What is an OH SHIT KIT? It's the bag filled with all the important items you might find yourself needing on your wedding day. Think of it as your emergency preparedness kit for your wedding day.
What to put in your OH SHIT KIT
I took my years in the theatre, a stint in event-planning, and the combined ingenuity of Megan and (seemingly the entire Offbeat Wed community) on this post, and I compiled the Mother of All “Oh Shit!” Kits stock lists. Here it is — all in one place, for your handily-wedding bliss — and I promise that they can all fit into a regulation medium-sized toolbox — I have done it with my own hands!
“Oh Shit!” kit #1: The ultimate wedding survival kit
- Vodka — a flask of it can calm some nerves, clear out poison ivy and jellyfish stings, help shine metal things, and help preserve your flowers. Marshmallow vodka = just as good, but you don't have to make that face when you drink it.)
- Washcloth or rag
- Extra underwear
- Tampons and pantiliners — as another Tribesmaid said, stick it to an inner seam to catch sweat
- Condoms and lube
- Travel first aid kit
- Band aids
- Advil/ibuprofen — it's an anti-inflammatory, so if someone twists an ankle it'll do much more good than acetaminophen or ASA.
- Pepto bismol caplets
- Over-the-counter allergy medication (non-drowsy)
- A high-carb snack (like a granola bar)
- A high-protein snack — like a handful of nuts in a bag, or some jerky
- Mints (for sugar, and breath freshening)
- Bleach pen/stain remover
- Tiny tube of Superglue
- Clear extra-hold aerosol hairspray — horrible for the environment, really good for makeup and hair malfunctions, and for stopping runs in stockings
- Kleenex
- Blotting papers
- Makeup removing pads
- A wee makeup touch-up kit with your wedding day make-up
- Compact mirror
- Tweezers
- Glue and extras for false eyelashes (if you're using them)
- Q-tips
- Moisturizer
- Chapstick and/or lipgloss
- Safety pins (various sizes)
- A razor
- Nail clippers
- Fashion tape — a double-sided super-strong and sweat-proof tape originally intended to tape your dress to your breasts, but it's really good for hemming, and garment repairs.
- Sunscreen
- Bobby pins
- Sewing kit — including a thimble and a pair of scissors
- If your dress has snaps, beads or hooks, bring extra.
- Deodorant
- Travel Febreeze
- Lint roller (or packing tape)
- A lighter (this lighter case is also a bottle opener!)
- Heel protectors and moleskins
- Breath strips
- Dental floss
- A toothbrush — if you don't use it to brush your teeth, you can buff your shoes
- Drinking straws — save yo' lipstick
- Multitool with needle-nosed pliers — good for fixing jewelry, glasses, and stuff like that.
- Small notebook
- Phone charger(s)
- Flash drive
- List of all vendors and important people, with contact numbers and notes on when/why to contact them.
“Oh-Shit!” kit 2: Decormergency
- Black duct tape
- White duct tape — it's totally a thing!
- Clear packing tape/Scotch tape
- Command Strips with hooks
- Binder clips — various sizes
- Sewing kit with scissors
- Clear vodka — to get out stains and nerves
- A lighter — to light candles, burn off fluff (careful!), etc.
- Safety pins — various sizes
- A length of thin nylon rope — you wouldn't believe…
- Super glue
- Bleach pen/stain remover
- Liquid white out
- Sharpie
- Pens — black and blue; non-ballpoint is most versatile
- Pencil
- String
- Multitool with a corkscrew, screwdriver, and knife
- Lint roller
- An extension cord
- AA and AAA batteries
Tips for both kits
- Assemble them a few days before the wedding, save your receipts and return whatever you don't open if you won't use it.
- List the contents of the kit clearly on the OUTSIDE of the container.
- Tell EVERYONE where it is, and make it visible enough for them to see it in an emergency.
- Bring it with you from where you're getting ready! Don't forget it — it's no use to anyone if it's not where the party is!
Okay guys, back me up: what'd I forget?
Sippy Cup – same theory as the straw
FunTack
Dr. Sholls rub relief stick
A copy of your schedule/plan
Cab fare/extra cash
Battery powered fan
I’m toying with the idea of folding fans as favours and/or carrying one myself. That way, if all the batteries get used it’ll still be useful. 🙂
I’d add that aspirin back in, honestly – it can do a lot of good in the case of a heart attack
I personally find it more effective for pain relief than paracetamol or ibuprofen.
And on a more vain note, it’s good for pimple emergencies too.
Compact umbrella? Even if it’s a gorgeous day, it could be handy to have in lots of different situations.
extra boutonniere
extra rings
some ribbon (some matching the dress, some matching the decor)
prescriptions of the wedding party
sensory kit in case of overload (include objects to touch, smell, taste, see, and ear)
an extra pair of flats
Ooh, good call on the flats! My friend the bride purchased Solemates Foldable Ballet Flats w/ Expandable Tote Bag for Carrying Heels for all the bridesmaids. By the end of the night I was praising her for gifting them.
Darn it! I got excited about this as a potential gift for my bridesmaids… and then remembered my MOH wears a child’s size 3. Darn 🙁
I’m a size 3(ish) too….. you could get away with those in a women’s 5, and since they’re elastic, you could even do a 6!
I love how vodka is in both of them!
Scissors. I’d recommend one in each box.
Any prescription medications you take.
Eye drops. Related: contact solution/case and glasses just in case (if you use them).
Purell and a BAR of soap.
Shoe polish.
I second Matthew’s suggestion of cash.
In addition to all of your vendors, I’d recommend doing research well in advance on the closest hospital, walk-in clinic, emergency dentist, and 24-hour pharmacy. Include directions and phone numbers. According to Murphy’s law, if you do the research and have the information, you won’t need it, so make Murphy work for you!
emergency cab numbers, too!
Funny you should mention that…
At my wedding, I did research on all of the medical stuff we might need. As I hoped, we didn’t need any of it.
I didn’t research cabs. We needed one.
I hate Murphy.
THAT WAS TOTALLY WICKED! (I’m the Tribesmaid that supplied the pantyliner trick.) I’ve just sat here wracking my brain to remember what else is in my stage manager’s kit and all I can come up with are a couple of rubber bands and pony tail elastics for the Ultimate Oh Shit Kit. (Said SM kit lives in my trunk and as much as I love you all, it’s snowing out there and I just took my bra off. I’m in for the night.) The Decormergency kit needs a scraper/razor blade (gum off shoes, tape off of venue windows, etc.).
And serious tip: screw Duct Tape– spring for gaffer’s tape. SO MUCH BETTER than the other stuff. http://www.findtape.com/product163/JVCC-GAFF30YD-Premium-Grade-30-Yard-Gaffers-Tape.aspx?bc=F&vid=398&gclid=CO71xsaY1LoCFag7OgodbmEAFQ
This crap will hold a grown man to a 2″ steel pipe dangling over 10′ in the air. (He volunteered! Don’t ask. It’s theatre.) It doesn’t get gummy and leave tracks on carpet unless you let it stay there for hours or it gets hot (like 250* hot). It doesn’t take your skin with it unless you’re *trying* to wax your arm. It’s rubberized, so it can work as an emergency insulator if an electrical cord gets pulled/splits. It’s not shiny so you can use it on the bottom of your shoes for traction or to help reattach a heel pad. SO MANY USES.
As a techie, I am totally in love with your suggestions! I <3 gaff tape!
I carry a pack of those little clear hair elastics almost everywhere these days. They’re close in size to the ones I used when I had braces, and I often end up tying my shoulder-length, heavily layered, thicker-than-it-looks hair back due to practical situations and weather conditions. And 300 of the suckers pack into a credit card-sized ziplock pouch. 🙂
I was JUST going to say Gaff Tape > Duct Tape and it comes in all the colors ever! Theater folk for the WIN!
Also, Vodka isn’t so good for stains but it IS good for getting out smells. We use it to get rid of BO on costumes that can’t be washed. (Something to think about next time you find yourself at the ballet is that those tutus have never been washed.)
Your glasses! You never know when you’re going to rip a contact or your eyes will get so irritated that you just can’t wear contacts. Glasses are a great back up plan incase your contacts fail (you don’t want to be half blind at your own wedding!)
Plus an extra pair of contacts! 🙂
Scissors. Scissors scissors scissors.
Instead of a deodorant stick, I’d highly suggest antiperspirant/deodorant wipes! That way more than one person can use the wipes and it eliminates the ew factor! As well I think it was mentioned but Bandaid Blister Block has saved many a heel and it smells wonderful! Clear nail polish is good for stopping runs and doing touch ups. Extra earring backs ALWAYS come in handy. And finally a comb or brush!
Washcloths/small towels. We camped in cabins at our wedding, and I had to use toilet paper (ew) to wipe off my Pond’s makeup remover because I had everything under the sun in my oh-shit-kit except a washcloth. *sigh*
Link to a more “PG” list if anybody has family members who might object to the name we’ve given it:
http://www.realsimple.com/weddings/planning/wedding-essentials-packing-checklist-00000000000224/index.html
My sweety just yelled ( after I stated to clearly mark the box and keep it where everyone can see it) ” Can you grab the lube!?!?!” hehehe, THIS is why I am marrying this man!!
Thanks for the list! <3
Just to check – the condoms and lube are for sex, right? As a lesbo who is fluid-bound to my partner, I wouldn’t need either, unless there is some other use for them that I am missing. (We used to use condoms to hold mic packs in the theatre, so I’m pretty sure there are other great uses for them, but I probably don’t need them in my kit.)
You may not need it, but you never know which one of your guests might do 🙂
Yeah, I feel like condoms are just one of those things that are nice to have around?
I used to keep some in my purse at all times (when I was not having any sex with anyone, but I volunteered with an AIDS organization) and friends knew and occasionally at parties someone would sort of apologize for going into my bag but let me know they took one ’cause they knew they needed one and didn’t have it and figured there would be one there. Like, you definitely don’t need them in an emergency kit, but if you have them, it’s great to let friends know they’re around too.
A nail file!! I keep two in my camera bag because I always seem to be breaking a nail, and they have come in very handy at weddings!
I’m not gonna lie, I freakin’ love organising things. . . And my current pre wedding organising task is this. And instead of being “the thing that hangs over the door with all the stuff we might need in case there’s an emergency”. . . It can now be called the oh shit kit! I’m sure I saw the idea on another post here, but Im gonna put all these things into one of those clear shoe pocket organisers that you can hang over the door for easy access!
Thank you for giving me the perfect excuse to get another toolbox! 😀
I was always the weird goth kid who had weird stuff in her bag, but was suddenly very popular when someone needed a safety pin, screwdriver, stapler, tape, hairpins, painkillers, tissues……..
Tow tabs! I don’t know where you all are from, but here in Canada we used to find them at Safeway and now find a similar brand at Dollarama. They look like rolaids (a small white circle) but they are sized to fit in the cap of a water bottle. You add water to them and they expand into biodegrable chemical free soft cloths. I carry them in my diaper bag, purse, and always toss them in the oh shit kits I make for my friends!
White chalk. It’s amazing for getting out grease and covering up stains on a wedding gown. I put this in my friend
s wedding emergency kit and she used it the day of. She used the entire kit before and the day of her wedding. She told me recently she still uses it to this day, replenishing anything she runs out of.
Water bottle!
I suffer from an intolerance to garlic (which is in more foods than you might realise) So personally I will be adding rapid dissolve anti diarrhoea tablets to my list. The last thing I want is to go haring off desperately searching for a bathroom!
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Zip ties! We used zip ties to hang all of our decorations to the rafters, my day of coordinator was amazed when we were having an issue getting an exstension cord to an outlet without a tripping hazard, I was like put a zip tie here, here, and here, then the cord was above heads and not under feet. I am in looooove with zip ties.