Lots of wedding posts this week, eh? As promised in my last wedding installment, I have my blog post on our ceremony written and ready to go, but I am SO focused on my dear friend’s upcoming nuptials right now, that I thought it would be way more fun to offer up some of my tips for all the brides out there.
Now, please be aware that I am, in no way, claiming to be an expert here. These are just my takeaways and lessons learned from my own personal experiences.
1. Photographer Research: Biggest lesson learned! Do some very serious research on your photographer before booking. Look through their portfolio, ask for referrals, meet with them more than once. This is SO important! We did really love our photographer, but we also felt like he did not take the pictures we had requested, which is a huge bummer. Once the day is over, you can’t really go back and get them, so do your due diligence!
2. Create a Shot List: Along that same line, once you’ve booked your photographer, request a meeting with them to go through a shot list of all of the photos you want. Create a board on Pinterest (yup, I referenced the site again) and ask your photographer to follow you! My friend is doing this, and I think it is SUCH a great idea!
3. Picture Manager: And continuing on with the photography piece (can you tell I really wish I did this differently?), assign someone in your bridal party (or outside of it if you have a wedding planner) to be in charge of making sure all of the photos you want are taken. Print out a list for yourself, your photographer, parents and a bridesmaid for the big day!
4. Take your time with the photo session: I rushed through it because it was raining and my guests were squished into a space during the cocktail hour, so I didn’t want it to take too long. Hindsight? I wish I took my time! If I had, I might have noticed that our photographer took pictures while there were bags and shoes on the floor in the background! Seriously though.
5. Be Honest with Your Seamstress: Some people lose weight with stress, and some people gain it. Fortunately for me, I lost a couple LBs as our wedding grew closer, which you think would be a lovely thing, but sadly my dress was a little too big on the day off. So depending on how your body typically reacts to stress, make sure your seamstress is aware!
6. No Pressure: This relates a lot to my rant from last week, but let go of all the pressure! I spent hours on end agonizing over our favors, escort cards, decorations, etc. And although it all came out wonderfully, it didn’t matter as much as I thought it would. Just do what you can and forget the rest. Most people don’t remember these little details, but instead how beautiful the ceremony was, how much fun they had dancing and how in love you looked. The rest is just silliness.
7. Wake up and relax: As I mentioned, I woke up and did an hour long yoga session with my bridesmaids, which I truly believe set the tone for the rest of the day. I was so relaxed and calm, it was almost abnormal. Whatever the thing is that calms you, schedule an hour to do it the morning of your big day.
8. Don’t drink too much! So I actually only had a half of a glass of champagne on our big day, and I am so glad I did this. Of course, a drunk bride is not the prettiest thing, but even more importantly, if you’re drunk, you’ll feel like you missed things. You want to be able to take in the entire evening and be completely there mentally, so I’d say avoid the booze as much as you can. Don’t get me wrong, have a drink or two, whatever you can handle, but draw a line somewhere.
9. Dance your ass off: It was really important to me to make sure I said hello to every single person at our wedding, and I am pretty sure I accomplished that, which I’m so thankful for. But once dinner was over, I hit that dance floor and barely left it. I had SUCH a good time dancing the night away with all of our friends and family. And the best part was that everyone stayed and danced with us. I loved it that the dance floor was pretty much packed the entire evening. Shout out to our amazing DJ, Davren!
10. Take it all in. So lastly, but probably the best advice I think I can give. Take a minute at some point in the evening, step back, scan the room and take it all in. Look around and take a mental picture of your guests, your friends, your siblings, your parents, the room and most importantly, your husband. (And how handsome he looks). You spent days, weeks, months and years picturing this day in your head. Don't forget to stop and see how it all came out.
So that’s all I’ve got. My ten tips that will hopefully help some brides make their big days that much better. Happy Friday!
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