We are always receiving tricky questions from a brides-to-be, and one that pops up again and again is, how do you pee in your wedding dress? And we're not surprised, how exactly DO you pee or use the toilet in a wedding dress? Well depending on the dress, it could be as easy as hiking up your skirt and going as usual, or it could be an undertaking involving several bridesmaids, an Ikea bag and a She Pee. Scared, confused, re-thinking this whole marriage lark? Don't be, here's our easy, straight-talking guide to going to the loo in your wedding dress!

How to Pee in Your Wedding Dress

Test Out Your Dress

We don't think you should pick your wedding dress on the sole basis of how handy it will be to go to the loo. But, in the same way as we'd advise any bride to test sitting down or having a dance in your wedding dress, it's wise to think about it when you're at a fitting, rather than leaving it to chance on the day itself. Try sitting down and hiking up your skirt, if you don't think you'll be able to do it solo, you'll need a plan of action for the big day.

Different Dresses Have Different Needs

If you've got a big ballgown wedding dress, your problem is with volume, it's too much fabric for you to hold up while you pee or use the toilet. If you've got a mermaid-style wedding dress that's fitted below the knee, you might not be able to pull it up enough and still sit down. If you've got a slinky dress, it could be a shapewear concern, and a jumpsuit might need to come off entirely. Different dresses will present their own issues, so there's no 'one size fits all' solution.

If you think using the toilet might be an issue, assess your dress and work out if hiking it up is possible and/or quicker and easier than taking it off and putting it on again. Are you really modest, or does the idea of having some friends help not faze you in the slightest?

Tool Kit: She Pees, Underskirts and Ikea Bags

So, we can't skirt around the issue (get it?) any longer, we have to get down to practicalities! Of course, you can take your dress off, but for some dresses, particularly those with lots of buttons, that won't be an option! So aside from having your pals give you a hand - which we'll get to in a minute - to use the toilet there are some tools at your disposal for peeing in your wedding dress.

There are various brands and versions of the Shewee, these are essentially funnels that help you pee at festivals - or indeed pee in your wedding dress - when sitting down or hovering as normal are out of the question. Likewise you can buy travel urinals with cups, which work more like a flask.

Recently one bride went viral with her Ikea bag trick to help hold up her dress in the bathroom while also keeping her hands free - pretty genius if you ask us, you can read her how-to here.

The Bridal Buddy comes highly recommended, you can watch the video on their site of how it works, but essentially, it's a slip you wear under your dress that helps to bundle it up while you use the bathroom and allows your arms to be free. It may be another layer of skirt, but chances are if you have a big enough dress to warrant one, you probably won't notice.

A Little Help From Your Friends

Your bridesmaids are your best pals, you've been through it all together, and they're down to assist you on your big day, whatever you need! If you need help with bathroom logistics, all you have to do is ask - but make sure you've worked out a plan of action in advance so you're not debating the issue when you're ready to burst.

Lots of brides find it easier (and more modest!) to pee front-ways. You stand over the toilet facing the back (like a guy) but straddle either side with your legs and crouch, or sit if you can, with a bridesmaid holding the dress up from behind. Alternatively, your friends might be able to join you in an accessible bathroom and hold the dress up on all sides while you pee as normal.

Finally, your dress may just have to come off altogether, particularly with a jumpsuit. If that's the case, ideally go to your room if you have one at the venue, or find a cubical with a clean floor and have your bridesmaids on hand to help you get back into it. If you have a lot of buttons, keep a crochet hook handy for doing them up. We're not going to lie, it might get intimate, but this what years of cramming yourselves into nightclub bathrooms was prepping you for.

The Underwear Issue

Finally suss out your underwear situation and maybe do a test run. Spanx and similar shapewear are notoriously difficult to wrangle on and off, and that's without a wedding dress and a full bladder to contend with.

If you won't easily be able to take them on and and off, look for underwear with an open gusset you can pee through. Body suits with clips or hooks at the gusset also work well but can be tricky to close when you're wearing your dress, so you may need a helper on stand-by - as one person in the One Fab Day office found out the hard way. We won't name names!

Looking for more wedding day dilemmas to be solved? We trouble-shoot all kinds of planning problems and big questions!