Wedding day morning tips

I recently interviewed the co-founder of Le Rose Stories and we discussed the wedding day morning and how sleepwear has grown in popularity. Below are a few tips of when to buy and what to consider.

1. Where does buying the getting ready robes actually sit in a bride's planning timeline? Is it something people leave too late?

There are really two types of brides, the organised and the last minute, and I pass no judgement because I was firmly in the latter, so I am always here to help my fellow last-minute brides. In wedding planning you naturally focus on the larger items first, the venue, the dress, the photographer, and the finer details do not get a thought until you are putting on the last-minute touches. That is why something like this can end up an afterthought.

For the bridal party, the timing really depends. If a bride is buying the robes or sleepwear for her proposal boxes, she is often buying them quite far in advance. My recommendation is to buy them when you can organise a time for the bridal party to get together and try them on, but to leave enough room to make any exchanges on sizing or styles if you need to.

For the bride, this will be your first outfit of the day, so again, leaving enough time for an exchange is ideal. We want you to be happy and comfortable on your morning.

2. If a bride is buying robes for her whole bridal party, what's the best way to handle everyone having different styles, sizes or budgets?

This is always front of mind for us when we design a new collection. Not everyone has the same body type or size, so the challenge that faces bridesmaid dresses is the same one you meet when buying robes or sleepwear.

Aim for cohesive rather than identical. Choose items from the same colour palette and they will still photograph beautifully together, while letting each of your girls' personalities shine through. Some ladies might be comfortable in shorts, while others would rather long pants, and that is completely fine.

The same applies to budgets, particularly for larger bridal parties, where these costs can add up. Generally we find the bride is the one paying for the morning-of outfits. I will say, I know it can be tempting to order from the Temus and Sheins of the world to keep costs down, but if you do, leave enough time to return. Some of the fabric qualities can be terrible, and the photographs they show can be AI, so they are not reflective of the actual colour or product you receive.

3. What's the biggest mistake you see brides make when ordering their getting ready sleepwear, timing or sizing wise?

The big one is not leaving enough time to return if a different size is needed. Sizing is always a little tricky when you are ordering online, and you want everyone to feel comfortable and relaxed on the morning of getting ready. So give yourself the runway to make an exchange if the fit is not quite right, and you take all the pressure out of it.

A little tip too. If you had your measurements taken for your bridal or bridesmaid fittings, keep them filed away. They come in handy moving forward with all the other celebratory outfits along the way.

4. If someone wants to gift the bride her robe as a surprise, what should they figure out first before ordering?

First, the size. Ask a close friend or a member of the bridal party, or ask the bride to share her Pinterest board and ideas for the wedding, which will give you her colours too. If you want to make it personalised, you can add the date or her new name, just be sure to double check every detail is correct. Otherwise a gift card is another lovely option. The morning outfit might not be at the forefront of the bride's mind or budget, so a surprise where she gets to buy something just for her will be greatly appreciated.

5. What's your advice for a bride who wants her getting ready photos to feel calm rather than chaotic, given how much else is happening that morning?

I cannot push this one enough. Iron and steam everything the night before. Tidy the room the night before. Move the water bottles and random bags out of the getting-ready area, make plenty of space, and clear a table for the hair and makeup artists. Some of our celebrity brides have stylists who do all of this, and it shows in the photos and videos. Obviously we cannot all have a stylist, but if you have a friend or a bridal party member you can assign this job to, it makes such a huge difference. Not only to the photos, but to creating a calm morning you can all enjoy in the moment.

6. If a bride is worried about her getting ready morning feeling rushed, what would you tell her to build into her day-of schedule?

Build in more buffer than feels necessary, because hair and makeup almost always run long, and start the whole morning earlier than you think you need to. Protect an unhurried window for getting into the dress, that is the part you do not want to rush. Eat something, genuinely. And sort the small variables in advance, the outfit, the shoes, who is where, so the morning has fewer live decisions in it. A calm morning is mostly a well-bought hour of buffer, it is rarely luck.

7. What questions should a bride be asking herself before she even starts looking at robes or sleepwear?

The first one is, what do you feel most like yourself and most comfortable in. Draw inspiration from Instagram and the real brides before you, of course, but do not just try to copy what you have seen online. Choose what you feel you will be most yourself in.

From there, a few more to run through. What is my palette, and do I want the morning to match it. Am I buying just for myself or for the whole party. Do I want personalisation, because that changes the timeline. Do I want something I will wear again, on the honeymoon or an anniversary, or is this just for the day. And how much coverage do I want in photographs, which is really a length and fabric question. Answer those and the actual choosing becomes quick, because you have narrowed it before you have even started looking.

8. What's something about the getting ready morning that brides don't think to plan for until it's almost too late?

Have a checklist and tick it off the night before. Eat something before hair and makeup arrive, you do not want to start sipping champagne on an empty stomach. Again, have everything steamed and pressed and ready, including the getting-ready outfits. Some brides like to gift their bridesmaids on the morning of, and if that is the case, make sure you leave time for everyone to press theirs. Have everything you will need for the morning ready to go. And do not forget to remind the groom and groomsmen of the same thing. You want calm and relaxation in the morning, not chaos.

9. Whats the one honest thing you'd want to tell your couples if you weren't afraid of hurting their feelings?

Don't spend extra budget on the things that are not important to you. No guest will remember the bows on the back of their chairs at the reception, but they will remember if they leave hungry. Put your money where it matters to you, and let the rest go. Your day is yours, so don't compare it to anyone else's. You'll sweat the small stuff in the lead up, but on the day, all that matters is that you both enjoy yourselves.

If you want to watch the whole interview, you can watch the video here.