lessons learned from my wedding - part 1

Wedding planning and worrying about what can go wrong on the day of your actual wedding can be so stressful! It sounds fun in theory .. but in real life you run into all kind of barriers! But nevertheless, advice from brides that have been there can save your sanity! So today I am linking up for Wedding Wednesday at Little Bit of Class Little Bit of Sass to share some my top lessons learned from planning my own wedding!

1) Don't go out of the country 10 days before  your wedding.

 Don't laugh. I know this should probably be a given, but we wanted to squeeze in one last trip with The Wesley Foundation and our college friends! We headed to St. Vincent and Grenadines to volunteer at a school, completely cut off from the outside world. When we arrived back we learned that in our absence something had gone wrong with the tuxes we had picked out and we no longer had any. 10 days before our wedding. In the end we ended up getting a pretty good discount because of the problem but it sure was a  hassle!

2) Be careful when ordering flowers online.

You may not have even known that you can order flowers online. But you can and it is much cheaper then the florist! I used a wholesale website to order the flowers we were going to put together ourselves for centerpieces and aisle decorations. I scheduled them to arrive the day before the wedding at my wedding location. However, the postman delivered them to the house that was beside my wedding location. The whole day I had worried about when they were going to show up and tracked the package. Eventually I called the company when we couldn't find them and we determined where the mistake had been. So my flowers had unnecessarily set out in the heat for hours! Thankfully we only lost a few due to the heat.

But then I opened the package to discover that the "hot pink" Gerber daisies were actually pale pink! This was the mini melt down I referred to  before! I had specifically ordered the hot pink color but it was too late in the day for the company to overnight me correct flowers.

You know what though, it worked out in the end. The pale pink flowers still looked very nice, if not better then the hot pink ones would have.

3) Choose your colors from David's Bridal.

Well it doesn't have to be David's Bridal, but I do recommend choosing your colors from a large, well known company that is available in many places and preferably has coordinating colors for the men as well. I learned this the hard way. You see, I started with flowers: fushia pink and orange Gerber daisies and worked to coordinate/match those colors to the vision I had in my head for bridesmaids dresses. After months of searching for the [correct] fushia colored dress with an orange sash or ribbon in the desired length and fabric, we gave up and had a family friend make the dresses. It was difficult to coordinate out of town bridesmaids for fittings and to match the color for the men's vests and ties. So really, start with the color of the dresses and coordinate around that. Or better yet don't be so match matchy like I thought I needed to be! (And on the plus side David's bridal even has different styles of dresses in the same colors and even other items for your wedding to coordinate with the same colors!)

4) Gifts cards are the gift that keep on giving.

You say YES to gift card showers .. you can get what you need and what you want and sometimes you even receive gift cards for a date night out! (And if you are not sure what to get someone who is getting married, gift cards are what the bride and groom really want! )

5) Likewise, you say YES to a "pounding."

 What is a pounding you ask? It's kind of an old fashioned version of shower. People would bring you "a pound" of sugar, flour, and other things. Naturally, I was a little hesitant when this type of shower was suggested, but it was awesome! Each person that came chose a "theme" to buy for- laundry, cleaning supplies, spices, paper products, etc. It was all things that you will need but you do not necessarily think about it. Again, I can not tell you how helpful this was with getting started in our own home!

6) You probably will not remember a lot of your wedding and reception.

It's true. I'm not sure if its because you're nervous and there is a lot going on, but I remember very little about our wedding. In fact, neither Justin or I really even knew what food was served afterwards- we had to ask others! (Not to mention you will only get to eat like a bite or two anyway!)

Therefore, your photographer, and videographer if you choose, become really important! And you are going to pay for good photography, but it was important to us. Book early, especially if you are getting married in the summer.

7) Check with your local printer about invitations, programs, etc.

I had considered printing our invitations from Micheal's or somewhere online, but I checked with my local print shop first and it was much cheaper for me to have them to design our own custom invitations then any of  the other options I had considered! I simply showed the graphic designer an invitation I liked and she created it with the appropriate colors. You might also consider making your RSVP's a postcard so that you don't need to buy additional envelopes.

8. Registering for gifts is so. much. fun!

Seriously, Bed and Bath and Beyond practically treats you like royalty. They threw plates in the floor, stood on top of blenders, and we spent hours dreaming of our life to be. Be sure to have ample time to spend and go armed with a list of practical things you need - I'm not sure our modern day lives really call for the nonbreakable China!

Check out more advice and DIY wedding projects here:
1) Wedding Overview
2) Rustic Aisle Decorations
3) DIY Chalkboard Program
4) Rustic Wedding Signs
5) Rustic Centerpieces