What She Did: A Turks & Caicos Bride's Guide To Staying Calm & Prepared For Your Wedding Day

April 2024 Bride Chloe Langan, née Spellman, shares her advice & inspiration for future brides.

On April 27, 2024 at The Palms Turks & Caicos, Chloe Spellman walked herself down a rose-lined aisle, stopping briefly at the edge of a bubbling fountain to adjust her veil. The move was met with 'whoops!' and applause from the intimate crowd of nearly 80 friends and family, who mostly traveled in from New York City - the bride and groom's hometown - to the tropical destination for the fete. Chloe continued her journey, past guests adorned in floral-inspired jewel tones per the bride's request - and into the outstretched hands of her groom, Jack Langan.

Following the exchange of tear-jerking vows, the couple sealed the deal with a kiss and the party began (or continued, we should say). A steel drum was the background music for a whimsical outdoor cocktail hour on a patio overlooking the lush ceremony space and the golden hour sun offered ideal lighting for photos. Guests were later ushered to The Palms' spa area, where a glistening shallow pool was a partition, leading to the head table and dance floor. Following dinner and sentimental speeches, DJ Dayoh (@onceiwasadj) had the crowd on the dance floor through the end of the night, designating the crowd as the "best looking" and "most fun" he's ever seen.

Post-nuptials, WDID Bride Chloe shared her wedding day preparation advice with the What Do I Do Bride community.

Pace Yourself

Pace yourself and build in down time to recharge. On actual wedding day, keep yourself busy with your girls whether that means going out to get breakfast or doing an early workout together it will distract you from the nerves and get you ready for the day.

Combat The Nerves

If you’re nervous to read your vows, do a private reading first during first look - it will take all the pressure off for the real ceremony and you can feel totally vulnerable to cry as much as possible you want to! I was also petrified to cry hard during my vows but once you accept that it's okay to cry and stop trying to resist it, it becomes less of a big deal and you can enjoy it more!

"At the end of the day you can’t control everything. My best advice would be to always to look at the glass half full, then stress about the small details that may be a little askew."

Photo Inspiration Is Important

Leading up to the wedding day, make sure you and your photographer are on the same page. It was so important to me that my photos captured real candid moments not only of me and my husband but of all my guests in addition to the more traditional portrait style photography. Plus, picture inspiration is everything. Most people are visual learners, particularly ones working in this industry where their job is to bring your vision to life. Make sure you have inspiration for not only hair and makeup, but also vibe you’re going for. For example, at my welcome party a lot of guests ended up storming into the ocean after fireworks so while that was unplanned, we had editorial images of clothed people having fun in water as inspiration!

I highly recommend building in in portrait time during the wedding with your photographer. To get time alone with your partner, even if for a photograph, is so sacred amongst the chaos and small talk. Plus, these moments make for great photos to look back on!

Go With Your Gut

Always go with your gut on your dress. It’s like taking a test and your first answer being right but then, you second guess yourself and put a new answer, only for it to be wrong. Dresses are typically bought and made at least 8 months out, which opens the door to a lot of time to have second thoughts. Your whole social media algorithm becomes wedding dresses and every single one makes you double think your decision. If you’re really itching to infuse a different vibe into your look, start shopping for a second look! If you’re not doing a second look, remember that you can make the dress look super different with a new hairstyle, lip color or shoe.

Maximize Your Budget

You can make a big difference with relatively inexpensive and creative additions. One thing that was a nice touch for the ceremony is that we got custom wooden fans with our names on them from Etsy to put on the chairs before guests arrived. Not only was it helpful and functional to use during the ceremony in the sun, but guests continued to use them all night as a fun prop, and they highlighted our use of color!

Don't Be Afraid Of Color!

I know a lot of the bridal trends have been all about neutrals -- but adding color across your florals, bridesmaids, even little things like pink fans help liven up the vibe and differentiate the images. You can still infuse color in a timeless and elegant way.

Don't Forget...

Make sure you have two sets of your favorite lip combo -- one for your photographer to hold and one for your MOH to hold to avoid moments where you have no lip on! Also, get a portable charger! Especially for the days leading up to wedding events when you’re running around coordinating with vendors and planners. If your phone dies they won’t know where to meet you and you will have to scramble last minute to connect with them.

Don't Get Sick!

Double down on immunity support supplements week of, as you will be burning the candle at both ends and more prone to get sick with lack of sleep and high cortisol.

Have Your Girl Gang on Lock

Make sure your MOH or someone close to you is aligned to and with your vision. I had my MOH run over to the reception space to check out everything and she was able to fix a few small details on site because she knew what I wanted. This will alleviate the stress off of you and allow you to enjoy yourself without worrying things won't go as you expected them to.

Create Your Own Rules

I was so nervous about a first dance and what was to follow that -- I had lost my dad and typically there’s a father daughter dance, etc. So, don’t be afraid to write your own rules. Our first dance was alongside all our friends on the dance floor to Rihanna’s “We Found Love,” and it was honestly one of my best memories of the whole night. Similarly, I was stressed out about walking down the aisle alone. It is ok to have some decisions that are made day of. I always had a back up plan if I was feeling too emotional or nervous, and planned to have my husband walk down with me, which would have been completely ok with me. You don’t need to have everything planned out to a T -- leave some things to see how you’re feeling day of because emotions can hit at different times and you can’t always predict it!

Look & Feel Like Yourself

If you are not used to heavy makeup, don’t feel pressured get a makeup artist. At the end of the day, you want to look like yourself. If you’re someone who doesn’t wear a lot of makeup then comes in hot with a structured brow, full coverage foundation and a smokey eye -- you (and/or your partner) may not love that look. Try and test things out. One of the best things I did was get a makeup lesson with an artist at Bobbi Brown who does most of Bridal Fashion Week.