Bride’s Guide: How to Handle an Injury on Your Big Day

You want everything picture perfect at your wedding. But accidents happen, however unfortunate. So, how do you handle an injury on your big day?

Here are a few need-to-know tips.

The first step in emergency care is triage — hospitals do this to determine the severity of your injury. A twisted ankle isn’t necessarily cause for alarm if it doesn’t do lasting damage.

Fortunately, most strains and sprains heal with little more than RICE — rest, ice, compression and elevation. These injuries can take anywhere from a few days to weeks to heal, so if they happen long enough before the wedding, you could be right as rain.

What if you take a volleyball to the face like a nightmare out of “Meet the Fockers?” If you’re sporting a shiner on your wedding day, you understandably feel crushed. Fortunately, the magic of makeup will let you do a passing job of covering it up, at least well enough to fool photographs.

However, what if you ended up with a cast? If you don’t want to walk up a long aisle on crutches, see if your venue has a side entrance where you can proceed directly to the altar. It might be non-traditional, but another option is to have your sweetheart wheel you to the location. Is it ideal? No, but think of the one-of-a-kind keepsake you’ll have once all your invitees sign your plaster — it’s trés more trendy than a guest book.

What if the injury occurs during the festivities? Those long trains can trip you. Please ensure you prepare for eventualities by taking a first aid kit — don’t rely on your venue. You can buy pre-assembled models or make one. Be sure to include the following:

• Large triangular bandages
• Rolled bandages
• Sterile gauze dressing
• Wound disinfectant
• Sticky tape
• Tweezers
• Insect bite and sting care
• Scissors
• Disposable gloves

You may also want to include various pain relievers and other remedies like cough syrup, but please use caution. You should not share medications with those outside of your immediate family and never lend your prescription to others.

You don’t want to think about an accident affecting your big day, but life happens. When it does, prepare yourself with the above tips.