Top Ten Items for a Wedding Day Emergency Kit

I have planned and produced countless weddings over the past several years, many of which were (and currently are "on the books") destination weddings. I am never without my bridal emergency kit, which contains several small items in order to take are of little problems that can cause big drama. As a matter of fact, I teach seminars to wedding planners on how to create destination weddings, and I have two full slides designated to a bridal emergency kit. Here is a list of my top ten recommendations for items to have in a wedding day emergency kit.

Benadryl
As a person that has a severe shellfish allergy, I cannot express the importance of having Benadryl in your wedding day emergency kit. If the wedding reception is taking place on a beach, in a park, or anywhere else far from a front desk, it may be difficult to find Benadryl (or some other antihistamine) to counteract an allergic reaction in time. It usually takes 15 minutes for an allergic reaction to reach its peak, and if Benadryl is ingested during that time, it may slow down or even stop the allergic reaction. If you are having a destination wedding, it is even more important to have this in your kit, as Benadryl isn't a common drug kept at the front desk of resorts and other venues.

Anti-diarrheal Medication
Nothing is worse than having diarrhea on your wedding day. No, let me change that-- There is nothing worse than having diarrhea on your wedding day and not having anything on hand to counteract it. If you are having a destination wedding outside of the USA, anti-diarrheal medication is often by prescription only. Even in the USA, most venues do not carry anti-diarrheal medication at the front desk. Do you really want to ask everyone, "Do you have some Immodium?" before walking down the aisle?

Sewing Kit
I cannot tell you how many weddings I have been to where the bride, bridesmaids and even some guests have asked me for a needle and thread. Many dresses are adorned with heavy beading on thin strings, which often breaks during rigorous dancing. While you may not be able to re-bead the dress, you can at least stitch it off so that no more beads fall. Also, dresses can get torn, zippers can break, buttons pop off... having a sewing kit in your wedding day emergency kit can be a lifesaver.

Sanitary Napkins / Tampons
Sometimes "Aunt Flo" comes for a visit at the most inopportune times-- Especially when a woman is under a lot of stress. This is a biggie that you want to be prepared for. With the amount of women that are involved in a wedding, not to mention the guests, there is a good change that someone might need something throughout the day of the wedding.

Tylenol / Advil / Aspirin
There is no doubt that someone will end up with a headache on wedding day. Whether or not they have something to help with their pain is the question. Just keep some Tylenol, Advil, Excederin, aspirin or any other headache medication in your emergency kit, and you'll be a hero.

AA and/or AAA Batteries
Where does someone go if their camera runs out of batteries? They can't exactly leave the wedding to go to the drugstore. Keep two AA and two AAA batteries in your wedding day emergency kit for that very reason. You don't want to miss out on those captured memories!

Clear Nail Polish
It is not an old wives' take that clear nail polish stops a run in your pantyhose and/or stockings. Keep the clear nail polish in your wedding day emergency kit in order to stop a run before they become so noticeable that you have to take those pantyhose/stockings off. If you notice that someone has a run, you can offer them the clear nail polish as a sneaky trick to fix it.

Safety Pins
With the different type of bras and corsets that brides wear, there might be an issue with a clasp. Sometimes zippers break beyond the fix of a needle and thread. Keeping safety pins in a variety of sizes to easily solve the tears and other fabric mishaps that may arise.

Hair Spray
Yes, even the best hairstyles need some help staying in place after a few hours of dancing. Getting a travel-size can of aerosol hairspray for your wedding day emergency kit will help you make sure your hair is picture-perfect all the time.

$20 in One Dollar Bills
It sounds like an odd addition to a wedding day emergency kit, but guests might run out of singles to tip bartenders-- even if it is an open bar. More often than not, a guest will "feel funny" about asking the bartender for change to tip, so you may be asked for change of a $5 bill. Of course, you can always give a dollar or two to the guest without having to break anything, so that they can leave a tip for the bartenders and/or cocktail servers.