Alcohol can both, enhance your wedding, and ruin it, but as with any wedding day, it's pretty much a given that the booze will be flowing throughout the duration, and by the end of the night your aunty will be 100% guaranteed to be standing on the table, knocking back a bottle of prosecco whilst doing the macarena, the best man has fallen asleep against the disco's speaker and one of the brides maid's has copped off with your cousin you've not seen for a good 5 years.
No doubt, as the bride and groom, they'll be a multitude of drinks thrown your way throughout the day and why the hell not, it's your wedding?!
Let's pause for a second and consider the next day though. I'm not going to lie, if you've been HEAVILY on the sauce, It's more than likely going to hurt, and the very prospect of opening your eyes the morning after is likely to be an afterthought, whilst your knocking back shots and spilling it all over that dress you just spent thousands on!
Especially if you're having a summer wedding and it's a warm day, the effects of that JD and coke are going to be amplified, dehydrating you even further and adding insult to injury to what is already going to be a monumental hangover.
So, I've put together a couple of ideas that can help ease the sore head the next day and mean that whilst you won't be waking up as fresh as a daisy, you can at least be some sort of functioning adult the next day. Trust me, you'll thank me later.
WATER!
For the love of God, stay hydrated. Now, I don't want to be the guy to turn around and tell you to carry a bottle of water around for the whole day sipping it periodically, but between knocking back the champagne, try and break things up with a good old glug of water here and there. We all know alcohol dehydrates you, and making sure you drink a healthy amount to dilute down the multitude of drinks you'll no doubt be having will really help alleviate the strain in the morning. If you can't manage that, try and drink as much H2O as you physically can as soon as you retire for the night.
Eat!
I always say to every couple I work with, that when you get married, the bride and groom will essentially be celebrities for the day, with every single person competing for your attention in one way or another. Now, the flip side to this, is that quite often, you're so busy circulating with your guests, that food drops down the priority list. It's not so much of a problem when you're having a sit-down wedding breakfast in the daytime, but when it comes to the evening reception, more often than not, the guests jump in the queue before you do, meaning its slim pickings by the time you eventually get a look in.
Ensure you're in that queue, soak up a bit of booze, and that will go a long way to easing the hangover the next day.
Midnight Snacks!
I'm seeing more and more of this at weddings now, couples asking their venues/caterers to lay on a round of bacon or sausage sandwiches once the night eventually meets its end. Let's face it, if you went out for a night on the tiles, you'd think nothing of stumbling into a kebab shop, so why would your wedding be any different? Even if you didn't get so much as a crumb for the evening buffet, this is an added buffer for the evening to ensure you've got a lining for your stomach.
Pain Killers!
Especially if you're staying over at your venue of choice, pack some in your overnight bag for the next morning. There's nothing worse than scrambling around for some ibuprofen, with a killer headache. Preparation is key! ***DISCLAIMER - always follow doctors' orders with this one, and don't take them on an empty stomach!***
A good breakfast!
Now, I don't know about you, but the only thing I want the morning after the night before is a good old fry-up! I'm by no means a doctor, but studies suggest, that, L-cysteine — a type of amino acid found in eggs, yoghurt, and oats — may help ease the effects of a heavy night. Team that up with plenty of water, and all of a sudden you'll be on the road to recovery before you know it!
And there we have it, folks, a few little tips to help ease the head the next day.
I'm sure there are a few more old wives' tales that'll help, but if you can think of anything that I've missed, drop it down in the comments, and I'll take one for the team and give them all a whirl... for science obviously.
Peace, love and Photo's.
Jono x