Thanks to AC Lens for gifting An Alli Event with fabulous mother/daughter sunglasses for my daughter’s wedding. All opinions are my own. While the wedding is fresh on my mind, I want to share 5 things a bride needs for her outdoor wedding day.
We could not have asked for a more perfect weekend for my daughter’s wedding aboard a beautiful yacht in Charleston, SC. The weather was special ordered for the day and man, did it deliver. The bride was absolutely gorgeous and the food was scrumptious. My dancing wasn’t so bad either (according to whom you ask).
This past weekend, on May 14th, my “baby” girl and her new husband pledged their love to each other surrounded by close friends and family. A gentle breeze and a beautiful sunset added to the ambiance. It was magical! So many of the guests told us how very much they enjoyed the 3-hour wedding cruise.
The professional photographer’s photos haven’t arrived yet and I’m looking forward to seeing the video footage, especially from the overhead drone. Of course, I’ll be sharing those photos too.
The bride, her bridesmaids and I boarded the vessel early to get dressed and do makeup and all that good stuff, so I was able to snap a few candid photos of the bride and a selfie of myself BEFORE my hair was done. 🙂
Because we were on the yacht so early, the sun was blazing. It was the perfect time to surprise my daughter with beautiful Ray-Ban® Jackie Ohh sunglasses. She was thrilled! Thanks, AC Lens!
And my new Oakley Twentysix.2 Polarized were much appreciated as I was running up and down the three tiers making sure everything was running perfectly. The wedding planner had to tell me to go down to the bridal suite and relax, because all those things were taken care of by her. So I obeyed.
Here’s a sneak peek of the beautiful bride that my daughter snapped with her phone, in the bridal suite, minutes before she walked down the aisle. She was cool, calm and collected. Me, not as much.
This was my third and last daughter to be married. I’ve directed many weddings myself and I actually directed my other two daughter’s weddings with an assistant to help once I was seated. For the final daughter’s wedding, I didn’t want to do a thing on her wedding day so we had a for-real wedding planner.
We all know that a bride needs an emergency kit, all her stuff with her, etc. on the big day.
Here’s my list of 5 Things a Bride Needs for her Outdoor Wedding Day
1. WaterÂ
It’s so important to stay hydrated on the day of your wedding. Â With all the running around, sometimes the bride and the bridal party forgets to drink plenty of water. Trust me, you need lots of water on the day of your wedding. Our wedding planner made sure we had plenty of ice-cold water to sip on while having our makeup and hair done.
2. Â Food
The bride may be tempted to skip breakfast and lunch so that she’ll look all slim and trim in her gown. Don’t do it. You need to eat a balanced meal.
As the guests arrived aboard the yacht, they were served Hors d’Oeuvres during the 15 minute ride out to the spot where the marriage ceremony took place. Our caterer snuck some of those delicious appetizers down to the bridal suite so we could have a little tasting of our own.
3. Â Cool Place to Keep Flowers Â
An outdoor summer wedding in the south can be hot, hot hot. Once the florist delivers the flower bouquets, you need a cool place to keep them fresh and beautiful. You pay way too much for those beauties to have them wilt in the hot weather. Good thing our wedding planner took care of all of those little things. Isn’t my daughter’s bouquet beautiful? (My wrist corsage is next to the bouquet.)
4. Â Sunglasses
We didn’t wear sunglasses during the ceremony, since the top deck of the yacht had a nice covering. But before the ceremony was underway, everyone had on their shades. This is another thing I didn’t have to be concerned about, since AC Lens provided sunglasses for my daughter and me.
Helpful Hint: If you’re having an outdoor wedding, sunglasses are the perfect gift for your bridal party.
5. Â Wedding Planner
Our wedding planner, Ashley, went above and beyond her call of duty. She kept in contact with all of our vendors – florist, caterer, cake baker, etc. – throughout the planning stages and confirmed everything a few weeks before the wedding.
On the day of the wedding, Ashley handled everything and everyone and did it with joy, grace and lots of smiles. Before we disembarked at the end of a beautiful evening, I gave our wedding planner a big hug for handling everything with the finest of detail. Everyone fell in love with her. That’s the sign of a great planner.
Remember, if you’re planning an outdoor wedding, make sure you stay hydrated and keep those eyes protected from the sun.
What tips would you add to 5 Things a Bride Needs for her Wedding Day?
30 comments
How exciting for your daughter! Congratulations to them (and you)! She made a beautiful bride!
Yes, yes, yes to hiring a wedding planner. The mother of the bride will have so much of a better day with a wedding planning in place. Caitlin was a beautiful bride. I’m so glad it was a gorgeous day.
Those flowers are beautiful!
This is awesome! My bestie is having an outdoor wedding, so she’ll appreciate this little list! Sunglasses – I CANNOT forget those! Thanks!
That water looks so refreshing. And sunglasses are definitely essential for an outdoor wedding. I love the idea of giving glasses to the bridal party!!
How exciting! I love attending weddings but I remember with my own trip down the Isle it’s was more than a little overwhelming! Your daughters dress is gorgeous but what did you wear?!?!
Congratulations on adding a new son to your family 🙂
I love outdoor weddings. They are so beautiful and fun. Your daughter is such a beautiful bride. Congratulations!
Everything looked absolutely gorgeous. Congratulations to you and the bride. What an exciting place to get married, on a yacht.
My friend is having an outdoor wedding in October. I’m going to send this post to her so she gets a general idea of things that she should do for the outdoor wedding.
I would probably add sunscreen for the guests. Love your list, it is so perfect
How awesome to be married on a yacht!!! I love those shades, I lost my Ray Bans last year and have been trying to get another pair since. Her dress is gorgeous by the way! Congrats.
Outdoor weddings are so beautiful. I totally agree that sunglasses and food are a must. That dress is super lovely.
My daughter had a outdoor wedding and it was so much different planning it than planning an indoor wedding. Sunglasses are definitely a must.
Congrats to them both! A 3-hour wedding cruise sounds amazing! We had our weeding outdoors and our reception indoors.
These are all great ideas for a bride to have for an outdoor wedding for sure! Loving the beautiful dress.
I’m so glad I saw this. We’re actually finally “talking” about the wedding, and this is a great starting article, for me.
Those are some great shades! And your daughter looks amazing! So glad it was a wonderful weekend for all!
Great list and cute photos. Those sunglasses look really cool, would like to get a pair.
These are all indeed things for a bride for her outdoor wedding. It is important to have a cool place for the flowers so they don’t wilt. Sunglasses are a must at an outside wedding too. I love the idea of a drone for pictures by the way. Thanks for sharing the tips.
I really love outdoor weddings. Especially in the Spring. So pretty! Congrats to your daughter!
How gorgeous is your daughter! Love her gown and I do love Rayban shades. Definitely an accessory to remember for outdoor weddings.
1. Need A plan “b” for rain or grumpy weather- not only do guests and wedding party suffer but musicians will bail as it may ruin instruments
Beautiful wedding, gorgeous bride. Thanks for sharing
This is a great list of must-haves for the bride! Your pictures are absolutely wonderful; the bride looks beautiful! You definitely need to make sure you have sunglasses if you’re going to be outside for the wedding; no one wants to be squinting from the sun in their wedding photos. Great tips! Thanks for sharing!
Wow, this sounds like a gorgeous wedding, I can’t wait to check out the pictures your photographer took! This post gives some really useful and helpful information for those who are planning a wedding, or trying to get one underway. I do love the pictures that were taken through a regular camera; they do a great job of capturing all the fun, excitement, and beauty! Thanks so much for posting!
Congratulations on counting your 2 daughter’s weddings in the long list of those you’ve directed. Your organization skills must be very advanced.
You make a great point about keeping fed and hydrated; while these are simple tasks, they’re easily forgotten with all the running around and stress of the big day. It sounds like you really helped to ensure the best wedding possible, and these little snapshots were a joy to look at. Thanks for sharing!
Yes exactly these things are important, nevertheless considered as not important part of wedding day and here you are missing one thing that is actually a on-location professional makeup artist..
Thanks for sharing nice tips!
I’ve been into several weddings and the most common thing the brides are telling me is they tend to skip meals on their wedding. Some says it is due to excitement or being so busy in entertaining guests. This makes them exhausted after the wedding.
All things you mention are important and what i observe due to wedding excitement you forget to bring these essentials with you but i’m soo lucky that my friend already did all this for me 🙂
A good Wedding planner is so important to make your day hassle free and even more beautiful i especially concentrate on it to make my special day more special.
Thanks for writing to help upcoming bridals.
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