What should you pack in your wedding day emergency kit? There are so many lists out there that can a bit overwhelming, especially as a wedding planner who is expected to have it all – so what do you really need?
Having coordinated many weddings over the years, there can often be a lot of scrambling when unexpected emergencies come up on the wedding day. And because of that, we’ve refined, tweaked and fine-tuned our wedding day emergency kit to be filled with items that are a necessity!
You might be surprised by a few on our list, but trust us when we say you will be SO grateful to have them if needed.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD OUR EMERGENCY KIT CHECKLIST FOR WEDDING PLANNERS!
We’ve included our favorite, must-have items for wedding planners (and some that may even be helpful for brides) below. And if you’re a fellow wedding planner, don’t forget to snag your download!
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01. The Basics
What every emergency kit needs – no ifs, ands or buts.
- Travel Sewing Kit – everything you need to save the day when something rips or pops off.
- Safety Pins – one of the most used items in our emergency kit. Even if your sewing kit comes with some, trust us when we say you WILL need more!
- Tool Set – we love that this one comes with all the essentials, and even has a carrying case.
- Nails – you never know.
- Fabric Scissors – let us place an emphasis on FABRIC. Ever have to cut ribbon and it was incredibly hard to get a nice clean cut? Fabric scissors are multi-purpose and worth having in your emergency kit.
- Lighters – if you don’t have lighters in your emergency kit, are you even a wedding planner?! 😉
- Deodorant
- Hairspray
- Blotting Sheets – for oil control.
- Bobby Pins – bridesmaids are always asking us for extra bobby pins throughout a wedding day.
- Tissues
- Hand Sanitizer
- First Aid Kit – someone always needs something out of our first aid kit. Even if it’s a guest that needs a band-aid – every wedding planner’s emergency kit needs one!
- Tylenol, Advil, Aleve – these are a given, and we always like to have all three in our emergency kit in case someone has a preference, or even an allergy to one or another. These travel sizes are perfect.
- Pepto + Dramamine + Tums – you never know if a bride or groom will have nausea or an upset stomach that can sometimes come with wedding day jitters. We love these smaller travel bottles.
- Non-Drowsy Allergy Pills – whether it be seasonal allergies or an allergic reaction, we always suggest having some sort of allergy medicine on hand for instances where a member of the bridal party, a guest or even yourself could use some help.
- Tide Sticks – stain remover on the go because someone ALWAYS gets something on them.
- Lint Rollers – to tidy up those groom + groomsmen suits before their walk down the aisle.
- Tampons.
- Portable Phone Charger – we cannot tell you how many times our phones have died and we haven’t even made it to cocktail hour yet.. What we love about this one being so small is that we can charge our phones while it’s on us so that we’re still readily available if a vendor were to call.
- Boutonniere Pins – we like to secure boutonnieres with two pins for a stronger hold, and florists sometimes only send one per bout.
- Clear Nail Polish – helps stop a chip from getting worse.
- Nail Polish Remover
- Nail File
- Nail Clippers
- Mints – our go-to are these breath strips.
- Dental Floss Picks
- Eye Drops
- Fashion Tape – to help keep those necklines lying flat.
- Chalk – for unexpected stains on a wedding dress, just chalk it!
- Snacks + Water – you’re on your feet all day and should stay energized and hydrated too!
02. The Essentials
Things you may not think you need, but could be a big life saver
- Glass Cleaner Wipes – OCD wedding coordinators unite…you know you’ve pulled out those smudged glass table numbers before too. These are a must!
- Pledge Wipes – you’d be surprised how many venues have dusty window sills and sideboards. It may not be your job, but every detail matters and the last thing you want is for your clients and their guests to see those dusty areas throughout the event.
- Goo Gone Wipes – even though we request that all labels are pulled off of client décor items prior to us receiving them, some clients still forget to take them off. Worth having these in your emergency kit!
- Utility Knife – for opening boxes of décor items that saves our nails.
- Crochet Hook – a lifesaver for wedding dresses with a lot of buttons.
- Floral Wire – you just never know when you’ll have to play florist and touch up a centerpiece or bridesmaid bouquet.
- Hot Glue Gun
- Bug Spray – during the summer months, we cannot tell you how grateful we are to have this in our emergency kit for outdoor ceremonies and especially tented wedding receptions.
- Sunscreen – similar to bug spray, it may not seem necessary to wear sunscreen when you’re working under a tent all day or have a quick 20 minute outdoor ceremony. But trust us, you’ll be glad you have it when the time comes.
- Cute Umbrella – rain happens, even on the best-planned of days. We always suggest having an umbrella on hand for your clients, and this cute one will make for gorgeous photos of your bride and groom even if the day itself is gloomy.
- Super Glue – décor items can need repaired or a bridesmaid’s heel can break. No worries!
- Travel Steamer
- Pens + Fine Point Sharpies – we can’t tell you how many times a client’s pens have not worked on their guestbook, or guests accidentally walk away with one.
- Zip Ties – these have come in handy more times than we would ever have expected.
- Clear Packing Tape
- Black Duct Tape – for taping loose wires on the ground in high traffic areas when the DJ or band forgets their own
- Scotch Tape + Double Sided Tape
- Super glue – a lifesaver for any unexpected breaks or tears, from shoe heels to jewelry to a client’s decor.
- Glue Dots – nice to have when you really need something to lay down.
- Candle Adhesive – for those pesky taper candles that refuse to stand up straight.
- Command Hooks – we like to have them in both the small and large sizes
- White or Black Pipe Cleaners – hear us out on this one. Sometimes it’s nice to have something subtle to secure items together with. We love how flexible pipe cleaners are and they’re easy to cut once secured, so there’s little to no visibility.
- Power Strip
- Extra (flat) Shoes – this one’s for YOU, sweet wedding planner friend. We don’t know about you, but you’ll never find us wearing heels on a wedding day with how much walking we do. But it’s always nice to have a backup pair of flats in case the ones you wore start to hurt or better yet get soaked from that downpour you just loaded items inside through…TRUST US!
03. Organization
What we use for storing, organizing and transporting all of our emergency kit items
- Dolly Cart or Collapsible Wagon – let’s be real. We carry and lift a lot of stuff on a client’s wedding day…hauling décor items in and out of venues, up and down elevators, through long hallways, and we can’t always rely on a catering service cart to be available. So we use a dolly cart, but you could use a collapsible wagon too…those especially come in handy for private residence weddings taking items to and from a tent!
- Mesh Pouches – we like these mesh see-through bags so we can organize like things with like things, and so it’s easy see what’s in each. These water-proof travel bags are great too!
- Rolling Duffle – get something on wheels to house all of your emergency kit items… so. worth. it.
- Stackable Plastic Tubs – we have several exclusive rental items our clients are able to rent from us for their wedding day, and we store and transport them in tubs for easy maneuvering.
- Crossbody Purse – crossbody’s are what we wear on us all day to hold our Game Day Playbook, phone, portable charger, pens and even a lighter! We’ve found it way easier than using a clipboard because we end up setting it down and losing it easily.
I hope you found this emergency kit list for wedding planners helpful!
CLICK HERE to get a printable check-list version of the above items we have in our very own wedding day emergency kit – complete with space for adding in your own personal must-have items!
Xo,
Jess
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