For women: Here’s what to do if you have your period on your wedding day

Whether it usually arrives in a punctual manner or tends to be irregular, the thought of having a period on your wedding day is enough to fill you with dread. Don’t panic.

While having your period on a wedding day is certainly not ideal, you don’t have to let it ruin your big day. Here’s how to manage the situation:

Using the bathroom in an elaborate dress is hard enough, but add a period into the mix and you may need some assistance.

Inform your maid of honour about your period, and let them know you’ll need their help during the day. You might even want to pass off some ibuprofen to them for safekeeping. Ask them to hold some menstrual products for you, if need be, and get them to keep an eye on your dress. While it’s unlikely you’ll have an accident, it’s always comforting knowing someone has your back just in case.

Whether you’re expecting your period on your wedding day or not, it’s a good idea to pack a bridal emergency kit. In it should be safety pins, bobby pins, a sewing kit, a hair tie, deodorant, breath fresheners, and of course, pain relievers.

Medication like ibuprofen or Midol can help to relieve PMS symptoms such as cramps, backache, headache, and more.

Tampons, pads, panty liners, period panties, shorts, baby wipes, painkillers, hot water bottle, chocolate, and any period paraphernalia that you can think of should go in the bridal bag. Bring it all along with you even though you probably won’t be using most of it. You’ll feel a lot more at ease when you know that you have everything you could possibly need on hand.

Make sure your maid of honour knows where everything is so that you can quickly gain access to anything you need.

Having your time of the month coinciding with your big day isn’t the end of the world. It’s important to remember that you’ve lived through your period many times before, and you’ll get through it again, too.

With a bit of preparation and some help from trusted friends, your period doesn’t need to play a big role in your wedding. Because between dancing, amazing food and marrying the love of your life, you’ll have plenty of other things to think about.