Do you want to be the kind of bride who is remembered for being a gracious and caring person? Do you want a wedding that is warm, loving, and guest-focused? Have your wedding be fondly remembered by everyone involved? Here are some tips and wedding planning advice from other brides and guests who attended their weddings.
1. Respect traditions. They may be family traditions or cultural traditions. While you may choose to not follow them in every detail, you can put your own spin on them, and give them recognition while using your own personal touch.
2. Remember your manners and say “please” and “thank you” often to everyone who is helping you with your wedding plans and projects. Whether they are hired hands or volunteers – all need (and deserve) to hear your sincere thanks.
3. Your wedding and all its details are important, but if you aren’t careful, they can become all consuming for you. Remember that not everyone wants to hear about every detail of your wedding every single day, and there is life beyond your wedding plans (for you and for those around you). Practice editing.
4. The best weddings are those that are guest-focused. Structure your plans and wedding day schedule so that your guests are not made to wait at any length (standing in long lines is the #1 pet peeve of wedding guests), and as one planning expert says, “Don’t ask them to pay for anything.”
5. Always remember that Thank You notes are not optional. Beyond thank you notes for wedding gifts you’ve received, the wise bride also thanks everyone who helped and who had a role in the wedding. Thank you notes are always a gracious and wise choice.
6. Get everything in writing with everyone who is providing a service on your wedding day (even if it’s a friend who is providing a service, such as making your wedding cake). Having things written down benefits everyone, and leaves no question about what is to be done, and who will be doing it. When contracting with vendors, treat them as the professionals they are. Be gracious and cooperative and you’ll see them behave accordingly.
7. Leave your wrist watch and cell phone at home. Or at least put them away after your hair and make-up sessions are done. On your wedding day, you should be enjoying every moment, NOT watching a clock or fielding phone calls. You’ve got a wedding vendor team is place. Trust that they will keep things on track.
8. Even if you choose not to hire a professional wedding planner, at the very least have a day-of coordinator. A day-of coordinator has the training and experience to make sure everything goes smoothly. Among other duties, he/she will be the point person for everyone involved, can handle things if something goes awry, and give you the piece of mind that your things will go they way you want them to on your wedding day.
9. Do a first look. Your wedding day will be a whirlwind of activity. Having a first look will give you and your fiancé a few intimate moments to just enjoy time with each other. Enjoy this private moment away from all of the rest of the hustle and bustle of your day. Many couples say that doing a first look was one of the best decisions they made for their wedding day.
10. Eat! Start your day off with a good breakfast, and don’t forget lunch too, (unless you are having an early wedding ceremony). Yes, in the excitement of the day you may not feel hungry at first, which makes it too easy to skip eating something. But your body needs fuel, and if you don’t eat you will be so worn out and hungry by the time dinner is served.
11. Prioritize your wedding details. There are just too many details that go into a wedding day to give equal attention to. Determine the top three elements of the day and put more focus on those. Be more flexible and compromise on the elements that aren’t so important (or skip them altogether).
12. Never lose sight of what’s most important. What’s the point of your wedding day? Getting married to the love of your life, and getting to celebrate the first day of your marriage with your loved ones.
We have all attended weddings where the couple was the only focus, and little thought was given to the guests assembled to witness and celebrate the event. The most beautiful and remembered weddings are those which celebrated the couple and thanked the guests who came together to cheer the couple on to their new life. Heed the above wedding planning advice so your wedding is just that.
Image by Gerald Friedrich from Pixabay
Hearts, Joy, Love!
Jean
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Love this video <3 However I do feel like the intro is a bit forced. Thanks for sharing your advice ladies! xx
Hi Rashid. Glad you liked it. Not sure what video your are referencing though.