What should be in a Wedding Emergency Kit?
While you certainly don’t want to expect for an emergency to happen on your wedding day, it’s always a great idea to be prepared for one to happen. The best way I have found to prepare for a number of different scenarios is to bring along my emergency kit to every wedding I coordinate. Here’s what I have in mine, and some of the benefits of bringing it along with me.
Everyone knows that planning your wedding can become overwhelming. Between responding to vendor emails, doing DIY decor, going to dress fittings, and anything wedding related, the stress of wedding planning can make it easy to overlook some of the smaller details until it becomes too late. Not only can having an emergency kit fix the smaller (or larger) issues, it can help provide peace of mind that everything will run smoothly on your wedding day.
What should be in a wedding day Emergency Kit?
While we can’t predict every single scenario that could happen on wedding day, there are a few “must haves” that I like to include in my emergency kit:
First Aid Kit (bandaids, gauze, alcohol pads, etc.)
This is great to have in the case of any minor cuts, bumps, bruises, etc.
Curling Iron
Hairspray
Pads & Tampons
Sometimes Mother Nature can be unpredictable
Sewing Kit
Bobby Pins
Hair Ties
Deodorant/Antiperspirant
I keep travel sized deodorants in my kit, both for men & for women!
Q-Tips
Dental Floss
Travel Toothbrush & Toothpaste
Ibuprofen, Tylenol, & heartburn/anti nausea medications
Portable Phone Charger
Scissors
Wire Cutters
This is my most used item in my emergency kit. Regular scissors won’t cut through the metal wires in artificial florals, but these cut through like butter! We have also used them to cut zip ties while hanging arbor decor, and anything else that might need a bit of extra power to cut through.
Superglue
Small Snacks (like granola bars, crackers, etc.)
Odd ball things to keep in your Emergency Kit
While working weddings, there have been some out-of-the-norm scenarios that I’ve encountered that I unfortunately didn’t have a plan for packed away in my emergency kit. Every bump in the road showed me what I may need to plan for at the next wedding, and in turn helped me be more prepared for the future! Here’s some examples of things you may not think of, but are also highly beneficial to plan for:
Cake Cutting Utensils
Crochet Hook
I learned this the hard way at my own wedding! Sometimes wedding dresses will come with teeny tiny looped buttons, and a crochet hook can be a life (and time) saver. It took my mom roughly 20 minutes to get all of the looped buttons on my wedding dress fastened
Garter
Boutonnière pins
Hot Glue Gun
For any last minute decor fixes
Wet wipes
Chalk/Chalk Markers
For writing on reserved signs, or to cover up a stain on your wedding dress
Extra Pens
A bride once forgot to bring pens for guests to sign her guest book, so I now keep high quality black gel pens in my emergency kit
Nail Polish Remover
Nail Clippers & File
In case someone breaks a nail
Lighters
For sparkler grand exits
Safety Pins
Having an emergency kit at your wedding can eliminate lots of stress, and can make your special day run so much smoother. We make it a priority to bring our emergency kit to every wedding that we plan and coordinate, and it has truly been a life and time saver in some instances.
Having a plan and the tools for if things go wrong can be the deciding factor between a chaotic day, or a trouble free day! Ask your wedding planner if they provide an emergency kit. If they don’t, I would highly encourage you to make one for yourself to bring along with you. It truly can make all the difference!
