Bride Essentials

Double-sided tape for necklines, straps and hems that will not stay where they should.

~$20 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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A long day, a long dress or wool trousers and eight hours of dancing produce chafe that ruins the after-party, and a stick applied at 10 a.m. prevents it. One stick covers the whole party and also stops new shoes rubbing at the heel.

~$10 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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Most gowns have built-in cups but no coverage, and a strapless or sheer bodice needs covers that will not show an edge in photos. The matte thin-edge style photographs invisibly. Choose the shade closest to your skin and wear them at the final fitting to check.

~$30 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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Another option to Silicone Nipple Covers, for a different style or budget.

Five reusable pairs, enough for the bride and the bridesmaids, at a third of the price of one premium pair.

~$15 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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Lift and hold for a backless or strapless dress. Do a full trial with the dress on before the day, and keep the oil-based remover handy for the end of the night.

~$15 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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Lets you use the bathroom alone in a ballgown by gathering the skirt up around you, which is the single most 'why did nobody tell me' item. Only worth it for an A-line or ballgown; a fitted dress does not need it. Practise once at the final fitting.

~$30 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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For a low back or a bodice with no cups, a sticky bra is the option between tape and nothing. Adhesive loses grip in heat, so treat this as an indoor or cool-season choice and point a summer outdoor wedding toward tape. Wear it at the final fitting first.

~$25 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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Wipes are a refresh, not prevention. Start two weeks before the wedding, applied at night to dry skin, and it stops the sweat rather than covering it. Works for anyone in the party, not only the groom.

~$10 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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Breathable slip shorts stop thigh chafe and sweat without compression, which is what summer brides say they wish they had worn. A smoothing short is the alternative under a fitted gown. Buy only after the final fitting so the length sits right under the skirt.

~$10 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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A keepsake garter with a blue ribbon covers the something blue tradition, and the second one in the set is for the toss, so you keep the nice one. Plenty of couples skip the toss entirely; the set works either way.

~$10 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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Another option to Lace Garter Set, for a different style or budget.

The something blue, in lace. A few dollars, and it counts.

~$5 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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You will want out of your heels by the first dance, and flats that fold into a clutch mean nobody is running to the car. Order one pair in the bride's size in ivory or nude and put it in the kit from the start; this is the bridal pair, separate from the guest flip-flop basket.

~$15 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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Hours in new shoes. Blister cushions keep the second half of the night comfortable.

~$5 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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Stilettos sink into a lawn with every step. A dish of clear caps at the ceremony entrance, sizes mixed, is the small kindness garden-wedding guests photograph. One pair per two guests, plus a few in the wedding-party bags.

~$20 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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New shoes slip at the heel, and a gel liner stops the walk-up-the-aisle shuffle and the blister that follows. Four pairs covers both of you and the groomsman who bought his shoes last week. Fit them the day before so the adhesive sets.

~$10 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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Gel inserts make heels and new dress shoes bearable for a very long day.

~$10 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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Brand-new leather or satin soles on a polished dance floor is how a first dance goes wrong. Stick the grips on the night before so the adhesive sets, and be aware it can leave a mark on satin soles.

~$10 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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Four hours barefoot on a hotel floor is longer than it sounds, and slippers show up in more candid photos than you expect. A plain satin ballerina with a non-slip sole reads bridal in the shot. A bulk spa-slipper pack covers the bridesmaids.

~$30 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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Break in your shoes is universal advice, and moleskin is what makes it survivable. Cut a patch for wherever the shoe rubs at the heel or toe, on the foot or inside the shoe, and wear the shoes around the house for a week before the wedding.

~$10 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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Another option to Moleskin Padding Roll, for a different style or budget.

For leather shoes that pinch, a stretch spray softens the leather so a week of wearing them at home does the rest. Spray inside where it is tight, put the shoes on while damp and walk. Not for satin.

~$15 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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Takes the shine off before photos without disturbing makeup. Tuck a pack in the touch-up bag.

~$10 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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The one product makeup artists tell brides to carry: a mist after touch-ups locks the face through the dance floor. The travel size fits the clutch, and a translucent pressed powder next to it handles shine.

~$20 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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Three rings, the earrings, the something-borrowed bracelet and the veil comb arrive in different boxes. One case keeps them together, hands them to the photographer in one go, and then goes on the honeymoon. Ring rolls stop the bands rattling around.

~$10 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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An earring back lost on the dance floor means someone spends the reception with one earring. This assortment covers every earring style in the wedding party, including lifter backs that keep heavy drops upright in photos. Tip a few into a small bag for the clutch.

~$5 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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Travel sizes for touch-ups between the ceremony and the reception, enough to share.

~$20 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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Drinking from a glass takes lipstick off, and a straw keeps the makeup artist's work intact through cocktail hour. One straw in its case goes in the clutch and the rest stay in the suite. A spill-proof straw tumbler for the bride's morning coffee is the upgrade.

~$10 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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You will cry, a handkerchief photographs where a tissue does not, and a cotton one with lace becomes the keepsake. Have a date or initials embroidered on it if you want an heirloom, and keep it tucked in the bouquet wrap for the ceremony.

~$15 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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Decant your perfume or cologne into something small enough for a clutch or a jacket.

~$10 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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One corner of a strip lash lifting during the vows is a ten-second fix, but only if the glue is in the clutch. The brush applicator means no fumbling with a tube. Skip this if the bride wears lash extensions.

~$5 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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A 5 a.m. alarm, happy tears and hairspray in the air leave eyes red by the ceremony, and photos make it worse. One drop takes it down in about a minute. Use them before makeup goes on, not after.

~$20 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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Hair styled at 8 a.m. is flat by the 6 p.m. photos, and dry shampoo lifts the roots without touching the style. The unscented version will not fight anyone's perfume. One can for the bride's touch-up bag and one for each women's restroom basket.

~$20 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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Boutique bags are thin and short. A 72-inch breathable bag with a deep gusset fits a full skirt from the shop to the suite and home again at midnight, and it is the right bag to store the dress in until preservation. Not plastic, so the fabric can breathe.

~$20 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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Red wine, makeup, lipstick on a collar. Most of it comes out before the photos if you catch it early.

~$10 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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A grass or dirt smudge on a white or ivory gown disappears under a light rub of white chalk, and a travel bottle of cornstarch baby powder lifts grease the same way. Chalk conceals rather than cleans, so use it only on white or ivory fabric and leave the real cleaning to the preservationist.

~$5 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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Thirty satin buttons up the back take twenty nervous minutes by hand and three with a hook, and the same tool loops the bustle. Tie a ribbon to it so it does not vanish in the suite, and hand it to whoever is doing the dress.

~$5 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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For the dress photos in the morning. Order a few weeks ahead.

~$10 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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Photographers ask for a velvet box in a wedding colour because the wooden box the rings came in disappears in a flat lay. Two slots hold both bands, and the lid lifts off for the shot. Pick ivory, sage or dusty blue to match the palette; this one is for the photos, not the ring bearer.

~$10 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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A long veil in a breeze wraps itself around your face during the vows. Four to six magnetic pearls clipped along the hem hold it down without a stitch, and the rest can weight a dress hem or a scarf.

~$10 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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Foundation, tanner and lotion on twelve helping hands end up on the bodice. A pair of cotton gloves for whoever laces or buttons the gown keeps it clean, which is a stylist's quiet secret. Pick the size closest to the helper's hands.

~$10 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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