Wedding Ideas

Bridal Hacks

Posted on June 17, 2019 by Allison Dupree

If your wedding planning is going perfectly, then you’re one of the rare lucky ones! For everyone else, there’s bound to be a hiccup or two. With the help of our experts and our brides-to-be, we’ve come up with a list of “bridal hacks” to help make planning your day just a little bit easier!

Elise and Ben at Crystal Plaza

Order a ring sizer. If your fiancĂ© picked out your gorgeous ring and had it sized absolutely perfectly, then they deserve some sort of award. Typically your ring might be a little loose, and thats okay! Getting one of these can be a temporary fix since your hands do change size due to seasons or possibly pregnancy down the road. They’re a quick and not permanent and easy to use!

Number your RSVP cards. When creating your guest list, number each person/invitation with a different number. Then once it’s time to mail out the invites, write the corresponding number on the back of your RSVP card. You can do this in pencil, pen or blacklight pen (so no one can see it with the naked eye). If you get a mysterious, nameless card, all you have to do is flip it over and cross check with your spreadsheet!

Bring chalk. We took photos outside and during the photos my dress got a little dirty in some spots and my bridal attendant cleaned my dress and then rubbed chalk over the dirty spots and they disappeared. It was the best thing I packed in my emergency kit!—Real story from Amanda

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Kimberly and Patrick at The Ryland Inn

Money tips. There are so many ways to regain money from your wedding! Lots of brides use Ebates, which sends you money from the purchases you’ve made quarterly. A lot of credit cards offer cash back or some sort of reward for using them, which can be a great way to start your finances as a couple. Apps that help you save or track your savings are also a great way to keep your budget in tack.

Facebook marketplace. If you’re like me, you have lots of things in your home you don’t need anymore. So maybe that can help you in the long run! Lots of people try to sell mirrors or other potential wedding items to make a few bucks, and you can take advantage of the inexpensive items.

Separate email address. As I write this post, my main (nonwork) email address has 18,000 “junk” emails in it. Do I need to do some cleaning out? Absolutely. But this is a great reminder to make a separate wedding-only email address. This way, you and your fiancĂ© can access it and it doesn’t get mixed up with all of your junk mail and forwarded chain emails from your grandma.

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Megan and Bryan at The Berkeley Oceanfront

Clean your ring with vodka. Need to brighten up your gorgeous diamond before a party or event? Submerge your ring in a shot glass of vodka (no need to use the good stuff!) for a few minutes. Rinse it under cool water and dry it with a lint-free cloth. For more cleaning tips, click here.

Spray-tan trial run. I get it, you want to be tan for your big day. I am pale as anything so I would want to do the same. My #1 tip, do a trial run weeks or months before your big day. If you’re a spray-tan pro, you can totally stick to your regular regimen, but still do a trial of your wedding-day color weeks before. If your wedding spray tan is going to be your first, I suggest getting it done once, if not twice, leading up to the day! That way you can learn proper care and life skills relating to it. Also, it’s important to note that there is a slight chance your tan could run onto your dress. Talk to your artist about it so you’re prepared for anything. And tell your makeup artist you’re going to be tanner than you were at your trial!

Save-the-dates. Not necessarily a hack, but a solid piece of advice. If you’re not 100% sure you want someone at your wedding, don’t send them a save-the-date. If you send one and then don’t send an invitation, that can cause a rift in the friendship/relationship that might be hard to repair. Guests will be thrilled to receive an invite even if they don’t have a save the date, so err on the side of caution when sending them out!

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