TIPS FOR THE PERFECT WEDDING!
1) Relax, relax, RELAX!
"What will be, will be”: You cannot make the weather do what you want it to, nor can you make people do what you want them to do. So remember, it is your day, relax and while you are planning your day, breath and remind yourself that worrying will not help you overcome hurdles or get things done.
2) Plan your wedding the way you want to.
If you don't, more often than not you will regret it for years to come. Do what your heart desires and wear what you have always dreamed you would wear because again, if you do not, you will look back wishing you could have your wedding day all over again.
3) Create a checklist
You'll see checklists almost everywhere that you go while planning your wedding. They will keep reinventing themselves as some things get taken care of and then other things that need to be done arise. You may even have one on the day of their wedding, which is a good idea as wedding day jitters can cause the memory to falter.
4) Pick the Venue that suits you.
Try not to worry about the location too much as your closest friends, relatives and people who matter the most will make it to your wedding no matter where you hold it (unless of course you are holding it overseas or in another state).
If it is important to you to have flexibility, then find a venue that will allow this. For example, many popular wedding venues have very strict finishing times and structure as to how the event runs. Others do not. At my reception, the venue operators were incredibly flexible as to what time the guests had to leave and how we could arrange the room.
5) Have whom you want in your bridal party.
Many things can unfortunately influence these decisions. Where you were once a bridesmaid for a friend does not mean you have to return the gesture. And feeling obliged to ask a particular family member just because they are family, can be emotionally draining in an already hectic time. Remember it was this person's choice to have you in their wedding. Yes there may be some bruised ego's, however sometimes if weddings are years apart you may not even be in regular contact with the person you acted as bridesmaid for, so it seems silly to have her when you have other closer friends. If you feel that someone may feel hurt, then talk to him or her if you can. Otherwise, if you are strong enough, go ahead and ask whom ever you like, or don't ask anyone at all.
6) Be Prepared for Hiccups.
Things will not always go according to plan.
So be prepared for things to go wrong, including these:
a) "My Veil tore straight down the middle while getting into the car."
b) "Our Chauffeur drove to the wrong church causing me to be 30 minutes late."
c) "The Power went out at the Reception."
d) "We had the wrong bridal flowers delivered to our house."
e) "One of my bridesmaids was incredibly ill on the day of the wedding."
f) "Thunderstorms and gale-force winds for an outdoor wedding."
g) "My Grandfather had a mild heart attack on the morning of our
7) Enlist the support of anyone who offers.
When you announce your intended marriage to your family, friends and work mates you will most likely receive a steady flow of offers. As the big day draws closer, you really will be grateful for all the extra pairs of hands.
8) Take the week off work before the wedding.
It is advisable to take at least a few days off before the big day so you can get extra sleep if you need it as well as to have plenty of time to do any last minute running around. By taking this time off, it will also help to build the element of excitement that this is your "special day".
9) Prepare your speeches well in advance.
By preparing and planning your speeches early on, this will allow you to calmly cover all bases. You are allowing yourself time to add or remove comments from it. In the earlier days of planning you can write down all the basic things that need to be remembered such as thanking your bridal party, parents and partner. As time ticks on, things will change which you can then keep amending your speech to suit.
10) Be good to yourself.
Take time out for a massage, get your nails done and get yourself pampered. And if you are one of those people who are "naughty", hopefully you will have a friend or Mother who will make you stop and relax.
