Tip: Get ready in a comfortable place.

So many brides and grooms look past this little detail and just settle on getting ready in a hotel room or someone's house. Big mistake.

You think this is a good place to get ready for a wedding?!?!

Getting ready in a hotel may be the only option, but do you want to spend hours getting ready in someone's messy hotel room? Unless you've booked a large room or a suite, there is usually only one chair! Normal hotel rooms rarely have enough room to fit a couple, let alone an entire group! Your bridal party and family do not want to stand around for hours, or sit on the edge of a slept-in, bumpy bed.

Order food for your bridal party is a must.

You need a location where everyone has a seat, there's room for food, snacks and drinks. You'll want a refrigerator to keep food and drinks cool and fresh. For the girls, they are going to spend all morning there... make it comfortable for them! Think about it - you'll spend more time preparing than you will at the reception. If you're spending so much money on a beautiful reception, do you want to be jammed into an uncomfortable place all morning.

“Think about it - you’ll spend more time preparing than you will at the reception.”

This is the size room you need to be comfortable getting ready

The other major problem is wedding photography. No matter how talented the photographer, he/she can't make a stuffy hotel room look nice. Period. So if you're going to get ready in a messy room, don't expect beautiful stunning photos. There is terrible lighting and ugly wallpaper and artwork are the backdrop. The photographer is not expected to clean up your room, so if you're bed is a mess and you have used food all over the tables, you're wedding photos are going to look gross. At least clean up!

“You spend so much time planning the wedding, so don’t skip over the first half of the day.”

Some brides and grooms get ready in their homes. If you have a stunning home, with lots of open space... wonderful. If you have a small, messy house, then we are encountering the same problem: terrible lighting and the old stained couch in the background.

I took this picture in a big open bridal suite. Everyone had a seat.

The point is, you spend so much time planning the wedding, so don't skip over the first half of the day. Find a beautiful, comfortable place to get ready where your bridal party can relax, have room to breath, and let loose. Rent a suite in the hotel with a kitchen and counter space for food, or find a large sunlit home. That's when everyone will have fun and you'll get the best memories.

Have a wedding horror story? Tell me below...