Time to hit the open bar it's summer wedding season, yaasss!

Do you know what else this season calls for? Hydration re-education. Yes, you may be tired of hearing your elders nag you about drinking water & staying hydrated whilst you enjoy every one of your signature cocktails, craft brews & wedding wines. Former bride to current bride, I'm here to chime in with some Bridal Musings real talk: please drink plenty of water on your wedding day.

We can hear your rebuttal, “But peeing in my wedding dress is so hard! I have so many other things to worry about! How on Earth can you expect me to add this to my to-do list? There's water in wine!”

Here are the indisputable reasons (in our opinion) why forgetting to drink water is a major no-no:

  • Remember the last time you got dehydrated? Dizziness, fatigue, cramps, headache and passing out? Let's assume you'd prefer to avoid this on your wedding day.
  • Even worse, if you fill your body with alcohol while void of water your wedding-day symptoms could result in heightened dizziness, vomiting, blacking out & the most vicious day-after-brunch-hangover.
  • Depriving your body of water is detrimental to your skin! The positive effects of your monthly facials & spa goodies will be forgotten when dehydration takes over with dry skin & sunken eyes.

Enough with the negatives, here are the glass-half-full reasons keeping hydrated actually has major benefits:

  • Conversely, staying hydrated will give you the ultimate bridal glow, leaving your skin supple, healthy looking & primed for your bridal makeup.
  • Permission to party all night! More water means more wedding-day longevity. H2O hydration combats alcohol-inducing fatigue & memory loss giving you the power to dance all night.
  • You'll feel so much better the next day. True-story, my bestie Christina (who's getting married in October!) overflowed our wedding villa fridge with all the hydration necessities so we were able to party for days on end without running out of gas.

Now that we've convinced you of this incredible necessity, we're here to help with 10 strategies for drinking ample water on your wedding day:

  1. Tell your bridal party, your family & your future spouse of your efforts to stay hydrated. That way everyone around you can check in to make sure you've got enough H2O.
  2. Even better, assign a member of your bridal party ‘water duty' so your own worries can be gone.
  3. Celebrate getting-ready with mimosa mocktails: sparkling water + fresh squeezed orange juice + DIY floral ice cubes (so easy to keep in the freezer!)
  4. Double fist it: For every cocktail, glass of wine or beer you have in hand, carry a glass over water in the other (or at least keep one nearby).
  5. Invest in this handy hydration tracking water bottle that sends you reminders by syncing up to your phone. Even it doesn't fit into your wedding-day decor, there's no harm making use of it in the morning and afternoon hours getting ready for the big day (not to mention the days before!)
  6. Stock up on other hydrating drinks like coconut water and even Gatorade (you know, for the worst case scenario).
  7. Set alarms on your phone to remind you to drink your required oz of water. You can also download this adorable WaterLama app to remind you to drink and help keep track of your current state of hydration.
  8. Practice makes perfect. If you develop the habit of keeping plenty hydrated in the weeks and months prior, drinking water on your wedding day will be a no brainer (and a healthy habit to carry-on in life!)
  9. Worried you still might forget? Pack a few recovery vitamins to jumpstart your road to recovery.
  10. Really passionate about hydration? Here's a creative idea by my expert wedding planning cousin, Jessica Buck: set up an IV Hydration Bar. Apparently, these days the posh thing to do is hire certified nurses to administer hydration via IV. We can already imagine the Moroccan poufs & ultra-chic lounge area perfect for this new wave idea!

Photo by James Moes via Vogue

So with that, we give you the ‘go' to party on into the summer wedding season. We hope you take our friendly, real talk advice to heart and manage to avoid a dehydration disaster.

Guess what, we've got more healthy tips in our Wellness Section. Becoming a skincare fanatic like us? Find out what wedding stress is doing to your skin (and what to do about it!)