It's wedding season! Well...almost. But it's coming! I'm so excited to be booking weddings for this summer...I think I've found my calling :) There's just something magical about two people committing to each other for the rest of their lives. I love it. From the flowers to the dresses, to the cake and the food and the candles...everything! Love it all. I've been to several weddings in the last few years [mine included ;)] and learned something new at literally every single one. It's crazy the little things you don't think about when you're stressing about your big day. These 5 things may already be on your list, or may be far from it...either way, you'll be glad you took care of these things when the big day rolls around.
1) MAKE A LIST OF SONGS YOU DO NOT WANT PLAYED AT YOUR RECEPTION. Or if it's easier, make a list of songs you DO want played. Either way, if there are certain songs that are off limits, make sure the person in charge of the music knows them. The last thing you want is to see your mother in law out there shaking it to "I Like Big Butts" after one too many glasses of champagne. Or maybe you do...again, totally up to you :)
2) MAKE A LIST OF PHOTOS YOU WANT OF YOUR WEDDING DAY. Give this to your photographer. Make a list of FAMILY photos you want from the photographer. Give this to him/her. Give this to your mother, your bridesmaids, your grandma. Give this to your uncle. Give this to EVERYONE who will be involved in the family photo portion of the evening. These two things will make your photographer's life a whole lot easier, AND you will be thankful for this. One less thing for you to stress about on the big day. Make the list a few weeks in advance so you can go over it and make sure you haven't left anyone/thing off. For the family photo part, try to group them by whoever will be in the photos. Like if you need your brother in 5 photos, group those 5 photos together, so he can get in, smile 5 times, and get out. I promise, it will make everyone happy. Mostly you and your photographer.
3) WRITE YOUR LETTER TO YOUR FIANCE THE NIGHT BEFORE. Why not write it the day of your wedding? Because if you're anything like me, you're going to cry like a little baby before the wedding if you wait and write something an hour before the ceremony and then go out to hold your future husband's hand without being able to see him. And while waterproof mascara works wonders, crying does a number on those bags under your eyes you've covered with a pound of concealer. They WILL make a comeback after a few tears. Just do it ;)
4) HAVE EMPTY VASES OF WATER ON THE HEAD TABLE. Bear with me on this....if you're using live flowers for the bouquets [yours and your bridesmaids] those suckers will only last so long. Especially if you're having your wedding at peak wedding season, when it's warmer. If you set a vase [that will fit the bouquet/flowers] in front of each bridesmaid's chair, the flowers will add to the decoration AND not die on you. If you don't want them cluttering the head table, set them on a table next to the sign-in book, or on the gift table, by the cake table, on the guest tables, etc.
5) DO AN RSVP CHECK UP A WEEK OR TWO BEFORE THE WEDDING. Yes, it will be a pain. But you WILL be thankful you did this. So many times, people will get the wedding invitation and be like 'oh yeah, there's no WAY I'm missing this!' but then things happen, people get busy, and people forget. So the last thing you want to do is pay for food for 200+ people and have 100 show up. That's a lot of wasted food. Not to mention seating charts, if you do that. Save yourself money, space, and stress...just give people who would be travelling a ways a call beforehand just to double check. They'd love to hear from you anyways!
If you're in the planning stages for your wedding, I hope one or more of these things ends up being helpful to you! If your wedding day has come & gone, what are a few things YOU wish you'd remembered to put on your to do list? Let me know, I'd love to hear!
Until next time...
<3
