My Wedding: The Do's & Don'ts

Wedding planning!!! I am obsessed with this topic. I just got married in June so it's all fresh in my mind. I've been telling some of my friends things I'm so so glad I did, but also a couple things I wish I did differently... So I thought it would be perfect to write about this for anyone getting married soon! This might be a little bit of a lengthy post just because I feel like there's a lot to cover... (also everything is just my own opinion & what I wish people had told me.)

MY DRESS, DETAILS, & BRIDESMAIDS

I actually found my dress very fast, which was surprising because I am so indecisive. I wanted something that was simple, elegant, and would age well in pictures.

Do:

• Create a mood board on Pinterest to get an idea of what styles you like.

• Pick something you'll feel comfortable in.

• You have envision how you'll look on the day of with your hair and makeup done. I actually started not to love my dress a few months before the wedding hahah. I think it as because I tried it on multiple times for fitting and started to overthink. On the day of when I was completely ready I LOVED it.

• Trust your gut for what you want your bridesmaids to wear. I knew I wanted everyone wearing different colored dresses, I just didn't know how it would come together. My family didn't really understand because I guess it's not really "traditional." I started to screenshot different dresses and colors I loved. I assigned each girl a color (that I knew would look good on them), the vibe I wanted, and then kind of let everyone pick their own dress. This way they could spend how much they wanted to. I think they looked AMAZING with all the different colors and it was unique!!!

Don't:

• Don't stress about the details. I don't think many people are going to remember the shoes that I wore. Or the perfume. You probably will only wear your heels for a couple hours so it's not worth spending hundreds. At first I wanted to wear these designer heels. I don't know why I wanted to spend the money to do that, but I loved the idea. I ended up getting my heels off Etsy for $136. They were perfect!!!

(I forgot to get my toes painted & only realized it when I was getting ready hahah)

RECEPTION:

Do:

• Have the entire bridal party sit together. This was so freaking fun. I wanted to sit with everyone because this was one of the few nights everyone is all together. (And I have the rest of my life to eat dinner alone with Ryan hahah.)

GUESTS:

At the end of the day, most people are going to remember three things. Good music, food, and enough alcohol.

Do:

• Keep the ceremony on the shorter side (so people aren't getting too hungry or waiting too long) while also including what's important to you.

• Have music for all ages. I wanted music that everyone would love and could dance too. We also tried to leave out "cheesy" songs. We made a "don't play" list.

• Cigars. My dad had the idea to buy a bunch of cigars for the reception. This was perfect for the adults that didn't want to dance. They could go out on the patio to smoke and get away from the loud music.

Don't:

• I accidentally had our two signature drinks BOTH have gin. Not a good idea. Not everyone loves gin hahah.

DECORATIONS:

Do:

• Repurpose your bridesmaids bouquets for centerpieces.

• Mix it up and use candles on the tables! This saves money and I think candles make for such beautiful centerpieces. We ordered the hurricane vases and candles off of Amazon.

• Have your friends and family help create decor!!! I think it make it so special. My aunt made our cake (that usually you'd have to buy for over $100.) I'll put a picture below, but I ordered the pressed flowers off Amazon. My friend Sophie hand painted us our seating chart. My aunts made our other signs.

• SAVE money where you can. Everything adds up SO QUICK.

Don't:

• Don't spend too much on decorations because they are only going to be used for ONE day.

PICTURES + PHOTOGRAPHER

I absolutely LOVED how our pictures turned out. We used Free Your Mind. Her name is Kari. I would recommend her to anyone. She directed everyone easily and made pictures so enjoyable because of her fun personality.

Do:

• Make a Pinterest board of the kind of pictures that you love and different poses you want captured. I love the more serious portraits of brides. My photographer got those after I got ready and they're some of my favorite.

• Make a list for family pictures. This makes it so much easier for the photographer because they can yell out who is supposed to be in each picture.

Don't:

• Don't spend too much time after the ceremony on pictures. If you want to enjoy the cocktail hour (like we did) for a little bit, tell your photographer!! And you'll most likely go out again for sunset to get more pictures.

I wanted our pictures to have lots of LIFE & MOVEMENT!!

FIRST LOOK:

I decided to do a first look because it was going to make it easier for pictures. We were able to get some of Ryan and I beforehand and all the bridesmaids pictures. I'm not going to lie, doing a first look with people watching you is kind of hard. I felt a little bit awkward. Not because of anyone else, but just because it's an intimate moment.

If you want to do a first look, I would maybe do it just you two. This way you can be 100% yourself and you don't have any pressure. Looking back, I wish we either did that or I waited to see him until I was walking down the aisle.

AS THE BRIDE:

Do:

• Visualize how you want to feel on the day of. I know that sounds weird, but it made a HUGE difference. I wanted to feel relaxed & present. I truly was so calm while getting ready. It's not worth getting worked up about the little details. While we got ready, we played music, and drank champagne. It was one of my favorite parts of the day.

Don't:

• Don't drink too much!! To be honest, I had about 5 or 6 glasses of champagne while getting ready and didn't feel a thing!!!! My adrenaline and nerves were so high that alcohol did nothing. But, after the ceremony and speeches it HIT me all at once. So drink WAYYYY less than you normally do. I wish I set a limit for myself and only had 2 drinks that night.

Most importantly, this day is about your love. Sometimes all the planning can get stressful. It's hard to imagine it all coming together. But it will. My biggest piece of advice is being super calm, and remembering that if certain things don't go exactly to plan, it's really not that big of a deal. What I remember most is how I felt, not how everything looked.