Do Brides Carry Purses? [Is This A Wedding Day Essential?]

It’s your wedding day, and you have enough going on. But what about the lipsticks, the change of shoes, and all the extras? Can a bride carry a purse to provide a little more convenience? Here is what you need to know!

So, do brides carry purses? It is more likely for a bride to have an oversized tote bag that she stores away somewhere safe. This tote bag will typically have her purse and other useful items in it. However, there are a few style options for adding a purse to the look should a bride decide she wants to keep one on her person.

Let’s talk about why you need a purse, why you don’t, and how to do it if you want to bring one along!

Do You Need A Purse On Your Wedding Day?

A bride does not NEED a purse on her wedding day, but it definitely can be helpful to have a purse or tote bag to store her items. 

A great example of when a bride would need her purse on her wedding day is to tip the hair and makeup team if she has one. 

A purse may also be used as a style choice with the wedding dress. 

She may not wear it while walking down the aisle (nothing is stopping you if you want to), but it may be nice to have it as a statement piece. 

It’s less common for women to have a smaller purse as a statement piece because typically, the dress is what everyone is looking at and the bride herself. 

However, what is common is having a functional tote or bag to keep in your dressing room and haul around before the wedding. 

This is because you can store a lot of different things that you may need throughout the day in your purse or bag. 

What Should A Bride Carry In Her Purse On Her Wedding Day?

You may have things like lipsticks, extra shoes, gifts, and more in your purse or tote bag. 

But what you are going to pack in your tote bag is going to be very different than what you will pack in your small purse. 

You can choose to have both, or you can simply go with one over the other. 

Let’s get into some of the differences between the two and what makes the most sense!

Tote Bag

Tote bags can be anything from a Longchamp to a real big bag. 

You know the kinds of bags where a woman can fit an entire body on her way to the beach? 

These bags are big, heavy, and stylish! 

More important they carry everything you would possibly need.

On your wedding day, it is important that you leave nothing behind. 

Things you think you don’t need all of a sudden become essentials. 

Plus, if you hire your maid of honor to pack your bag for you, it doesn’t give her the impossible task of shoving things in a tiny purse or finding ways to stuff bridesmaid’s gifts into her robe pockets. 

Here is what can be useful to pack in a tote bag. 

Makeup/Hair Tools

Whatever you need for your hair that your hairdresser either won’t have or won’t be able to give you all day is important. 

Extra bobby pins, mini hairsprays, dry shampoo, and other valuable things are important to put in your oversized tote in case you need them at any point. 

Also, any makeup removers, special eyeshadow, lip gloss, or touchup makeup is important to have on hand. 

Shoes/Extra Clothes

Every bride needs to have her lingerie, a flat pair of shoes (or at least comfy ones), her button shirt if she already isn’t wearing it, and things of the such in her bag. 

You may even pack some of your overnight clothes to change into later. 

Gifts

It’s great to put tiny gifts if you have them into your bag to give to your girls if you haven’t already. 

Now, if you are giving out bigger gifts like champagne bottles, this may not work, but jewelry, cards, and other things should go in your bag for wherever you decide to give them out. 

Mini First Aid

It wouldn’t be a wedding day if someone didn’t get hurt. 

Having some bandaids, vaseline, and anything that may be useful in case someone knicks themselves is useful.

Consider bringing a tiny mini first aid kit and some pain relievers like NSAID’s. 

Small Purse

A small purse has the same set of functions but at the same time a completely different purpose. 

A small purse, as we noted, can be a stylish add-on to the dress. 

If you plan on bringing it out during the wedding, you definitely don’t want it to be huge and take away from the dress.

Consider bringing a smaller purse and filling it with a few things that make the most sense. 

These items will be things like mementos, tiny makeup, your cell phone, etc. 

Let’s get into it. 

Your Spritzers

A roller perfume bottle is a perfect thing to keep close to you. 

It’s going to get hot and sweaty when you tear up the dance floor, so it is always a great idea to bring something to spritz you up just a bit. 

Lip gloss and lipsticks always wear down, so these also hand things to have nearby. 

Anything really that you can see yourself using or reapplying every few hours is a good thing to have in a small purse. 

Accessories

Likely you will not need to be checking your phone because everyone you love will be in one place. 

Having said that, sometimes we still need our phones close by, so this is an easy way to subtly store your phone and check it from time to time in case of emergencies and whatnot. 

It doesn’t have to be just for a phone either. 

Maybe the bracelet you are wearing is starting to irritate you or bother you. 

Instead of running back to the changing room every time you decide to shed a layer, you can simply just stuff it in your purse. 

Purse Ideas For Brides

Now is the fun part! Let’s talk about what great bags work for what! 

Let’s not forget about style because, of course, whether the bag is staying in a room locked away or making a grand entrance, we want to make sure that it looks just as good as the bride does. 

The Mini’s!

Here are a few inspirational ideas for a purse that works for your wedding day. 

You won’t want to hold anything but the bouquet of flowers while walking down the aisle, but there are some crossbodies and cute handles that work for after. 

• Try a small white crossbody bag that fits just on the side of you. It doesn’t matter whether it’s the right side or the left side. Some women don’t love these because they feel that the cross strap interferes with the dress.

• Tiny handle bags and clutches are really cute to accessorize the look-up. Instead of going for white and trying to make it blend in, go for a big pop of color. Extra points if you want to match the bag to the theme colors of your wedding. 

The Big Guy

The big guy or the oversized tote will not get love from all your guests, but it will get love from the girls! 

This tote can be a special souvenir and memento from your wedding, which is why a few ideas on how to spice it up can really make it special.

• Have the big tote engraved with your name and wedding day. There are other personalizations that can make the bag cute, like the coordinates of your wedding or where you first met your husband. 

• Don’t just do it for yourself! This makes a great wedding gift. You can make each bag personal between you and the bridesmaid, which makes it the ultimate thoughtful and practical gift to give up. Your bag can be white, and there can be the wedding theme color! Hello Blaire Waldorf, anyone! Queen B! Queen Bride!

Every Woman Needs A Bag

A purse can seem like such a drag to bring to a wedding. 

Truth be told, as women, we just have a lot of things which is why if the purse is done right or you opt for the bigger bag, it can be practical and pretty all at the same time!

The reason why a purse is so useful is that a woman really needs to have her must-haves close by no matter what day it is. 

Touchups are such a big part of the big day that having it close by in a small clutch can be so useful. 

Regardless of what you choose, your day is your day! Don’t let anyone tell you what you can and can’t do!

Next up: Does The Bride Change For The Reception? [Should They Do So?]