Happy Tuesday!
For awhile now, I’ve been wanting to do a blog post that will be helpful to any of my lovely readers who are brides (or grooms!)-to-be. So if you’re looking to plan stress free wedding, I’ve got some helpful info for you today, straight from the pros!
First up, Amy Parman from CJ’s Off the Square! This article originally published in 2011, but we’ve since worked with the CJ’s team on many weddings through the last decade+.
From Amy:
1. Check in to your evening’s hotel early! If you or your fiancée can’t do this on the day of your wedding because of scheduling, have one of your trusted friends or family members take your bags to the hotel for you and request that the bags be waiting for you in your room upon arrival. You’re going to be tired at the end of the evening, and this gives you one less thing to do. Also, arrange for someone to drop off your personal vehicle at the hotel as well, if you plan to drive home or to the airport the next day.
2. Pre-pay all of your wedding bills and invoices during the week before. The last thing you want to think about (or have your parents think about) during the whirlwind of getting ready, taking photos, and trying to absorb all the wonderful memories of your wedding, is money. If you’ll be tipping some of your vendors, have those all divided, labeled and sealed in envelopes, rather than counting out bills in the midst of your reception.
3. Think about the items that you’ll need to take home from your venue at the end of the night, and assign them to specific people that you know will have vehicles to load them. Precious family photos, decorative items, cake tops, and guest books can be lost in the shuffle if you haven’t planned ahead and made someone responsible for them.
4. Assume you will run late while getting ready. Even if you’re the punctual type, allow yourself at least 30 minutes of extra time before you are due to begin your pictures. If you stay on schedule, great! Take that time to breathe, hug your parents and your bridesmaids, and recall wonderful stories about the man you’re about to marry!
5. Most importantly, hire trusted professionals! Free your family and friends from responsibilities like arranging your flowers or playing DJ so they can be with you! Wedding professional enjoy serving you and giving you the ability to simply the bride and focus on enjoying yourselves and hosting your loved ones at this memorable occasion.
Next up, Jennifer Hamilton of Mr. & Mrs. Events! I had the opportunity to photograph some fabulous details by Jennifer for her Oscar Party in January.
From Jennifer:
And last but not least is Kristin Kaplan of Simply Stunning Events. We had the pleasure of working with Simply Stunning for Jennifer and Jon’s wedding back in October!
From Kristin (emphasis mine):
Many couples are always worried and stressed during the final month before their wedding and afraid that they might forget a key detail. There are many small items that cannot be handled until the last couple of weeks before the wedding since you won’t have an accurate guest count until then so it’s natural to feel overwhelmed. I always suggest putting together a to-do list ahead of time with every tiny task included (we provide one to all of our couples, including our Month-of clients). Sort the list by week then day. So first you would have everything that you need to handle 4 weeks prior to the wedding, then 3 weeks, then 2 weeks, then 1 week, then 2 days prior, then the day before. This will help you to keep track of all the last minute details and feel less overwhelmed knowing that nothing is going to be forgotten or fall through the cracks so to speak.
When it comes to the wedding day, my favorite and largest piece of advice for all couples is just to relax and take it all in. Even though it’s often a 12-14 hour day, your wedding is going to FLY by. It’s so important to stop every hour or so and just breath and really look around and appreciate everything about the day. This may be the only time in your life that all of your closest family members and friends are in the same room together and they are all there to support and celebrate you. Things may not go exactly as planned, or some family member may be aggravating you, but just try to remember the big picture. You only get one wedding day, and you have full control over how you feel that day. So let the little things go, and remember why you are there in the first place, to marry the one you love most in the world.
So, dear readers, what was your favorite tip? Do you have any to add to the list? Let us know in the comments!
