All Things Wedding

Before I get started, HAPPY EASTER!

This is part III of All Things Wedding where I give some kind of "top 5" list that is wedding related. I'm thinking I will have one more after this, and then it will be The Big Day. Depending on how the week goes, this might be the last one! These are my top 5 tips for brides-to-be. I've mentioned some before, but I think they are worth repeating.

I’ve said this before and I will say it again, do not feel the need to DIY everything or have every aspect of the wedding be super personalized. I think everyone definitely wants their wedding to feel like ‘them’, but people get SO stressed out trying to make every aspect unique that they don’t enjoy the process. I’m all about enjoying the process (obviously, since I’m in mourning that it’s almost over) so I personalized certain things and other things I went with what’s ‘typical’ (but still beautiful) and therefore easy and stress free. Yes our wedding is about us, but it’s also about everyone else there who loves and supports us and most of all, a sacrament we are receiving and a commitment we are making.

Get a day of coordinator. Seriously. Best money you will ever spend. There are SO many things we would have to delegate out to poor, unsuspecting friends or family if we didn’t have our coordinator. Sure, they would be willing to help out, but I want them to all just relax and enjoy. More importantly, there would be so many things I would have to think of on the day of, that I just don't want to be worried with! I wouldn’t recommend spending an arm and a leg on an actual planner (because I had lots of fun planning myself!) but the day of coordinator is there to make sure your day runs smoothly and you can hand the control over and just enjoy. As a control freak, I’m actually really enjoying relinquishing some of it! I don't know about where you live, but where we live there is a decent amount of competition, so we got a coordinator for a STEAL. Since we booked her, her price has doubled for the package we have! But that means there is probably someone else out there just starting out who is now the 'steal' in town.

If you can’t swing bridal portraits in your budget, definitely have a ‘dress rehearsal’ before your wedding. My photographers are super amazing and my portraits AND session were under $200, but just as valuable as having those portraits for a lifetime was the fact that it was the first time I had everything on. It all worked out perfectly… every last accessory… but I kept thinking, what if the necklace looked bad with the dress or was a really weird length? What if the veil caught on beading? I wouldn’t have known without putting it all on at one time. Plus, if you are like me and having your picture taken for an hour straight feels very unnatural, it’s great practice for the wedding day!

In this day and age, I don’t know if there’s anyone who doesn’t have a wedding website, but I really recommend it for many reasons. The most important was that I had to answer a lot less questions because we gave out the website on our save the dates and reception cards. That way, even if they lost it once, they got it again. We of course have answered plenty of questions, but I know tons of them didn’t need to be asked because we put so much info on the website. Plus, it was really fun to work on together! It also helped to keep us organized and remember what needed to be done. “Oh, there’s a guest accommodation section? Yeah, I probably should pick a hotel.”

If you are a control freak like me, do whatever you need to do to relinquish some of that. I had to do a LOT of self talking, but it has really paid off. There have been so many minor things that I could have let myself get wound up about, but it just isn’t worth it and would cause more than the normal wedding stress. For example, I noticed that some people I knew would need a hotel room weren’t on the block. I gave two of them a reminder. A day or so before the block closed, I checked again… still nothing. I got frustrated, picked up my phone to text another reminder thinking “They have had months to do this and the info has been on my facebook AND the website!”. So I set the phone down, realized that I’m no one’s mother, and went back to what I was doing. It’s not the end of the world if they have to pay full price or stay elsewhere. I did what I could, and I wasn’t going to stress myself out trying to control everyone who I knew needed a room. If they weren’t concerned, why was I? It has also come in handy with some small day-of details that I have told the coordinator she can handle however she feels is best. Will I remember/care if the bridal portrait is in this place or that place? Absolutely not. So instead of using brain cells to make the decision, I let her do it. Ahhhhh, relief. 

It's too late for me :p but what are your favorite tips for future brides?