Advice From Bride to Bride-to-be (Part 1)

Carrie
1. Do … have the best time you can possibly have, and savor every moment. When else will you have everyone you love the most in the world in one room, celebrating you, your marriage, and your happiness?! It’s an overwhelming, awesome day, so live it up.

2. Don’t … get stressed out by mishaps on the wedding day. At that point, you’ve done all you can do to make the day wonderful, so just enjoy it–mishaps are going to happen, and there’s nothing you can do to change that on the wedding day. But worrying about things will interfere with your day. So just don’t.

3. Don’t forget … the marriage license!

4. Do hire … Aaron Watson and Kelsey Pace!Seriously though, a photographer whose style matches yours and who will be able to recreate the story of your wedding day after it’s over, because it’s hard to remember the details after such a wonderful, crazy day without some help.

5. Do remember … to thank your parents. Sincerely.

6. Do something … nice for your bridesmaids. A personal gift you spent time on, or personal notes, are very appreciated, and they will be kept as souvenirs of both your friendship and the day itself.

7. Do practice … we didn’t practice anything! I assume if you’re giving a speech, you should practice that..?

8. Do take a second to … be alone with your spouse. The whole day is supposed to be about the two of you, but often, the whole day goes by without a moment alone together. Just sneak away, just for five minutes–long enough to take a deep breath together.

9. Do be … grateful to the vendors, wait staff, coordinators…everyone who came together to help make the day wonderful. Saying “thank you” only takes a second.

10. Don’t have … too much to drink. Not that you’ll have time anyway, but just in case, be careful. You want to (1) remember everything, and (2) feel great the next day so you can spend the entire day talking about how wonderful it was!

Gretchen

1. Do be: a gracious bride.

2. Don’t: stress out over all the little details. In the end all that matters is the two of you and getting your loved ones together for a fun time! It will all come together and if you are happy, your guests will be happy.

3. Don’t forget: to make an effort to talk to each one of your guests and thank them for coming. Thank your vendors too, after all they are the ones making sure that all your plans come to life.

4. Do hire: Aaron Watson! You will never regret it! Prioritize which details are the most important to you and your fiancé and realize that those things are worth stretching your budget a little if necessary. The photos of your big day are one of the best investments you will make.

5. Do remember: to take the time for the things that matter most to you. Dancing with your girls, alone time with your new husband, a few minutes with your parents, etc. The day will be very hectic and you will be rushed from place to place.

6. Do something: different! We had Aaron Watson’s crazy booth and not only was it such a fun time for our guests, but we got some really great and unexpected pictures from it.

7. Do practice: your toasts if you choose to do them. And you may want to review everyone else’s beforehand too.

8. Do take a second: to take it all in! The day can be such a blur, make sure you look around and take it all in!

9. Do be: mindful of your drinks. You may not get much time to eat and people will be passing you champagne all night. It’s easy to lose count and the last thing you want are blurry memories of your day. After all of that time spent planning and anticipating this, you will want to be fresh for it all!

10. Don’t have: a meltdown if things don’t go exactly as planned. Most weddings have some sort of hiccup (whether big or small) but in the end, if the two of you are together that is all that matters. The rest can be laughed off.