I got married to the love of my life on September 16, 2012. As the first one out of my friends to get married, I learned a few things along the way and thought it would be nice to share my top 10 wedding tips that I learned from planning my big day.
10. It doesn’t necessarily take a year to plan a beautiful wedding.I remember when we first got engaged people asked us two questions right off the bat – where and when would be having our wedding. “You have to book your venue right away! It’s only 11 months until you want to get married!” Umm... 11 months is still a lot of time. I remember feeling this immediate pressure to start planning when all we wanted to do was take some time to enjoy the feeling of being newly engaged and admire my pretty new ring. As we went through our wedding planning process, and since then as some of my friends have gotten engaged, I realized that there’s way more flexibility in venue availability (for example, choosing to get married on a Sunday) than we initially thought. Since there are so many factors to consider I would really recommend taking your time, enjoying the planning process, and looking into contract specifics before locking down a venue.
9. The wedding is about the couple, but it’s not only about the couple.
8. Etsy.com is one of the most valuable websites you’ll find throughout the planning process.Wondering where to buy those cute props you see in all those engagement photos? How about where to pick up cake toppers? Bridal hair accessories? Stationary? You’ll find it all on Etsy, trust me. Best of all, this website is a marketplace where small businesses and craftsmanship are valued and promoted. It’s truly a community and a wonderful resource. When the invitation templates we kept seeing around seemed a little too cookie-cutter for our taste, a friend recommended searching on Etsy. We got our invitations through a wonderful little shop called Love In Writing and couldn’t have asked for better service. In fact, we went right back and ordered our programs, menus, and table numbers and were blown away by the quality of our stationary. Etsy should not be overlooked!
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| Photo copyright of daveandcharlotte.com |
I created a simple spreadsheet in excel that had columns for the description, time, and duration of each activity on our wedding day. I distributed it to the wedding party and our vendors so each person knew where they were supposed to be and who they could get a hold of in case things were running late. It might not be the perfect wedding planning guide, but it was still a great tool that listed out all of our details and helped us from forgetting all the little things.7. Creating a wedding timeline is a great way to help plan your day and keep things running on time.
6. No matter how much planning you do, be prepared for everything to run late.
5. Hire a coordinator for the day of the wedding.I cannot stress this tip enough! Think you can take care of coordinating all the details yourself? Think again. As the bride you’re busy getting dolled up, taking pictures, and if you’re a super procrastinator like me, finishing up your thank you speech as you’re getting ready (oops). What if you don't have access to your venue until the day of your wedding - who’s taking care of overseeing the centerpieces? How about setting up the aisle markers and seating chart? We couldn’t afford to hire a wedding planner, and though our venue came with an onsite coordinator (who was lovely), she only showed up an hour before the wedding and as I found out the week before, it was not “in her job description” to set up the items that weren’t provided by the venue (ie: place settings, floral arrangements, cake and cake toppers, seating chart, programs, etc.). What an absolute headache! My bridesmaids were getting ready with me so they couldn’t help either. Thankfully I have the best friends in the world and with some added muscle from the groomsmen they were able to put everything together in the knick of time. I hope you learn from my oversight and save yourself the stress – hire a coordinator!
4. Things will go wrong. Guaranteed. Some people may notice, most will not.
3. Photography is expensive but absolutely worth it.
2. People say one thing but do another.
1. Take the time to soak it all in.
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| Our first dance as captured by Dave Biesse of daveandcharlotte.com |
Starting tomorrow, Wednesday May 1st, I will be running a 5 week series called Wedding Wednesday (yes I'm super clever). It will be a styling series for all the ladies who might want a little bit of inspiration on getting dressed for their pre-wedding events. First up - what to wear for your engagement photo shoot (and a glimpse at my own pictures). Join me tomorrow, won't you?
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Great post!
ReplyDeleteLoved every single tip, and will try to keep these things in mind for my own wedding (someday! LOL)
Looking forward to wedding Wednesdays!!!!!
Someday in the not-so-distant future ;) Thanks for your support Aimee!
DeleteAgree with so much of what you said:
ReplyDeletephotography is sooo important. we did not do a video but spent a lot on photos which i think are easier to pull out. i look at mine each year on our anniversary.
it also took me a minute to figure out that the day was NOT just about the two of us. it's about two families coming together. it was tough to compromise with my opinionated in laws, especially since i paid for a large portion of the wedding myself. i was 34 and could not ask my mom to pay for it so i saved as much as i could and paid for about 75% of it myself. i figured my husband splurged on the ring & honeymoon ....
wish etsy exisited when i got married. or at least it wasn't what it is today.
the coordinator i hired was worth EVERY penny and i was so relaxed day of, because she was running the show.
celebrating 6 years on may 12th
www.not-going-out-like-that.com
Thank you for your thoughtful comment Julie! We chose to forgo spending money on videographers as well which helped us to justify the cost of the photographer. In the end my friends offered to record and edit a beautiful video so were able to get the best of both worlds, but were originally prepared for the sacrifice. I definitely agree with what you said about learning to compromise - especially when money is involved! It's a lot harder to say no when someone is helping with a financial contribution.
DeleteJust a few days away from your anniversary - hope you and your hubby have a wonderful time celebrating and reminiscing!
very helpful post, i could use it one day perhaps for my daughter
ReplyDeleteDelightful Ideas
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I hope so! I'm sure wedding planning will continue to evolve (ex: Etsy) but I tried to include timeless tips as well. Thanks for stopping by Lala!
DeleteLOVE that last shot :) Thankfully my mom did everything for me when it came to my wedding!! haha
ReplyDeleteThanks Alycia! That's awesome that your mom was able to be such a help. It's great to have that kind of support system :)
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