A wedding day emergency kit is a small bag of fixes for the things that go wrong on most wedding days: a pulled thread, a sweaty forehead, a blister, a stain, a dead phone, a shower of rain. Pack it in the final week, split it between two or three people, and make sure neither of you is the one carrying it.
Below: who carries what, a core kit, lists for the bride, the groom, Asian outfits and the evening, and the items that matter most on camera. It sits alongside our month-by-month wedding planning checklist.
The short answer: pack safety pins, a sewing kit, fashion tape, plasters, painkillers, tissues, blotting papers, a lint roller, a stain pen, a charger, water, snacks and the running order. Give one bag to a calm helper near the bride, one to the best man or an usher, and leave the bulky items with the venue coordinator.
Who should carry the wedding day emergency kit?
You will be away from your bags for hours, so split the kit between the people who stay near you.
| Bag | Who carries it | Where it lives |
|---|---|---|
| Bride’s kit | A bridesmaid, sister or friend who stays close all day | With them, in a small bag or pocket |
| Groom’s kit | The best man or a calm usher | In a jacket pocket or a small pouch |
| Big kit | The venue coordinator or a family helper | The getting-ready room, then behind the bar or in the bridal suite |
| Evening bag | Whoever has the bride’s kit | Left at the reception venue in the morning |
Choose calm people, and tell them the night before what is in each bag. Our tips for brides on the day itself call this person the “keeper of things”.
The core kit: what every wedding needs
- [ ] Safety pins in two or three sizes
- [ ] A small sewing kit, with thread in the colours of your outfits
- [ ] Double-sided fashion tape
- [ ] Small scissors
- [ ] Plasters, including blister plasters
- [ ] Painkillers and any medication either of you takes, plus antihistamines in summer
- [ ] Tissues
- [ ] Blotting papers
- [ ] A lint roller
- [ ] A stain-removal pen, and white chalk for marks on white fabric
- [ ] Phone charger and a small power bank
- [ ] Water and a few snacks that won’t stain
- [ ] Mints
- [ ] Hair ties and hair pins
- [ ] A printed running order with every supplier’s phone number
- [ ] Labelled envelopes for any cash payments or tips
- [ ] For the big kit: a handheld steamer and two or three clear umbrellas
The bride’s kit
- [ ] Your lip colour, powder and any make-up you will want to touch up
- [ ] Cotton buds and make-up wipes
- [ ] Spare earring backs
- [ ] Deodorant
- [ ] A straw, so you can drink without touching your lipstick
- [ ] Comfortable shoes for walking between places
- [ ] A wrap or shawl for outdoor portraits on a cold day
If your dress has a bustle, practise fastening it with the person carrying your kit a week before.
The groom’s kit
- [ ] Lint roller: dark suits pick up everything
- [ ] Spare buttonhole pins
- [ ] A spare shirt button and thread
- [ ] Collar stays, and a spare tie or bow tie
- [ ] Deodorant and a small towel or handkerchief
- [ ] Blotting papers: grooms shine under lights too
- [ ] Mints
- [ ] The printed speech, with a spare copy in someone else’s pocket
- [ ] The rings, or confirmation of exactly who has them
Our advice for grooms on the morning covers the rest of it, including how a buttonhole should be pinned.
The Asian outfit kit: lehenga, saree, sherwani and safa
Heavier outfits need more fixing, and some ceremonies need things a church wedding doesn’t.
- [ ] Plenty of safety pins and small hair pins for the dupatta or saree pallu
- [ ] Spare pins for the safa or pagri, and a small mirror for the turban
- [ ] Spare earring backs and a spare nath hook
- [ ] Needle and thread in the colour of the lehenga, saree blouse and sherwani
- [ ] A handheld steamer for the dupatta and the reception outfit
- [ ] A shoe bag for each of you: shoes come off at the door of a gurdwara, mandir or mosque
- [ ] Socks or footless tights for cold floors in winter
- [ ] Head coverings: most gurdwaras keep rumals at the door, but bring spares for the family
- [ ] A scarf for the women of the family for the mosque prayer hall: the Visit My Mosque visitors’ guide asks women to bring their own
- [ ] A jewellery pouch, so pieces taken off for the outfit change don’t go missing
Our Asian bride’s getting-ready checklist goes through the bride’s morning in detail, from dupatta pinning to the reception change.
The evening bag
Leave this at the reception venue in the morning, so it is waiting when you arrive.
- [ ] Flat shoes or trainers for dancing
- [ ] Blister plasters
- [ ] Your reception outfit, jewellery and accessories, if you are changing
- [ ] Make-up for a refresh before the entrance or first dance
- [ ] A wrap or jacket for golden-hour portraits outside
- [ ] A bag for gifts and cards at the end of the night, and the name of who takes them home
The items that help your photos and film
Some items exist mainly for the camera. These are the ones we most often wish someone had.
| Item | Why it matters on camera |
|---|---|
| Lint roller | Fluff and hair show on dark suits and sherwanis in every close-up |
| Blotting papers | Shine on foreheads and noses shows under stage lights and in flash at the reception |
| Safety pins | A slipping dupatta, veil or strap pulls the eye in every frame |
| Handheld steamer | Creases show on camera far more than in a mirror |
| Clear umbrellas | Light reaches your faces, and the scene behind you stays visible |
| Stain pen and chalk | A small mark on white fabric is obvious in portraits |
| Tissues | Dabbing, not wiping, keeps make-up intact during the ceremony |
Rain is worth planning for. In London and north-west Kent, about one day in four has at least 1 mm of rain even in summer, according to Met Office 1991 to 2020 averages. Two or three clear umbrellas cover the two of you and your parents. Our plan for a rainy wedding day explains why clear beats black or branded.
One more for the film: if we fit you with a small microphone for the vows, keep your phone in a different pocket and on silent, so it doesn’t buzz or rustle next to it.
What not to pack
The kit should fit in a small bag, so leave out what someone else already has. Your venue usually keeps a first aid kit, your florist can leave spare buttonhole pins with the best man, and your photographer and filmmaker bring their own spare batteries, cards and microphones. Ask your hair and make-up artist whether touch-ups are included.
When to pack it
Write the list a month or two before, as our wedding planning checklist suggests, pack the bags in the final week, and hand each one over the night before. For other things worth sorting early, see our list of wedding planning mistakes we see.
From behind the camera
Most of what the emergency kit fixes is invisible in person and obvious in a photograph. A strand of fluff on a navy jacket, a dupatta that has slipped two centimetres, a shiny forehead under the stage lights at 9pm. We will always tell you quietly if something needs a fix before a portrait, but it helps enormously when the person next to you already has the lint roller in their hand.
On the calmest days we photograph, the kit is carried by a friend or sister who knows where everything is and never needs to ask the couple a question.
Frequently asked questions
What should be in a wedding day emergency kit?
The essentials are safety pins, a small sewing kit, fashion tape, plasters, painkillers and any medication you take, tissues, blotting papers, a lint roller, a stain-removal pen, a phone charger, water and snacks, and a copy of the running order with suppliers’ numbers. Add a handheld steamer and clear umbrellas if you have room.
Who should carry the emergency kit at a wedding?
Not either of you. Give one bag to a calm bridesmaid, sister or friend who stays near the bride, and a smaller one to the best man or an usher on the groom’s side. Put the bulky items, such as the steamer, umbrellas and evening shoes, with the venue coordinator or in the getting-ready room.
What should a groom have in his emergency kit?
A lint roller, spare buttonhole pins, a spare shirt button and thread, a tie or bow tie, collar stays, plasters, deodorant, mints, tissues, a phone charger and the printed speech. For a sherwani or safa, add spare turban pins, a small mirror and a pair of socks for when shoes come off at the ceremony.
When should you pack your wedding emergency kit?
Put the list together a month or two before the wedding, buy what you need, then pack the bags in the final week. Hand each bag to the person carrying it the night before, with a note of what is inside, so nobody is searching through your suitcase on the morning.
Keep reading
- Wedding day tips for brides: the morning, the dress, eating and handing over the jobs.
- Wedding day tips for grooms: the groom’s side of the day, from the night before to the last dance.
- Rain on your wedding day: a photo and film plan for a wet day, umbrellas included.
If you would like to talk through your day and how we cover it, from preparations to the last dance, see our wedding photography or book a call.
