Today’s ‘How To’ post is the first of many I plan to roll out over the fall and winter about all the various aspects that go into making your wedding day as fabulous as can be, everything from ‘Why you should do an engagement session’ to Getting Ready Tips to Wedding Party Advice, you name it and I will be covering it at some point or another on the blog! But before I dive into the nitty gritty details of tips and advice for your engagement and wedding, I wanted to kick it off with this post on How to Have An Amazing Wedding Day regardless of all those details! Start here! Stick to these and I guarantee you that your day will be as wonderful and memorable as can be!
1. Hire An Amazing Team of Vendors!
This is more than a plea for you to hire a wedding planner (do that too though, okay?)….as a type A control loving gal myself, I know what it is like to want to make sure things are just as they should be and obsesses over it constantly until you know it has been done correctly, but no one should have to worry about all that stress on their wedding day. Not even my fellow type A gals out there should have to do that on their own wedding day! You should be able to be in the moment. Enjoy the anticipation of your morning, the building excitement to marry your love…not be fretting over tablescapes and music cues. Leave it to the professionals! Hire amazing, talented, and experienced vendors who know what they are doing to do all that for you! People that you can trust to make your all your wedding day wishes come true without you having to micromanage and check in on it. Research your vendors, meet with them, choose the ones you connect with, make all your hopes and expectations clear, and, then let it go, trust in them to get it done and make it amazing for you! And this applies to everyone from your wedding coordinator to your florists to your DJ to your caterers to your photographer! Knowing you hand picked the best people for you and that you have a stellar team behind you making everything perfect is the best peace of mind you could give yourself on your wedding day!
2. Make it about you…BOTH of you!
Letting all your family, friends, and everybody who walks down the street weigh in on your wedding plans is all fine and good, until it starts to affect what it is that you two truly want for your wedding day. Sit down together before wedding mania begins. Discuss your hopes and dreams for your wedding days. Compromise! Come to an agreement on what you want your day to be about. You get sparkly table runners, he gets to be introduced to the Chicago Bulls theme song (I’m looking at you, Katie and Mike! Love it!). Your day should be about the both of you, let that show through! Figure out what things are most important to each of you (and as a couple!) for your wedding and don’t let anyone shake you from them. If you have to add on a few extra people to the guest list because mom and dad insist upon them being there, okay fine…but don’t get strong armed or guilt tripped into making your day about anything but the two of you…or having 400+ guests! You have to draw the line somewhere. Stick together and stand up for the wedding choices that are important to you, no matter what anyone else thinks. At the end of the day it’s your day! And you will enjoy it SO much more knowing that it is just as you wanted it to be!
3. Be in the moment!
This one is not just for the brides and bridesmaids, it’s for the mommas and the poppas, and the distant cousins too! Put down the camera, the professionals have got this! Pocket (and silence!) your cell phone, you can instagram at the reception later! And for goodness sake, please leave the iPad at home! Watch, listen, and be present in the special moments of your day! Just enjoy them! Unplugged! You have chosen a talented professional to capture the moments of your day, trust in them, and turn the devices off! I want to capture those sweet tears of joy on mom’s face as you say, ‘I do’…I don’t think you want a photo of mom with an iPad covering her entire face.
3. Let. It. Go.
At the end of the day, your day will be perfect! It will be perfect because it has to be! It’s happening right then and there and you can either enjoy every second of it, rain or shine, or you can let all the little things that may go wrong get to you and put a damper on your once in a lifetime day. I say go with option A, no one wants to be a pouty bride (or groom)! Your day will play out as it plays out and that will be the story of your wedding day for decades to come, regardless of how much you worried or made a big deal about it, so why not enjoy the ride?! Trust in your team to make it work, bumps in the road and all, breathe, and then….LET IT GO! If it rains, it rains! It may not be ideal, but it isn’t the end of the world…and no matter how much you fret about it, it is what it is…make the best of it! You may have not hoped for it, but it happened. So, try not to get too wrapped up in being disappointed if things beyond anyone’s control go awry. Accept it and make the best of it. Breathe, smile, look into the eyes of the one you love, remember WHY you are there, and make the best wedding day memories you can! It is going to make for one heck of a story to tell your grandchildren one day!
Feel free to leave any ideas for blog posts on specific wedding day (or engagement session) tips or advice you would like to see on the blog in the comments, I will add it to the list of blogs to come!