When it comes to your wedding, all you do is plan. You search out for the perfect venue, curate the perfect menu, and plan out your guest list and where they are all going to sit, but there are always things that are going to come up on the day that you won’t expect. That is where a wedding emergency kit comes in handy.
Now, while each and every person may have different things in their kit based on what they may need and who is around them, there are a few staples that everyone should have at their wedding. There are also a few important things that you should bring if you are a photographer to help make sure you are able to capture your couple’s wedding exactly how you imagined.
So, what is in the perfect wedding emergency kit? Let’s take a look at what I think are the essentials (and the things that basically live in my car because of it).
What You Need in an Emergency Wedding Kit
A sewing kit
This is something that gets used ALL THE TIME. Buttons popping off, hems coming undone, small rips, and everything in between happens way more often than you would think. A small sewing kit with just the essentials will save the day and make sure you and all of your wedding party look their best as you walk down the aisle.
Double-sided fashion tape
Let’s be honest, when do clothes always fit just how we want them to? Even if you’ve tried on your outfits before and they looked perfect, little things can always come up that require some adjustments. Double-sided fashion tape is perfect for this and can help secure anything so you can dance the night away without a care in the world.
Bonus tip: Wear your wedding day undergarments when you go to your fittings. A lot of wedding day wardrobe malfunctions pop up because of this and wearing the same things to your fittings as your wedding day can help you avoid them!
Tampons
Weddings can be very stressful both for the people getting married and everyone taking part in the ceremonies. We have all been in that spot where we need something and just don’t have anything on hand, and you definitely don’t want that happening on your wedding day. Keeping just a few of these in a bag can end up being a lifesaver!
Hair ties and bobby pins
I know firsthand that your hair just doesn’t care what you are doing or how important the day is – it just has a mind of its own sometimes. Keeping extra hair ties and bobby pins around is a must and can help make getting ready a bit easier, but can also make sure every last piece of hair is exactly where you want it before you say I do.
As a photographer, I like to keep a big box with a variety of colors with me so regardless of your hair color, I’ve got you covered!
Crochet hook
Now, stay with me on this one. You may be thinking, why would I need a crochet hook? It’s not like I’m going to have time to do anything while we’re getting ready. But this isn’t for crocheting.
A crochet hook is a perfect tool to help cinch up those buttons on the back of your wedding dress that are just impossible. This makes it so easy and can help you get into your dress so much faster (and with way less stress!).
Tylenol
Tylenol, Advil, ibuprofen, whatever you prefer to use, should definitely be in your wedding emergency kit. While your wedding day is super exciting for you and everyone in your wedding party, the stress can definitely get to people sometimes, and no one is going to be having a great time if they have a terrible headache. I suggest getting some of the small travel-sized bottles of these medicines; that way, they don’t take up too much room, but you have enough to cover everyone!
Tums
Even if you’re not someone who normally would need Tums, I still definitely recommend adding these to your kit. Anxious and excited energy (and alcohol) can do a lot to your stomach, and no one wants to walk down the aisle with a stomach ache. Just like Tylenol or Advil, you should be able to find a small travel-sized bottle of Tums that you can add to your bag just in case you or anyone else needs them.
First aid kit
This is a must when it comes to your wedding emergency kit. Bandaids and blister cushions get used all the time. With all of the brand new clothes and shoes that everyone is most likely wearing, blisters, cuts, and chafing are super common, and even just a small first aid kit can really save the day and make sure that you aren’t in pain with every step in your shoes!
It’s also a good plan to opt for clear or skin tone bandaids. As much as I love Spongebob bandaids, your wedding day probably isn’t when you want to break them out (although I have had to photoshop plenty of vibrant bandaids out of photos before)!
Blotting Papers
Blotting papers can help absorb any excess oil on your skin and are perfect for final touch-ups and making sure you look and feel your best as you walk down the aisle. These are also pretty small, so they fit perfectly in your wedding emergency kit, and you can pack a good amount of them without taking up much space!
Tide Pens
As much as we try to be as careful as we can, small stains are bound to happen at some point while you are getting ready. Whether you get a little bit of makeup on a dress or your ring bearer drips some sauce on their shirt as they’re eating their chicken fingers, Tide Pens can really come in handy. Now, they most likely won’t erase the stain completely, but for most things that can happen on the wedding day, it’ll remove it enough that you won’t notice it, and you will still look as amazing as you always imagined!
Q-Tips
Q-Tips are great for last-minute touch-ups on makeup. We all know that someone is bound to start crying after all of their makeup is done, and these are super helpful when it comes to wiping away any runaway makeup before the ceremony starts.
Floss
Finally, we have floss. Super simple, but can really come in handy. I always recommend to my couples that they have some sort of food while they are getting ready because your wedding day is going to be long and it is really easy to forget to eat. But no one wants to take that with them down the aisle, so floss is the perfect final touch to round out your wedding emergency kit.
Photographer’s must-haves in their wedding emergency kits
Now, if you are a photographer, there are a few things that I highly recommend bringing to each of your weddings to make sure you are able to capture everything exactly how you imagined.
White wooden hangers
One of my favorite pre-wedding shots to get is of the wedding dress(es) hanging up all by itself. However, not all hangers were made for beautiful pictures like that. Having a few white (or neutral colored) wooden hangers that you can use just for the pictures will ensure you don’t end up with a cheap-looking wire hanger or a neon pink one in your photos!
A step stool
Regardless of how tall you are, step stools really come in handy when you are shooting a wedding, especially when you are taking detail shots and venue shots. We have all been there where we are trying to stretch our arms as far as they can go to get the perfect overhead shot of something on a table.
It is super exhausting and normally takes way more tries than it should. A small step stool that you can just fold up and carry around makes this way easier and gives you the perfect angle every time!
Ring boxes
While the couple is going to bring the rings, they don’t always bring ring boxes. While small jewelry pouches can be beautiful, I love having ring boxes that I can use in the detail shots to really showcase the rings.
I highly recommend finding ring boxes that look amazing but can also work for various types of weddings so that regardless of the vibe of the couple’s wedding, the ring boxes fit right in!
The Mrs Box is a great place to find these ring boxes. They have a ton of different colors and options to choose from so you can have a few different options on hand to match any wedding theme.
Clear umbrellas
Finally, clear umbrellas. Mother Nature does not care if it is someone’s wedding or not, and having clear umbrellas can make even the rainiest days magical. While other people are bound to have umbrellas somewhere in the car, you may end up with a mix of small ones, big ones, plain black ones, colorful floral ones, and the list goes on.
Having a few clear umbrellas is going to make the pictures look put together and beautiful, and you get the added beauty of the raindrops showing through the top of the umbrella!
Final Thoughts on Wedding Emergency Kits
When it comes to wedding emergency kits, there is no end to what you can include in them, but this list will definitely help cover you for most of the things that will come up on your wedding day! Now that you have the perfect wedding emergency kit, do you have the perfect photographer to capture your special day? If not, click here to get in touch and talk about how we can help make that happen!
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