Emergency Wedding Kit – Why and What?
Emergency wedding kit – is it really necessary to have one? What goes into one?
Why do you need a kit?
To answer the first question, I would say definitely yes! Everyone wants their wedding day to go off without incident, but let’s face it, stuff happens! An emergency wedding kit is a little bit of a safety net, a metaphorical insurance policy against a few scenarios. Personally if I know that I have things covered I relax and sleep better – very important before your wedding!
Have you considered some of the things that could go wrong or happen on the day? Without wishing to alarm you, here are a few things to think about:
- Heatwave
- Torn clothing; buttons coming off; zip breaking
- Wilting flowers
- Hayfever; minor cuts; insect bites etc
- Stains on pale clothing (e.g. red wine on a wedding dress)
- Bad breath
What goes into an Emergency Wedding Kit?
Let’s break this down into a few different areas to make it less overwhelming.
Personal Kit
Ladies are generally used to carrying a handbag on a daily basis so it’s not much different to that. They can be a bit of a Bermuda Triangle where things go in and aren’t seen again for months! However a little bridal handbag or clutch bag could hold:
- Hair grips, comb, mini hairspray
- Makeup touch up kit, mini perfume
- Tissues, feminine hygiene products
- Breath mints
- Portable straw for drinking (protect your lipstick!)
- Any essential medication
Men are not perhaps used to carrying a whole load of items around with them. However, a comb, breath mints and essential medication in an inside pocket shouldn’t spoil the line of a suit.
For Guests
Why not set up a Care Kit in the cloakrooms for guests to access if they need to. This could include:
- Painkillers, anit-histamine tablets, indegestion tablets, plasters, blister plasters
- Comb, hairspray, hair grips in a couple of colours
- Mouthwash, mints, dental floss
- Hand lotion, hand sanitiser
- Insect repellant, antihistamine cream, sunscreen
- Spray on deodorant, feminine hygiene products, tissues
- Nail file, scissors, tweezers
- Spare tights
For Practicalities
It might be worth asking your venue if they have an emergency wedding kit already, if so what’s in it? This will save you having to get absolutely everything. If you have a wedding planner or co-ordinator they may well have their own kit. Again, worth asking what’s in it! Anything you bring for your own kit should be left somewhere accessible in a hurry or with a trusted attendant.
- Scissors, sewing kit
- Blu tack, double sided tape, sticky tape, body/clothing tape, safety pins, hem tape
- Clear nail polish
- Stain remover stick, white chalk for covering up marks on pale clothing
- Floral snips, floral wires, floral tape, ivory ribbon, button hole pins, mini magnets for button holes
- Lighters for candles
- Extra tea lights, batteries, candles
- Umbrellas – for rain or shine
- Universal phone charger and USB plug
- Emergency cash
- Suppliers contact details, wedding day schedule
- First Aid Kit
- Wet wipes
- Black sacks – not only for rubbish, but make a great makeshift long dress protector!
Here at Great Betley Farmhouse we have many of the items on this list.
I’ve lost count of the number of buttonholes I’ve had to pin/sew in place. One bride was taken out to the ceremony on the field in my car with her dress protected by a black sack! It was a very wet day and we had to keep the dress clean. Foot holes were made in the bottom of a black sack for her to step into. Then the bag was pulled up over the bottom of the dress.
I hope that this has helped, and not scared the beejeezus out of you – definitely not the intention! If you think of something I haven’t put on here, drop me a comment below.
Have you got a copy of our Handy Wedding Organiser yet? If not then click here to get your copy!
Happy planning!
