During 11 years and 260+ weddings, we’ve seen some shit. The list below is a list of the most common things people wish they had on the big day that they, unfortunately, didn’t.

1. The Travel Sewing Kit.

When the bride busts a button (hows that for alliteration) doing the Dougie (hahaha 2x), this can be a lifesaver. Also great for bustling a dress or the unfortunate instance where a groomsman splits his pants.  Yes, all situations that have happened.  Chances are someone around you knows how to sow.  Just start asking.

2. Safety Pins

It should come as no surprise, that sometimes when Uncle Bob has had one too many, the pants must be unbuttoned. Safety Pin to the rescue. There are a million other reasons that safety pins come in handy from fixing broken zippers, acting as makeshift tailors, or taking the place of buttons on the big day.

3. Tide Pen

This addition needs no explanation.  From cabernet to coffee, the Tide Pen has saved countless bridesmaids dresses, cocktail gowns, blazers, and ties over the years.

4. Baby Powder

Garter belt riding up your leg?  Getting chafed by your super tight trendy pants. Break out the baby powder. Funny enough, it also thickens eyelashes, soothes eczema and for you beach wedding fans, makes cleaning off stuck-on-sand a breeze.

5. Command Hooks

A dozen bridesmaids, mom, maid of honor, grandma, and posse crammed into the bridal suite?  Run out of closet space to hang all the dresses?  This turns any flat surface into a portable hanger. Want to hang all 11 bridesmaids dresses in a row for a pretty picture?  Yep, you guessed it, you need these.

6. Duck Tape

From fixing a wedding ceremony sign the wind blew over to holding together the fondue fountain, there are about a million and one uses for duck tape on the wedding day. My favorite memory is a groomsman doing the worm across the dancefloor who got his hand caught in a crevice creating a pretty sizable cut on his finger. That wasn’t about to stop the party and he walked around with two fingers duck tapped together for the rest of the evening.

7. White / Clear Umbrellas

Yes, we know your big day is going to be all sunshine and butterflies, but unfortunately, we do a fair number of weddings where for at least part of the day, that’s not the case. A clear, classy umbrella works wonders and looks great in pictures.

8. Travel Pack Tissues

Almost a no-brainer. Without fail, the following people will be balling at some point in the day: bride, maid of honor, father of the bride, mother of the groom, several bridesmaids, groom, family members, half the congregation. Buy several packs and put them in a basket at the back of the church. This simple fix has saved many a bridesmaid’s mascara.

9. Lip Balm

Chapstick works, or EOS if you’re trying to be bougie. Especially my winter wedding ladies, taking bridal party photos in the cold and wind can really do a number on those lips. Best to be prepared.

10. Toe Nail Clipper

Note I said TOE nail clipper.  Please don’t have some rinky-dink piece of **** that can’t clip a thread.  You need the industrial-looking machine for when the best man, barefoot, pulls half a toenail off super manning around the dancefloor.  Also all you ladies in your open-toed shoes have had so many hangnails I’ve lost count. Definitely a must.

11. Medicine

For most people, this will be some kind of Advil, Pepto, or Tums grab bag, but everyone has certain medications that they tend to need (and not have) on the big day.  Zyrtec is another popular medication that comes in especially handy for those springtime outdoor ceremonies.

12. Bluetooth Speakers

There’s many brands out there, but we are partial to the UE Boom, Waterproof speaker.  It’s built like a tank, waterproof, has robust sound, and makes the 6 hours of hair and make up in the morning a lot more fun. Bridemaids take turns playing DJ.

13. Lots of Ones

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I know everyone gets by these days with Paypal and Venmo, but having cash on hand comes in really helpful for the wedding day.  For example: tipping the bellhop, the delivery driver for pizza, the girl who brought up your flowers, the Go-Puff driver for that 11pm Cookie Dough Ice Cream craving, the parking attendant for people’s vehicles at the hotel, the cleaning lady for your hotel suite. Cash for tips is definitely essential on the big day.

 14. Battery Packs

Trust me, someone’s phone will always be dying throughout the day and during all the festivities you will not always have an outlet nearby.

15. Water Bottle

There’s going to be a lot of picture taking and walking throughout the day, so it’s important to stay hydrated. Also, inevitably, the water bottle always makes its way into some of the pictures.  This looks much better than an empty Dassani bottle.

16. Double-Sided Tape

Many a Janet Jackson moment have been averted by a few strategic pieces of this magical stuff.  Great for strapless gowns, stick on cups, and other important areas.

17. Oil Blotting Sheets

These work wonders as a quick touch up before your on-camera moments.  Especially for those warmer spring/summer weddings.

18. First Aid Kit

Without fail, someone always gets a paper cut, sprains an ankle, pokes themselves with the boutonniere pin, or otherwise ends up with some other wound. I’m not kidding–every–single–wedding–at least one of the aforementioned injuries happens.

19. Surge Protector

Laugh now, but when there are not enough outlets for 9 bridesmaids to plug their hair dryers / curling irons / phones / straighteners / razors / clothing irons / clippers in on the day of the wedding, you will thank me. Matter of fact, while you’re at it, bring 2 of these bad boys.

20. A Hair Care Kit

Bobby pins, barrettes, and hair ties go a long way on windy wedding days to make sure your hair stays in place and your pictures turn out amazing.

21. Shoe Pads

So you bought the new Louboutin kicks for the big day, but haven’t broken them in?  Well, chances are there’s going to be some uncomfortable walking in the heels so these pads tend to do the trick. Great for brides, moms and bridesmaids alike.

22. Tampons

Chances are, it will be someone’s time of the month.  You don’t want a bridal party member wandering off to the local CVS on a desperate hunt for tampons in the middle of formal pictures.

23. Deodorant

Someone is always missing theirs so bring a few along.

24. Lint Roller

Especially if your pooch is going to be part of the wedding day, this is a must. A quick roll before formal pictures is also suggested to keep you looking fresh for those bridal party shots.

25. Handheld steamer

The steamer has made many an appearance on the wedding day. So much so, we’ve even taken some cool pictures of it in action.  Here’s a mother of the bride dutifully steaming the precious wedding dress.

26.  Earring Backs

This little known gem is a lifesaver for countless bridesmaids who spend precious minutes on the wedding day combing through their suitcase for the missing earring back.

27. Super Glue

Super Glue has just about as many uses as duck tape but the most common use on a wedding day is gluing crystals back on the bedazzled shoes or dress.

28. Snacks

We’ve seen this happen time and time again but on a day that is usually filled with eating and drinking, the bride and groom aren’t doing too much. It’s important to keep your carb intake sufficient on the wedding day so you don’t peter out halfway through.  So much of the day is taken up with formalities and entertaining your guests that the bride and groom usually spend little time eating.  Even during formal dinner service, normally half of it is spent as the bride and groom listen to several toasts and speeches. So snacks the day of the wedding is definitely a must.

29. Mints

You are going to be spending the entire day in very close proximity to hundreds of people. You will be talking, constantly, all day to those said people. Please do everyone a favor and occasionally pop a few of these.

30. Wipes

Need to do a “morning thunder” on the day of the wedding and don’t want to use the 1 ply hotel toilet paper?  Also useful for cleaning spills (think mimosas, juices, champagne), cleaning food, cleaning mud off of dress shoes, and a million and one other things that arise on the big day. Bring at least one pack of these.

And there you have it.  The 30 things you’ll wish you had on your wedding day.  Think of this as your wedding day emergency survival kit.  Save this article, and immediately get these items. Even if you only use half of them on the big day, it is infinitely better than not having them.  Trust us on this one.

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