The Ultimate Wedding Day Emergency Kit & Checklist

If you’ve come to this article, then your wedding is right around the corner! We totally understand that this time can be a mix of nerves, stress and excitement, so let us ease some of that wedding planning stress with our ultimate wedding emergency kit and checklist. So, what is an emergency wedding kit? The short answer is, it’s your holy grail. This kit is there to provide you with anything you may need when something doesn't necessarily go to plan or you just need some touch-ups throughout the day. We’ve put together an extensive list of 66 items you might need on the day for brides and grooms. Hopefully, this kit remains totally untouched, but it never hurts to be prepared! 

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66 wedding emergency kit ideas for brides and grooms 

Why should you have a wedding emergency kit? 

As we mentioned, a wedding emergency kit is the one thing we think every couple should have. Your emergency kit will mend, touch up and repair the small things before they turn into much larger problems. Your dress has a rip? No problem, you have a safety pin in the kit! But what if you didn’t? The hole becomes bigger and no safety pin in the world could fasten it. Dramatic, but you see our point. The wedding emergency kit is an honorary member of your wedding party. 

Wedding Emergency Kit 

Now, this is what you’ve been waiting for. Our wedding emergency kit is pretty extensive. We did this so that it covers every kind of wedding, so some points on this list may not be entirely relevant to you. For example, we’ve included spare contact lenses but you might have perfect vision and nail polish but you might wear acrylics, so keep in mind what’s relevant to you. Let’s get into it… 

Essentials 

• Cotton buds
• Nail file
• Nail glue (if wearing fake nails)
• Nail polish to match your nails
• Hand lotion
• Hand sanitiser
• Bobby pins or other hair bands 
• Tweezers
• Hairbrush or comb
• Hair styling tool
• Small compact mirror
• Hairspray
• Dry shampoo
• Deodorant
• Sunscreen
• Handbag-sized perfume or fragrance
• Floss 
• Chewing gum
• Breath mints
• Spare contact lenses or glasses 
• Eye drops
• Menstrual products 
• Paracetamol or pain relievers 
• Antihistamine tablets
• Insect repellent, if relevant
• Insect bite ointment
• Rescue remedy or calming essential oils
• Razor 
• Tissues 
• Plasters
• Blister plasters
• Phone charger

Makeup Touch Ups

• Eyeliner 
• Concealer 
• Lip balm
• Lip gloss/lipstick (buy a match to what your makeup artist is using)
• Lip pencil
• Pencil sharpener
• Setting powder
• Setting spray 
• Eyelash glue
• Oil blotting sheets
• Makeup remover
• Baby wipes or wet wipes

Clothing & Accessories 

• Sewing kit with needles, thread, spare buttons, and safety pins
• Fashion tape (for keeping clothes in place)
• Scissors
• Stick-on instant hemming tape
• Clear nail polish if you're wearing tights (to stop ladders from getting bigger)
• White chalk (for masking stains on a white dress)
• Stain remover wipes
• Lint roller
• Crochet hook (if your dress has got lots of buttons)
• Shoe polish
• Spare shoe laces
• Flat shoes (if you're going to be changing them in the evening)
• Extra earring backs
• Safety pins
• Boob tape
• Gel pads for feet or insoles 
• Spare tights
• Steamers (for any creases) 

General Must-Haves 

• A copy of the wedding-day itinerary and timings
• A list of contact details for suppliers
• A small amount of cash
• A stylish bag to store everything in

When should you pack your emergency wedding kit? 

We recommend getting your wedding emergency kit together around a few weeks before the wedding. Just pick up some things as and when you have the time. Don’t add another thing on the list to stress about and don’t leave it too close to the wedding. Trust us, the week before the wedding, there'll be plenty going on and it could mean you forget a few things off the list. Again, this is something you could ask the wedding party to help out with. 

Think of the wedding emergency kit as an honorary member of your wedding party 

Remember, this wedding emergency kit is there to help you, not stress you out more. As we said, not all of these items are needed or will be relevant to your wedding. This is just something you could delegate out to your wedding party to help you feel more at ease going into the wedding, knowing that if anything goes wrong it will be handled. Plus, most of the time, your wedding planner/on-the-day coordinator (if you have one) or venue will have these items to hand. They are experts in weddings, after all. Take a look at our list of questions to ask your wedding venue just to double check that everything will run smoothly. Have you found your wedding readings yet? Take a look at our complete list of wedding readings!