After experiencing my wedding day, there are certainly things I learned that I feel I must share with y'all. During this whole experience of planning your wedding, you feel very stressed (at least I know I did!). Hopefully, this advice will be able to help you in some small form.
Do what makes you happy, even if you hurt someone in the process.
I cannot stress this enough. At the end of the day, it's your wedding. Trust me on this. If you feel a certain way about something to do with your wedding, follow your gut. If you think you will regret not changing it in the long run, then trust me when I say to do what your gut is telling you.
I have a story for y'all. It's not that happy of a story, but it must be said.
Remember when a couple of months ago I was mentioning how I had a bridesmaidzilla? Well, this bridesmaid, whom I will not give a name, was one of my best friends (or so I thought). I've known her for about 6 years now. Throughout this whole wedding planning, she was nothing but difficult. She tried to control things and the like. I've always let's just say unappreciated the way she was treating me for my wedding, but I tried to ignore it. On our rehearsal dinner night, however, I no longer could ignore it. While we were eating, she kept talking bad about me to my face across the table. I honestly don't know what she was thinking. Of course I could hear her.
Long story short, I went home that night and after talking to my sister and mom, I realized that something had to be done. I was deeply hurt and I knew that if I had this girl in my wedding, I would have regretted it.
The morning of my wedding, I simply texted her (bad I know, but I didn't want to deal with it on my wedding) and told her that she no longer needed to show up. Did this ruin my friendship with my bridesmaid? Absolutely. I haven't talked to her since, and she deleted me on facebook (but kept my husband on there for some strange reason). Was it worth it? Completely. My wedding day was perfect and I felt so loved by everyone around me. I feel relieved and I know I made the right choice.
So moral of this story is to stick with your guts, even though it's hard. Trust me, it will be worth it.
Don't sweat the small stuff.
I use to be one of those brides that once someone said this to me, I honestly wanted to roll my eyes. This statement is so true though. At the end of the day, you are marrying your best friend. The little stuff just doesn't matter anymore.
With that being said...
There will be at least 5 things go wrong with your wedding.
A family member said this to me, and I am shocked at how true it is. We did have at least five things wrong at our wedding. Now, I always thought that if even
one thing went wrong, I would have been devastated. To be completely honest, those things were so small that they do not even bother me to this day. On my wedding day, I was focusing on that look in Dalton's eyes as he said his vows to me, not the fact that my father's phone rang as he was giving me away (true story folks, he felt terrible). Those things really do not matter in the end. I don't even remember all the 5 things, but I will never forget the way my husband looked at me and how he even shed a couple tears as I walked down the aisle.
Your wedding day will go by quickly!
Again, this is something everyone says, but I never took seriously. I really should have. That most important day that you have been planning and anticipating will seem like it only took an hour. Enjoy it! Really, enjoy it. You won't get it back, and the last thing you want is to look back on your wedding day and realized it was gone before you even got a chance to fully experience it.
Not everyone will show up in their best.
This really did shock me, but I actually had someone show up in
jeans to my wedding. Several people actually. Really?? I even had someone show up in white too. Now, if you go to a wedding, never and I mean
never wear those two things. Trust me, the bride will notice. And let me assure you, it didn't bother me on my wedding day. It certainly bothered me the day after my wedding though!!
Go ahead and cry during your ceremony.
I know some people who say that they do not want to cry at their wedding day at all. I have to say, that is crazy. I blubbered like a baby up there in front of all my guests as I said my vows, and my husband actually shed a few tears as well. I'm honestly glad that happened, because I will never forget the way he looked and how happy I felt. So go ahead, just make sure you wear waterproof eye makeup!
Take pictures of how you want things set up before the wedding.
I did have a wedding planner to help me the day of, but I'm so glad that I did this. The night before the wedding, my mom and I were up setting up mock versions of each table (such as the guestbook table, favors table, etc.) so that each thing would be placed right. I was not able to see the setup before the wedding, but it was absolutely how I envisioned it.
Get comfortable reception shoes!
For the ceremony, I had on gorgeous blue heels. They were so pretty, but they were certainly painful! After the ceremony, I instantly kicked them off and put on my reception shoes, which were white lacy Toms. It was so much easier so that I could dance the night away!
Use baby powder.
Now I know this sounds weird, but a friend of mine gave me this advice and I'm
so glad she did. Your wedding dress will make you sweat a lot. Trust me. All of that fabric is definitely uncomfortable for the whole day. This sweating tends to make your legs chafed. In order to have that not happen and make your wedding night
ahem uncomfortable, rub baby powder on your legs. Trust me, you don't want to forget this!
Get your caterers to pack a basket for the late night munchies.
While I was planning my wedding, I always said that I was going to be the bride that ate at my own wedding. Oh how naive I was. I had every intention of eating, and once the actual moment happened, it just didn't work. Dalton and I at the most just had a few bites. We were being pulled in every direction and couldn't even focus on food. This really sucked because I couldn't eat before the wedding due to nerves. Our caterer had told us that they would pack a basket full of food for us for that night, but low and behold, that never happened. We had to go to the vending machines at about midnight at the hotel because we were
starving!
Your wedding dress will get filthy at the wedding.
Especially if you're having an outdoor wedding. When I first saw a dirt mark on my dress (as I was taking bridal portraits before the ceremony), I was so upset. It's common though. The good news is that you can go take it and get it cleaned professionally before you preserve it.
You won't be able to blog. At all.
This is so true for all you bloggers out there. As you might have noticed, I stopped blogging a month before my wedding. It was just that crazy. I didn't even have time to think about blogging. I tried, I really did, but I was just too busy. You will be too. It's ok. You're not expected to blog. Don't worry about it.
I think that's all I got today folks. If you have any questions at all, or want some advice, leave a comment or feel free to email me!
