little tips for my brides out there...
When you're planning a wedding and you have all these different ideas and opinions being thrown at you by your family and friends (whoever your posse happens to be that's helping you plan) it's easy to get lost in the moment. I have found that while the the tiny, unique details are super important, it's important to step back once in a while and think big-picture. For example, when we got married in 2003, I knew we were young and didn't want to spend a fortune to get married. So it was important to us (and most brides- calling the kettle black here!) to keep on a budget and have money leftover to spend on our new life together (ie: our house, travel, etc...). So I've compiled a little list of things we wish we hadn't done and things we are happy about 18 years later...
#1 it's ok to get his ring on amazon
Ryan's original wedding ring actually had MORE DIAMONDS than mine and cost $1,000. SO DUMB. He lost it golfing within, like, 3 years so we've since replaced his ring several times now for $30 on Amazon (but still very legit looking).
#2 avoid the energy highs/lows
The day is a roller coaster of emotions anyway so what doesn't help are all the highs + lows in energy throughout the day. Do your best to keep energy high and happy --- and more importantly for your guests. Avoid the weird lulls and gaps (especially that time between the ceremony and reception) and always have something for your guests to do (cocktail hour, entertainment at the table, etc...). If their energy drops too low at any given point, they will tire faster and want to leave early. And that's not what ya want!
#3 DELEGATE!
As much as you want to control, you can't be everywhere at once. Find the people you trust and divvy out the easy tasks like making sure there's a cooler of bottled water during pictures or making sure your cell phone doesn't get lost (more wedding gowns with pockets, please!). People want so badly to have a job and help you on your wedding day (no matter how small). Use them to your advantage!
#4 SPEAK UP
It's YOUR day, ultimately. Try not to base your decisions to please anyone. If you want to feed each other delicious nachos instead of cake because you actually don't even like cake, DO IT! If you have a must-have photograph you'd go to the ends of the earth to get and your photographer isn't making time for it, SPEAK UP! The day only happens ONCE. Make it count.
Helpful?
No matter where you are in your planning process, I wish you the best! Take a deep breath and remember to think big-picture. After all... the goal is to be married by the end of the day and have some pretty kick-ass pics to remember it by. So here's where I leave you, friend... do you know who your wedding photographer will be yet?
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