weddings

A separate email and 'Spanx with a flap': 25 genius wedding tips for brides-to-be.

No matter how many bridal magazines you read or planning apps you download, it's always a good idea to hear first-hand advice from brides that came before you.

They've had their big day, most likely dealt with mishaps, and will have a few pieces of wisdom to share to help yours run more smoothly.

While attending a pre-wedding party for her close friends Simon Huck and Phil Riportella over the weekend, Kim Kardashian shared her own wedding day tip.

"Right when you're done and [have your] kiss, the [officiant] is always in the back of the picture or there's a microphone right there," she told the couple, according to ET Online.

Her advice was to "clear the way" and move the officiant to the side for the big first kiss moment. Otherwise "it ruins all the pictures and sometimes that's all you got."

This actually... makes so much sense.

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Video via Mamamia.

Off the back of her advice, we asked 25 women to share their own wedding day tips. 

From one bride to another, here's all the intel you need ahead of your big day.

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1. "Create a new email address for all wedding-related admin. There's so much back-and-forth communication that clogs up your personal inbox. Plus, it means that you and your partner can easily both be across all the wedding correspondence (because typically suppliers will only email the bride... even if you supply both of your contact details)." - Jess.

2. "Give your phone to a close friend or bridesmaid for the day so that when you’re getting ready you’re not getting text messages asking you 'what time does it start?' Or 'where should we park?'" - Kelly.

3. "Flowers to fanny. Everyone holds the bouquets too high and you can't see the dress in pictures." - Cass. 

4. "Do a 'first look' or get ready together because it means you spend time together and it's fun for the entire bridal party! It's becoming more and more popular, with the traditional 'can't see him before' going out the window." - Amy.

5. "Choose bridesmaids' dresses that have pockets so there's always a lipstick, tissues or snack nearby." - Sherry.

6. "Do the photos pre-ceremony. You get a beautiful first look photo, you get to do photos before your makeup gets ruined in the ceremony and while your hair still looks amazing, and best of all, there's no big gap in the middle of the day where the bridal party take off for photos and the guests stand around and get drunk!" - Rhiana.

7. "'Reverse kangaroo' when you need to wee. Instead of backing up to the toilet, straddle it legs towards the wall so your dress doesn’t get in the loo." - Sarah.

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8. "If you have a large group of close friends, don’t shy away from having just one bridesmaid or none. I just had my sister and it was great. Very straightforward and no drama, plus, all my friends could relax and enjoy the day much more as guests." - Stephanie.

9. "Choose comfortable shoes and make sure you wear them in a little at home. There’s a lot of walking for photos." - Sherin.

10. "If you have an over-keen mum or mother-in-law who likes to get too involved with your plans, delegate jobs so they feel important and still part of the process. Picking and organising the cake, booking wedding cars… anything you don’t need full control on and can let them get busy with!" - Melanie.

11. "Have a signature cocktail or drink (something that will remind you and your guests of your wedding day) as the bonbonniere. Half the guests forget to take home the bonbonniere, but they don't forget to drink the cocktail or drink!" - Amy.

12. "Don't get so hung up on the little things - it really doesn't matter if the white flowers are carnations instead of roses! Things like that often put brides in a bad mood and they can't move past it. Nobody else is going to know or care so it's really not worth the stress." - Madeline.

13. "Have kids' colouring books and stickers for the reception. Weddings are boring for kids and all the parents appreciated it!" - Melissa.

14. "The couple should carve out some time during the reception to step out of the wedding and look in from the outside. The day goes SO quickly and is a blur, but that one moment of peace and calm where it's just the two of you looking in at the wedding you have created and seeing all your people happy is my lasting memory from my wedding." Madeline.

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15. "Get your groom to buy two white shirts in case he sweats through the first one during the ceremony due to nerves, so then your photos afterwards don't have sweaty bat wings!" - Amy.

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16. "Have a full list of all the photos you want. We had two photo stations with my family and my husband's family. We went between each station while a family member set up the next photo so we didn’t waste time getting people organised - it cut the photo time down by so much." - Sarah-Jane.

17. "Choose a 'bridesmaid' dress and order it in white. Way cheaper!" - Chloe.

18. "Allocate some time during your wedding run sheet for you and your new spouse to slip away to a private room where there's a nice cheese platter and some drinks for you to scoff on while you have a moment to say 'holy sh*t we're married!' It'll likely be the only time you get just the two of you on the day, so soak it up!" - Katie.

19. "No matter what, don’t take that sleeping tablet the night before. I learnt that one the hard way... I don’t remember the beautiful champagne breakfast and was basically a zombie for most of the day... but it did wear off just in time for the ceremony and reception, thank goodness!" - Claire.

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20. "Get the Spanx with the flap so you don’t have to try and get your underwear on and off throughout the day." - Sarah.

21. "Have all your guests put their phones and cameras away for the ceremony. It's a much better experience for everyone. Plus, the photographer is going to get better photos than they can, anyway!" - Melissa.

22. "Make time to eat. Get your bridal party to save some canapes for you. I spent so much time and money curating the menu and then hardly ate any of it." - Isobel.

23. "Spend the night together before the wedding! There's so much pressure on the wedding night, and you’re honestly exhausted. I didn’t even take my makeup off before falling asleep." - Nikki.

24. "Don’t spend too much time having staged family photos. They’re honestly the most boring pics and it’s so stressful trying to wrangle all-the-cousins-on-the-mothers-side, etc." - Lisa.

25. "My best advice is pretty obvious, but just to remember that it's YOUR day! Every wedding I've been to (including my own) involved some drama with the mother, mother-in-law, siblings or bridesmaids. If you give in to them to 'keep the peace' you'll only look back on it with regret later." - Siobhan.

Do you have any wedding day tips to add? Share them in the comments below.

Feature image: Getty.

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