s worth thinking about the practicalities as well as the atmosphere you want.

If you’re getting ready elsewhere, consider how long the journey to your ceremony will take and allow extra time for traffic. You’ll also need to think about how everyone else is getting there, particularly if several members of your wedding party are travelling together.

Getting ready at your wedding venue can remove some of those logistical concerns. At Larkspur Lodge, The Loft is our dedicated preparation space, designed specifically with the wedding morning in mind. With plenty of natural light, beauty stations and comfortable seating, there’s room to get ready with the people you’ve chosen to spend those first few hours with.

And, perhaps most importantly, once you arrive, you can settle in knowing there’s nowhere else you need to be.

Give yourself more time than you think

Wedding mornings have a habit of disappearing incredibly quickly.

Hair and make-up can take longer than expected, someone will inevitably need help fastening a dress or finding an earring, and your photographer will want time to capture those little moments happening around you.

Creating a realistic timeline beforehand makes everything feel much easier.

So, speak to your hair and make-up team about how long they’ll need for everyone and work backwards from the time you need to be ready. 

We’d always recommend building in a little extra time too, because finishing early means you can enjoy a celebratory drink, have photographs taken or simply sit down for ten minutes. Finishing late usually means rushing through a part of the day you should be enjoying.

That extra half an hour can make a surprisingly big difference.

Keep your wedding morning group personal

Getting ready with your closest friends and family can be one of the loveliest parts of your wedding day. But that doesn’t necessarily mean everyone needs to be there.

Think about who you genuinely want around you that morning. You might love the idea of a room filled with bridesmaids, family, music and conversation, or you may prefer something quieter with just a handful of people.

There’s no need to invite people into the preparations simply because you think you should. Choose the people who will make you feel comfortable, offer help when you need it and add to the excitement rather than the pressure.

It’s your wedding morning, so make it one you’ll actually enjoy.

Get the practical things sorted beforehand

There are plenty of small jobs that can unexpectedly eat into your time on the morning itself, so anything you can organise beforehand is worth doing.

Have your outfit, shoes, jewellery and accessories together and ready. Remove labels and stickers, make sure shirts have been ironed and check that everything you need has actually made it to the venue.

If your photographer is capturing detail shots, you might also want to keep your invitations, perfume, jewellery and any other special items together so they can easily be photographed without someone having to search for them.

The same goes for anything that needs to make its way downstairs later in the day. If there are cards, gifts or personal items that need to be passed to someone, decide who is responsible for them in advance.

It sounds simple, but getting those little jobs out of the way leaves much more room to savour the morning.

Remember to eat something

Breakfast can easily become an afterthought when there’s so much happening around you.

So, even if you’re too excited for a full breakfast, make sure you eat something and keep water nearby throughout the morning. Depending on the time of your ceremony, it could be several hours before you sit down for your wedding breakfast.

It’s also worth thinking about food for the rest of your wedding party, particularly if everyone has been up early for hair and make-up.

You can still enjoy that celebratory glass of fizz, of course, but you’ll thank yourself later for having breakfast first.

Choose a playlist for the morning

Music can completely change the atmosphere of a room, and your wedding morning is no exception.

Putting together a playlist beforehand is such a simple way to make those few hours feel more like part of the celebration. You might choose songs that remind you of nights out with your friends, old favourites you all know the words to, or something more relaxed if you want to keep the atmosphere gentle.

A wedding morning playlist is one of those extra details that can become unexpectedly memorable. Hearing those songs, even years later, can transport you straight back to your wedding morning.

Leave room for photographs

Remember, your wedding photography doesn't begin at the ceremony.

The morning can provide some of the most natural images of the entire day, from finishing touches to reactions when someone sees you dressed and ready for the first time.

If these photographs are important to you, speak to your photographer about what you’d like captured. They may want to photograph your outfit before you put it on, shoot some of the smaller details you’ve chosen, or take a few portraits once everyone is ready.

Natural light makes a real difference here, which is one of the reasons we designed The Loft at Larkspur Lodge to feature plenty of it.

And always bear in mind that some of the best photographs happen when everyone forgets the camera is there, so the morning shouldn’t feel like one big photo session.  

Make time for a moment to yourself

With people coming and going, hair and make-up in progress and plenty of excitement in the room, wedding mornings can be busy.

You can slow things down by finding a moment to take everything in before you head to your ceremony. 

You might want a quiet moment by yourself once you’re dressed, or perhaps you’d rather spend it with a parent, sibling or close friend. It doesn’t have to be anything formal. Just five minutes away from the activity can give you a chance to appreciate what’s about to happen.

Try to be present for the whole experience, because the day really does go quickly.

Don’t worry if everything isn’t perfectly on schedule

You can create the most detailed wedding morning timeline imaginable and something will probably still take five minutes longer than planned. That’s completely normal.

A missing button or slightly delayed bouquet doesn’t need to change the atmosphere of your morning. If you’ve allowed plenty of time and have an experienced team around you, most little hiccups can be dealt with without becoming part of your worry.

This is also where having a venue team you trust makes a difference. Once you’re at Larkspur Lodge, our team will concentrate on everything happening around the venue while you focus on getting ready and enjoying time with loved ones.

Enjoy the build-up

There’ll be plenty of big moments later in your wedding day, but don’t overlook the quieter ones that happen before the ceremony.

What do we mean here? Well, the first time your wedding party sees you ready, for instance.  Or the last-minute check in the mirror. Maybe hearing your guests begin to arrive downstairs will stay with you, or that slightly surreal moment when you realise the wedding you’ve spent months planning is actually about to happen.

Those are all part of your day too.

A little advance organisation means you can spend less of your wedding morning watching the clock and more of it enjoying the excitement.

At Larkspur Lodge, The Loft gives you your own dedicated space to get ready before your celebration begins, with the rest of the venue just downstairs waiting for you. If you’re starting to imagine your own wedding morning with us, download our brochure or book a viewing. We’d love to show you around.

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