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By Forever Farrah Published 2026-10-20.
What a wedding planner's emergency kit should hold: first aid, attire fixes, tools, paperwork, tech and comfort items, plus what to leave out and how to pack it.
A wedding planner's emergency kit is a stocked first aid kit plus the fixes a wedding needs: a sewing kit, safety pins, fashion tape and stain remover for attire; scissors, tape, zip ties and a multi-tool for décor; phone chargers and a power bank; printed copies of the run of show, vendor contact sheet and seating chart; and water, snacks and sunscreen. It is your kit, for every wedding you run, so build it once, restock it after each event and keep it in one labelled bag.
A couple's emergency kit is packed once, for one day, and usually carried by a friend. A planner's kit is a piece of equipment. It goes to every wedding, it has to work in a marquee, a hotel ballroom and a field, and it has to be restocked between weddings. That changes three things: it should be organized so anyone on your team can find a safety pin in the dark, it should carry a restock list, and it should hold paperwork that only the planner has.
Many planners split it in two: a main kit that stays at the reception and a small pouch that travels with the couple for photos. That is common practice, not a rule, but it means nobody in the wedding party is running across a golf course for a hair grip.
Do not build first aid supplies from memory. Start from a published list and add to it. The Mayo Clinic's first aid kit list includes adhesive tape, elastic wrap bandages, bandage strips, instant cold packs, nonlatex gloves, scissors and tweezers, hand sanitizer and antibiotic ointment, among other items. The American Red Cross first aid kit list adds antiseptic wipes, an emergency blanket, an instant cold compress, triangular bandages and first aid instructions. In the UK, St John Ambulance's first aid kit guide groups it into dressings, plasters, bandages, gloves and infection control.
On top of the standard kit, weddings call for blister plasters (new shoes, long day) and plenty of plasters in small sizes.
This is a judgment call, and here is ours: a planner should not give medicines to guests. Pain relief, antihistamines and anything else are personal, and the person taking them should be the one who chose them. Many planners still carry common pain relief for the couple and the wedding party, offered only to adults who ask for something they already take. Check what your business insurance says about it. The NAIC's page on event insurance notes that event insurance typically covers things like liability and personal injury, which is exactly the area to read your own policy on.
Ask at the handover meeting whether anyone in the couple's party has a prescribed medicine they must carry, such as an inhaler or an adrenaline auto-injector, and who has it on the day.
| Category | What to pack | Why |
|---|---|---|
| First aid | A standard kit, plus blister plasters and extra small plasters | Cuts, burns, blisters from new shoes |
| Attire | Sewing kit in white, black and ivory, safety pins, fashion tape, stain remover pen, lint roller, spare buttons | Hems, straps and spills before photos |
| Hair and beauty | Hair grips and ties, clear nail polish, tissues, blotting papers, a small mirror | Running repairs between ceremony and portraits |
| Décor and setup | Scissors, clear tape, gaffer tape, zip ties, a multi-tool, string, a lighter, spare batteries | Signs that will not stay up, candles that will not light |
| Tech | Phone chargers for common phones, a charged power bank, a spare extension lead | Your phone is the run of show |
| Paperwork | Run of show, vendor contact sheet, seating chart by table, floor plan, a pen and a marker | When phones die or the Wi-Fi does |
| Comfort | Water, snacks, sunscreen, a small umbrella, hand warmers in winter | The couple and the wedding party forget to eat |
| Money | Labelled payment and tip envelopes, kept separately and securely | Paid at agreed times, to named people |
Print the paperwork from the run of show template and the vendor contact sheet, and the seating chart sorted by table for the caterer.
Outdoor weddings add heat, sun and rain. Pack sunscreen, water and shade options for a summer ceremony, and know the signs of heat illness. The NHS page on heat exhaustion and heatstroke lists tiredness, dizziness, headache, feeling sick, heavy sweating, cramps, a high temperature and being very thirsty, says someone with heat exhaustion needs to be cooled down and given fluids, and treats heatstroke as a medical emergency. For a winter wedding, swap sunscreen for hand warmers and a spare umbrella or two for the walk to photos.
Write the local emergency number on the front of your vendor contact sheet, along with the venue's full address and the nearest hospital, so whoever calls can say exactly where they are.
| Country | Number | Source |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 911 | 911.gov |
| Canada | 911 | Government of Canada |
| United Kingdom | 999, or 112 | GOV.UK |
| Australia | 000, or 112 from a mobile | Department of Infrastructure |
Sources: 911.gov; the Government of Canada's emergency procedures, which give 911; GOV.UK on 999 and 112; and the Australian Government's Triple Zero page, which notes 112 works from a mobile but not a landline.
The kit handles the physical surprises. Forever Farrah handles one of the paper ones: the seating chart. In the planner dashboard, each client wedding has its guest list, RSVPs and seating chart in one place, with Matchmaker (automatic seating) to place guests and drag-and-drop to move them. Guests scan one QR code at the door to find their table on their phone, so a guest who turns up unexpectedly can be seated and the change shows up straight away, without reprinting the chart. Your first 2 client weddings are free.
A standard first aid kit plus blister plasters, a sewing kit, safety pins, fashion tape, stain remover, scissors, tape, zip ties, chargers and a power bank, printed copies of the run of show, vendor contact sheet and seating chart, and water and snacks.
We suggest not. Medicines are personal, and the person taking them should choose them. Ask whether anyone in the wedding party carries a prescribed medicine, and check what your business insurance says.
After every wedding, from a restock list kept in the bag, with a check of expiry dates at the start of each season.
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