The Belle's Hackbook

The final big day that you tie the knot on may look effortless in its execution, but only those who have been through these as brides or bridesmaids will truly know exactly how many things can go wrong. But having said that, being prepared is not all that difficult!

CREATE A PINTEREST BOARD

For all the inspirations you have ever wanted and will ever need, this is your one stop destination. Create boards for wedding inspiration and save everything you want to incorporate into your wedding. The plus side of this is you can easily share this with your wedding planners as well as others.

PERSONALISATION

For those looking to stand out, personalisation goes a long way to that end. Personalised glasses and cutlery, or organised seating for your guests, according to social groups, or simply as part of the bride or the groom parties, are great ideas.

On a more personal note, bespoke and monogrammed accessories, like shoes for the couple, engraved rings or watches, etc look great, and work as a memento. Monroe Shoes also create customised shoes and is a great place to check some out.

THE DREAM DRESS

This is the one dress you will remember for the rest of your life, and maybe the one dress you will be photographed in most as well. We expect you already have pictured exactly how you want to look like on the day and Dhaka has many designers who can guide you. But contact them ASAP because they will most likely be booked during the wedding season.

BRING THE BLING

For your wedding jewellery, decide what you will be wearing from the very beginning. While both your parents and in-laws will have their preferences, remember how much you can actually wear on the day of the event. If you are lucky (and energetic enough!) to have multiple events, then you can spread them out. In case you have just the one event, the rule of thumb is not look like a decked out jewellery store! 

FLOWERS

Select flowers for the venues and for yourself. If you are planning on wearing any floral jewellery, tie in the decoration theme as well, to avoid any clashes or overpowering of your outfit. 

AVOID EXPERIMENTS

Now is the worst time to experiment with yourself, even if it is two months before the wedding. Be it a daring hair colour or hair style, keep it for a later date after you are done with the events. Mess-ups right now will be tough to cover up, best to avoid it all together. One experiment that you can do is get your mehndi patterns tested out a month beforehand.

EMERGENCY KIT

On the day, to save yourself from sudden disasters, keep a bridal emergency kit handy, on your person or with a close associate.

Have a tiny sewing kit with needles, thread, safety pins, and super-glue. These can save your dress, or shoes from sudden mishaps. Don't forget a makeup kit for touch ups as well as a medical kit and a personal hygiene kit for emergencies.

PRE-PACK FOR THE HONEYMOON

Chances are you will be setting off to your honeymoon destination right after the events end, so pre-pack at least a week ahead. You will be super swamped with invitations later on, not to mention will hardly have any energy left to pack properly.

GIFTS OF APPRECIATION

Prepare gifts for the close ones who have been there for you and helped you to prepare for the biggest night of your lives; focus on something that has actual utility. Prepare gift bags for all the children involved so they do not feel like their efforts went to waste.

BE CAUTIOUS

If you are going for an outdoors wedding, make sure you are not wearing pencil heels, try something heavier like a block heel or a wedge. Another thing to keep in mind is your outfit and whether it is likely to get stuck on the grass. In such cases, carpet certain places like a runway of sorts and make sure to only be on those areas.

GIFT ADDRESSES

Mention in the invitations for gifts to be sent directly home (with a shipping address if it's a destination wedding) or you can ask the guests to send cash or kind to your favourite charity.

Photo: Prito Reza, Wedding Diary Bangladesh

(www.facebook.com/weddingdiarybd)

See page 18 for our wedding checklists for the mother-s and the father-s