Do you have decorations all over your wedding venue that say, “Eat, drink and be married?” If you do, that’s awesome! You have reminders everywhere! Now, I know what you’re thinking. You titled this blog, How to Eat, Drink and Be Married. I don’t think I need to be told how to do basic human things, or how to participate in a party that I planned. The truth is, your wedding day is different.

EAT
One of the number one mistakes I see couples make is they get so excited or jittery about the big day that they don’t eat on the day of. There are a few reasons why this goes poorly for them. The first is that your wedding day is a long day. If you are not eating you might be going all day waiting for dinner. I don’t know about you but if I do that on a normal day, I get hangry and start wanting to burn things. Then I get shaky and then it’s like, no I need food now. You don’t want to be getting the hunger shakes right as you walk down the aisle. The second reason it goes poorly is hanger. Your wedding party and family don’t need to be on the receiving end of your hanger because you decided you didn’t need lunch or a reasonably sized breakfast. If you’re worried that your nerves are going to manifest themselves…. digestively… stick with the hangover diet., also known as the BRAT diet: Bananas, rice, applesauce and toast. And maybe some rolaids.

Before I get into this I want to say that you know your body, you know your dietary needs, you know your dietary limitations and it’s important that you go off of that. This is not nutritional advice and I am not a dietician or a nutritionist. If you have specific dietary restrictions, health issues, sensitivities or allergies, consult a health professional for advice. I’m not responsible for what you put in your body.

DRINK
Staying adequately hydrated is SO IMPORTANT. So important that I put it in bold, capital, italic letters. Let me tell you a story about when I nearly passed out from poor hydration and being overheated. It was a bad experience. I was shooting a graduation ceremony at Wartburg College in Waverly, IA. The gym was hot and I was hand-holding a heavy contraption that held my flashes and my camera. About halfway through the commencement ceremony, I thought I was going to black out right there. I had to put down my gear and run off to the bathroom so I didn’t pass out in front of a thousand people. How could this have been prevented? HYDRATE. Drinking water. Maybe carrying a camelback under my cardigan a la Dwight Schrute. I don’t recommend that for your wedding day though.

FOOD SAFETY
No, I’m not talking about avoiding getting E. Coli on your wedding day, although I do recommend not getting E. Coli around your wedding day. I’m talking about a familiar diet. It might be tempting to have a lovely buffet of fruits and dips and bougie crepes and all that good stuff, because it’s your wedding day. But if you don’t eat a ton of fruit and apricot crepes with greek yogurt regularly, don’t do it on your wedding day. If you eat more fiber or gluten on your wedding day than you’re used to, your digestive system might want to have a word with you at an inconvenient time. Eating foods out of your norm means your digestive system may need time to adjust. Your wedding day is not for that adjustment. Eat safe foods, foods that your body is used to.

FUEL
Eat for fuel. Eat foods that have a decent amount of protein and good carbs. If you eat junk food all the time and you never eat protein or good carbs (i.e. complex carbs), consider switching your diet up months ahead of your wedding. As I mentioned before, it’s a long day. you want to be fueled properly. That doesn’t mean carbo-loading like an IronMan competitor, but it means eating enough to give you energy throughout the day.

SNACKS
You won’t have a ton of time for sit-down meals or snacks aside from lunch and dinner. Have your personal attendant carry some snacks with them so that you have something to nosh on throughout the day. Wherever you will be just before the ceremony, stash some snacks there, too so that when you get a break before the ceremony, you have something to eat. Just make sure your makeup is on point before you walk down the aisle. Finger food is a great option for wedding day snacks. Goldfish crackers, beef jerky bits, mini cookies are all some of my go-to snacks that I pack when I’m shooting.

HYDRATE
And I don’t mean with beer. I mean with water. Keep a water bottle handy and full, or tote a cooler around full of bottled water. It can also be something your personal attendant hangs on to or just something you strategically stash. The warmer it is, the more you will have to drink. When I shoot a wedding, I normally carry two 32-oz water bottles with me and it’s not uncommon that I have to refill one bottle at least once.

The key to all of this is making sure food and water is accessible wherever you are. Again, that might mean toting a cooler, having your personal attendant carry things with them, or stashing them in the places you will be that are also good for a quick bite. I’m probably going to do all three of these things. Have a cooler on wheels full of stuff to drink, having a personal attendant carry some snacks, and also stashing snacks and water at the hotel, at the ceremony venue, and probably at the head table too.

TWO IMPORTANT POINTS ABOUT HYDRATION: To be hydrated on your wedding day, you need to hydrate the day before. The second point is that you need to make sure you are drinking from a clean water bottle or you may end up sick.

BONUS
Want to know what I’m keeping on hand on my wedding day? I haven’t planned everything out but I can tell you a few things. We will have charcuterie and a fruit and veggie tray in the hotel room with some croissants. I will probably also hit Starbucks on the way back from the hair salon. With my attendant, I am going to keep small snacks like cookies or something, in addition to a couple strategically placed Nalgenes.