Advice for your wedding day!

ADVICE FOR THE WEDDING DAY

So, in previous posts I've been covering all sorts from picking the bridal party to choosing the venue to engagement shoots. Today it's about the actual wedding day itself. These are tips that I learnt myself on my wedding day, and they've also come from my past couples. 

•    Eat breakfast, no matter how you feel - I had 3! Some people feel they can't eat because they're too nervous but trust me, you'll want to get something down. I've had bride faint at the reception before because they haven't eaten anything all day. 

•    Don’t worry about the weather  - C'est sera sera! Whatever will be, will be! Have a wet weather backup plan, make sure you or your photographer knows some good indoor places for photos, pack some wellies and just roll with what happens. I was devastated when it rained the morning of our wedding and we had to veto the outdoor ceremony, but in hindsight it was for the best and quite honestly I was so busy enjoying myself I didn't care. 

•    Don’t sweat the small stuff - So what if your decorations don't all get put out, or if someone sits somewhere else other than where they were meant to... don't let anything ruin your mood. 

•    Take time out in the day together - We had ten minutes where we snuck off to eat some food and check in with each other and it was so, so lovely. The day rushes past you and this really helps slow it down. We actually managed another ten minute at night as well and watching the site lit up with all the festoon lighting and hearing the dancing and chatter together was very special. 

•    Look after yourself in the run up - mentally as well as physically. There's always so much emphasis on getting into shape for your wedding blah blah blah but make sure you look after yourself mentally too. Weddings can be really stressful and make sure you take time out to relax and focus on other things and people in your life too. 

•    Give enough time for things, everything takes longer than you think - When thinking about the day make sure you give yourself enough time for things so you're not worrying about being late. You can see my ideal timeline blog post here. Ask suppliers (e.g caterers) for their estimates and listen to them. 

•    Drink lots of water! - There'll be champagne flowing for sure so keeping check of how much water you drink will make sure you don't fall on your face when the evening guests arrive. I designated one of my bridesmaids my 'water monitor' and whenever she saw me she brought me a glass of water. It didn't stop the hangover the next day, although it definitely helped! 

•    Make sure you keep a list of who sent what present & card - You'll be in such a tearing hurry to open your lovely cards and gifts, but keep a list of who's sent what! You might think you'll remember but after a few it will get confusing and god knows you don't want to send a thank you card to Auntie Vera saying thanks for the cheese knives when she actually bought you a vase. 

•    Wear an outfit that fits properly and you feel comfortable in - If something doesn't fit properly, you're going to feel uncomfortable and it will affect you during the day. I still don't get it when I see brides in towering 6 inch heels when they never usually wear anything like that, and their feet are in agony all through the ceremony before being discarded for flats before the speeches. Likewise with dresses that are too tight to enjoy the delicious food you've paid for! 

•    Take a few minutes to breathe by yourself in the morning - I took 5 the morning of the wedding to breathe, do some stretches and calm myself before the madness started and it really helped. 

•    Make sure someone looks after and locks up the presents and cards - This has never happened at a wedding I've been at but I have heard horror stories of people making off with all the presents and cards. Not necessarily guests but venue staff, or even outsiders. Make sure they get locked up at the end of the night, nice and safe for you the next day. 

•    Get the photographer to stay late – drunken party pics can rock! This is much easier to arrange before hand but I am so glad we had our lovely photographer well into the party. I love how people let loose at night! 

•    Cut the cake - if you’ve spent good money on it, then make sure people know when to eat it  - I really, really regret stuffing off the tradition of cutting the cake, it meant no-one was really sure when they could eat it (we had wheels of cheese) and it ended up being a bit of a mess. 

•    Have a hair trial - The single most stressful bit of the day was having my hair done the morning of the wedding, and hating it. I asked them to take it out and re-do it which they did, but it was still awful. So I ended up taking out all the pins and doing it myself. NOT what I had planned! I could have saved myself all that stress by having a hair trial before hand. 

 

Above all just enjoy every minute; you will have worked so hard to plan everything, just remember who it’s about. You two. Nothing else matters. Your favourite bits of the day will be the spontaneous moments that you haven’t planned, so leave room for a bit of spontaneous fun.

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