Where Should You Get Ready on Your Wedding Day?

Somewhere around the third venue tour, the question shows up: where are we actually getting ready that morning? It sounds small. It decides how calm the first half of your wedding day feels, how your photographer spends the morning, and whether anyone ends up driving across the county in a suit with a garment bag over one arm.

Here is how to think it through, and how it works when your wedding is at Highland Oaks.

Your three real options

Most couples land in one of three places.

• A getting-ready space at the venue. A bridal suite or cottage and a separate room for the other side of the wedding party, right on the property.
• A hotel room or suite. Familiar, easy to book, and handy if you are already staying there the night before.
• Home or a rental house. Comfortable and personal, especially if a parent’s house holds some meaning for you.

None of these is wrong. The right answer depends on the distance between that room and your ceremony, how much natural light it has, and how many people need to fit inside it at once.

Why getting ready on site usually wins

The biggest advantage of getting ready at your venue is the thing that does not happen: travel. No one has to load the dress into a car, no one is watching the clock on a shuttle, and nobody is stuck in traffic on the way to the ceremony.

It also helps your photographer. When the getting-ready rooms are a short walk from the ceremony site, they can move between both sides of the wedding party, catch the details, and still have time for portraits before guests arrive. Every minute they are not driving is a minute they are photographing.

And it keeps your timeline honest. When hair, makeup, the ceremony and the reception are all in one place, a fifteen minute delay stays a fifteen minute delay instead of turning into forty-five.

What to look for in a getting-ready space

Whether you are touring a venue suite or booking a hotel, walk the room with the morning in mind, not just the photos online.

• Window light. Your hair and makeup artist and your photographer will both thank you for a room with good natural light.
• Room to breathe. Count the people who will be in there at once, plus chairs for stylists and a spot for the dress to hang.
• Outlets and mirrors. Curling irons, steamers and phone chargers add up fast.
• A restroom close by. You will be grateful for this one.
• Distance to the ceremony. Walking is easy. Driving in a gown is not.
• What time you can get in. Ask for the exact time, in writing, so your beauty schedule can be built around it.

How getting ready works at Highland Oaks

Every rental at Highland Oaks includes access to both get-ready spaces: the Bridal Cottage and the Groom’s Suite. They are part of your twelve hour rental window, not an add-on.

Both are ready for you at nine in the morning. While you settle in, our staff sets up the barn for your reception or indoor ceremony, and we have everything finished by noon. If you are planning a morning ceremony, we will coordinate an earlier agreed-upon time so the rooms and the barn are ready when you need them. If you want the full picture of how the day’s access works, our post on what time you can get into your wedding venue walks through it hour by hour.

One practical note: the kitchens in the cottage and the Groom’s Suite are for your own use, like coffee, snacks and keeping drinks cold. Your caterer works out of the prep kitchen at the barn, which keeps the food and the getting-ready rooms in their own lanes.

Because the cottage, the Groom’s Suite and the ceremony sites all sit on the same thirty-six acres, there is no drive to plan between them. Fall mornings out here are quiet and cool, with light coming through the oaks, and that unhurried start shows up in the photos.

How much time to plan for getting ready

This is where most timelines go sideways, so build it from the bottom up instead of guessing.

Ask your hair and makeup artist how long they need per person, then multiply by the number of people they are working on. Add a cushion for touch-ups and the moment someone cannot find their shoes. Then work backward from the time you want to be dressed, which should leave room for detail photos and any first look before the ceremony.

Once you have that number, compare it to the time your getting-ready space opens. If the math does not fit, it is better to find out now than at ten in the morning on the day.

Who should be in the room

Getting-ready rooms fill up quickly. Your wedding party, your mom, a sister who is not in the wedding party, the photographer, the stylists, and a flower girl who has discovered the snack tray.

Decide ahead of time who you want with you, and who might be happier stopping by for a few minutes. A calmer room usually means a calmer you, and it is easier for your photographer to work when they can move around.

What to pack for your getting-ready space

A small bag set aside the week before saves a lot of searching that morning.

• Your dress, suit, shoes and accessories, all together in one place
• Something to eat and plenty of water, especially if the ceremony is in the afternoon
• A steamer, safety pins, tape for hems, and a small sewing kit
• Phone chargers and a portable speaker for music while you get ready
• Any detail items you want photographed: rings, invitation, perfume, jewelry, vow books
• Comfortable clothes and a button-front shirt so you are not pulling anything over your hair

Hand one person the job of packing everything back up at the end of the night. That is the bag that tends to get left behind.

If you would rather stay the night before

Some couples want to wake up already at their venue. At Highland Oaks, you can add a night-before stay at the cottage, so your closest people can be right here that evening and the morning of. It is based on availability and cannot be reserved until ninety days before your wedding date. Overnight stays are for up to four adults, and the cottage is non-smoking. You can see it listed with the other add-ons on our pricing page.

For everyone else, hotels in Corydon and New Albany are about fifteen to twenty-five minutes away, and Louisville is about twenty-five minutes from us in Palmyra. That makes it easy for out-of-town family to stay close and still arrive with time to spare.

Getting ready is hard to picture from a listing. You want to stand in the room, look at the light, and walk the path you will take to the ceremony. Come see the Bridal Cottage, the Groom’s Suite and the rest of the property in person. Tours take about forty-five minutes, and you can bring every question on your list. Our FAQ covers the rest.