Advice from the ladies who married their loves in June 2009

Last July, the June09 ladies got a friendly post full of helpful info and advice about the 12 months of wedding planning from the June08 ladies.  Making it a tradition, the June09 ladies are now sharing their advice with us.  What follows is the advice from the fantastic June09 Brides.  (Thanks to scrapbookstar for being the spokesperson and posting this great advice on the June 2010 board.)  It's a bit long so grab a snack, kick back, get comfy, and ENJOY!!


From scrapbookstar:

Remember your FI. Try to include him or her as much as possible throughout the process. This is a celebration of your love and your relationship -- never forget that!

Treat your friends like friends first, "bridesmaids/groomsmen" second. If they offer to help, awesome! Be sure to always say thank you for everything they do.

Work in inside jokes or special things to you and your FI. Some examples from my wedding -- I'm a Literature professor, and I used quotes from some of my favorite books in the program. My husband works in the video game industry, and so we included instrumental music of video game themes during our dinner playlists.

Have fun!!!


From lissa_emily:

Take time away from the wedding planning to enjoy your family and FI. Who cares if you don't do anything wedding related for a month or two, there's plenty of time for the running around!

also, don't pick your wedding party until at least 6-7 months out. If I got that advice 20 months ago, I'd be laughing. Don't get me wrong, I love my girls, but weddings bring out the bitchyness in people.

 

From SarahClop:

1. It's not just your day, it's your man's day too. It is really important to include his ideas and things that he likes as well.

2. Don't spend more money than you have, and don't take out loans for any wedding detail.

3. You can't accommodate everyone. There WILL be someone that doesn't like your cake flavor, your centerpieces, and your choice of vegetables. Oh well, your wedding, not theirs. Pick what you and your man like. That makes it more personal and special.

 

From cobride2be:

give a guest your camera so you have photos of the day the day after.

don't forget mom. since moms seem to get shafted at weddings.

stop. breathe and take it all in. it will go by super fast if you don't

 

From kaleyandjason:

Try, try, TRY to step back and enjoy the day and the planning process in general. Take a deep breath and let it go, because it will be over and done before you realize it. Don't let the little things stress you out. And be sure to do what you want, not what everyone else wants. It is you and your fiance's day.

 

From mofe:

Give yourself plenty of time to take pictures so you can have a break before the ceremony. We had a 45 minute break from pictures to the ceremony and the photographer told us this is something he wants to keep doing.

 

From soon-to-be-mrsh:

1. Get as much done as early as you can do it, it doesnt matter if you book your cake 9 months before your wedding when the norm is 3 months - it will be one less thing you have to worry about when you're busy doing the things that can't be done ahead of time.

2. Start any wedding diets/fitness plans early... if you wait until the month before the wedding you are going to be in trouble with your alterations and you likely wont have much success since you will be busy and stressed.

3. Whatever wedding shoes you buy - make sure they are at least moderately comfortable. Buy insoles, stretch them, break them in and practice dancing in them and dont forget to scuff up the bottoms so you dont slip and fall.

4. Make sure your bustle is off the ground - sure it might look pretty to have a small sweep train still on your dress but you'll end up with a filthy dress and most likely you'll tear it. Have your seamstress make it sturdy and functional and keep it off the ground so you can dance and have a good time without worrying about it.

5. Try to save at least $500 of your budget for the week before the wedding. Something will come up that you forgot and you'll need some extra cash... whether its a couple extra attendees, escort cards, shoes to change into, tip money for the limo driver, food for the day of, etc. you'll need it.

6. People won't RSVP, you will have to call a lot of people, that's just the way it goes. Even after they RSVP, you'll likely still have a few no-shows. There is really nothing you can do about it, but it might be worthwhile to ask other family members what happened to them.

7. Hire the best photographer you can afford - the pictures are the only thing you'll have years after the wedding. Dont hire someone you dont trust. Get engagement pictures taken so you know how you work with your photographer and make sure your styles are similar.

8. Dont forget that you are planning for one day of your life. Sure you might plan the best wedding ever but its still only one day of your life. Don't put every single thing you have (money, time, heart, etc.) into the wedding or you wont have anything left over. Don't forget to do the things you love (for yourself and with your FI) so that its not so hard to go back to reality when the day is over.

 

From clelwi:

Before you do much of anything, pick the one or two things that are most important to you (for me, it was a candy buffet and fireworks) and scrimp on everything else. As you go along, other things are going to crop up that "seem" important (programs! decorated initials! aisle runner!) but you don't really need them--focus on the things you have wanted from the beginning.

And wait to pick your bridesmaids. If I had it to do over, would have included a close friend of mine that I did not (who I didn't think would even come because she lived so far away, but she turned out to be fantastic about the whole thing).

One more: lots of expenses are going to come up last minute (like, the $500 delivery fee doesn't actually include setting up, that's another $100, and another $50 to haul the garbage away), plan for this and you won't be stressed.

 

From luckycooky:

Parents can be especially difficult to deal with but keep in mind that you are not the only one who has spent years dreaming of your wedding day. Each of your parents and FILs have thought about their child's wedding day at some point too and it while it is your day, try to make it special for them too.

Think about some of the weddings you've attended over the past few years. Do you remember every decoration, favor, insertrandomdetailhere? Probably not. Spend your time and money on good food, good drinks, and good music instead - the fun these things create will outlast any $0.99 favor by far.

Enjoy this time!!! It is much closer than you think!

 

From krispychikn:

1. Just because every other bride on the knot seems to be doing something at their wedding doesn't mean you need to include it. Make the wedding YOUR OWN! People remember the things that are truly you and your FI - our table names were places we have been together and included pictures of us there and our favors were coffee we roasted ourselves - those are probably the top two things we still are getting comments about! If it doesn't feel like your wedding then people won't remember it!

2. enjoy the day and enjoy the planning process - this is the only time you'll do this in your life and you want to look back on it fondly - not like the year from hell.

3. take your honeymoon right after the wedding if at all possible - it is so nice to be able to escape and really enjoy being married for a few days/week/ however long before rejoining the real world together.

4. if people offer to help you with wedding projects take the help - it makes all your DIY projects more fun to do and helps them get done faster!

 

From elkaybie:

1. Everything you and your FI like is tacky to someone else. Just do what feels right for the two of you for your wedding.

2. Be willing to let go of at least 1 something you've set your heart on. Be it not in the cards b/c of budget, timing, bad luck, or voodoo hex...it's okay. Your wedding will be fine without it.

3. The guest list is the hardest part, no matter which way you slice it. When you have that final list in hand, if someone hasn't come out unscathed, with bruised ego, or hurt...then I wanna know your secret. I just want you to know it's gonna be rough, cause I had no idea.

4. There is life (and wedding inspiration) outside TK, the box, the Modern Bride, the Martha Stewart, etc...don't forget to enjoy it and your fiance.



From shagadelk7:

Know the people you involve in your wedding. Know them well. If you think there's stuff you don't know about them, or are unsure how they act in certain situations, and you don't like it, choosing them to be in your wedding is going to eventually stress you out. (Not speaking from experience, just things I've heard).

Wait to pick your bridesmaids. I cannot stress this enough. If I wouldn't have waited, I would have picked someone I hardly talk to anymore. I am willing to bet more than 50% of girls on here who asked their BMs right away, regret it in some form or another.

No one cares as much about your wedding as you do. It's harsh, but true. If you think people, (namely your bridesmaids) aren't paying attention when you talk about your wedding, it's probably because you won't shut up about it ever. Yes, it's the most important day of your life. YOUR LIFE, not theirs. If they have questions about your wedding they will ask. Don't talk about your wedding 24/7. Try to be concerned with what is going on in their lives too.

Don't waste your time stressing out about stuff that no one will notice. Chances are you are the only one that will notice anyway.

Let your BMs choose their own dress, don't choose it for them. Either let them have all different dresses in the same color, or tell them a color and let them go out on their own and choose one dress that they will all like. You rarely can find 5 girls that all look great in the same dress. If you let them choose they'll love you for it.

If your parents are nice enough to be paying for your wedding, unfortunately they have last say in everything. You need to realize that. Hopefully they'll be nice enough to give you the money and leave you alone, but rarely that happens. If they want to invite 27 of their random friends that you've never met, tough, it's their party too, since they're the ones paying. If you want the last say in everything, you have to pay.

If you do pay for your entire wedding yourself and have expectations of recovering the money you've spent on your wedding in gifts, they won't be met. I can almost guarentee that. It's a bad expectation to have, but I really feel like a lot of people go into planning a wedding like they will come out even in the end. It rarely happens.

Stemming from the last point, do not put anything wedding related on your credit cards. If you can't afford it, move on and choose something less expensive. Either that or have a longer engagement to save up for the things that are important to you.

My most important point will be this---to everyone that says, 'do what you want, it's your day, you can't accommodate everyone' you're full of shitte. If you don't take other people into consideration, you're going to be known at that biotch that did everything she wanted and didn't take anyone else into accont. It's true you can't make everyone happy, but if you're the bridezilla from Texas that insists on having an 2pm ceremony in August, outside, and that's what you want, you're going to make a lot of people pissed off.

 

From anniegirl1:

1. Remember that you can't control everything. Something will go wrong the day of the wedding. Remember that the important thing is that you are getting married and nothing can change that.

2. Stand up and sit up straight as all eyes and cameras will be on you for most of the day.

3. Take a little bit of time before your reception to go into the ballroom or hall or whatever with your new husband to see how the room looks without anyone in it. We did this and it was one of my most favorite moments of the day.

4. Set a deadline to get things done. If you pass the deadline, forget about it, as no one will know it isn't there or done but you.

5. Get all of your planning done before the week of the wedding. I am normally a major nervous person but all my things were done and the week of the wedding, I enjoyed myself, slept well and was ready to go the day of without any worries.

6. Throughout the planning process, don't become that girl (bridezilla). The wedding is just one day and the marriage will surely outlast the stress of planning it.

Enjoy, good luck and have fun!



From m1salas:

1.Make sure to shop around for the best service/products your money can buy....dont get caught up in the moment and sign contracts or leave deposits until you both have talked about it and made sure it fits your budget.

2. Dont leave anything to the last minute. Make a schedule of things that have to get done throughout the year (like vendors to look into or DIY stuff that has to get done) and try to keep to it. It will make your life easier the month or two before the wedding.

 

From d78:

The ladies here have already touched on many of my points, but here are my lessons to add (though some are a re-statement, I felt they were still important):

1. Be sure when scheduling your timeline that everyone who is involved gets a copy. I didn't give it to my parents and they were coming & going randomly. I was annoyed until I realized they never got the memo! lol

2. S/O timelines, don't get overly stressed out if you don't stick to it. I did this and really regret part of our day because I was overwhelmed since we were running late.

3. Do be considerate of others, but also do things in your best judgment for all involved. No, you can't please everyone, but there is moderation to everything.

4. Absolutely do not get caught up in the wedding to the point where you lose sight of the real meaning: the MARRIAGE! Continue to have dates with your fi and spend QT together. Prioritize what you "must have" at your wedding.

5. If you don't have a DOC, find a trustworthy, detail-oriented friend to handle final payments, and the little details. I did this and I was SO glad I did. Such a relief!

 

From Rachelilly23:

Try to greet your guests- whether it's a receiving line, visiting all the tables...whatever. I missed about 1/4 of my guests and some of them didn't even meet DH since we visited tables and didn't get to them all. I know other ladies had this problem too- some of your guests most likely will have traveled really far for you, as did some of mine, and I feel bad for not having greeted all of them. But like other ladies said, the night happens really fast so you have to plan to do it early on so you can party with them later!

 

From keb270:

Something may go wrong, but in the end, you are getting married which is the most important thing. Who cares if the ribbon isn't the exact shade you wanted. No one else will notice.

Other little things, hold the TOP of your bouquet at your bellybutton. I held my hand there and my bouquet was so large that it covered up most of my dress in the photos. I wish I had realized that I should hold it lower. (the same goes for bridesmaids, I even had lollipop practice bouquets for them!)

Hire vendors you trust to do a good job. People kept telling me that everything was so wonderful and the real reason for this was that I didn't have to do much! My vendors took care of all the details and let me enjoy my day.

Make sure you communicate your expectations for the bridal party BEFORE the wedding. I asked mine to stay and help clean up after, and they did. I went to a wedding recently where the bride and groom never asked anyone to help after and ended up getting into a fight with the wedding party afterword because they all left. It left a sour taste in everyone's mouth and was not the way to end an otherwise wonderful day.

Last, have fun! It's your wedding!!!



From make lemonade.:

Don't take the knot too seriously.

 

From smalltowncutie85:

Remember that the day/week of the wedding: things WILL go wrong. Don't let them stress you out too much. No one will notice if something is missing, or not in the right place, etc.

Definitely remember to give your camera or video camera to a friend or family member. DH and I got a good laugh out of our wedding video after we got back from our HM, and it was several weeks before we got professional pics back.

As pp said, your wedding is ONE day. don't focus so much on the wedding that you forget about the marriage.

Best of luck to you all, remember to take it all in, it goes by very fast.

 

From Meg.eliz:

I tried to do a lot myself and later realized that I should have asked my MOH to help and it would have taken a lot of stress off of me. I was too concerned that I had to do it all to get it the way I wanted it. Use all the help you can get!

I agree with giving your camera to someone else.

Splurge on a good photographer, the worst feeling is spending way too much on something not important and not having great pictures to remember your day by.

Get as much done as early as you can BUT if you buy a dress early STOP LOOKING and don't doubt your decision, you chose it for a reason! I ended up with two dresses and wasted a lot of money.

Make sure you look your photographer's way during important events if you want good pictures...and the best advice I got was hold your first kiss for at least 10 seconds so your photographers have enough time to get a picture of it.

I kind of regret not having hired a videographer to have a video at least of the ceremony.

 

From hlp2709:

1. Try to DIY as much as you can it will help with saving money.

2. put money away for the week before stuff comes up and you will need it for odd and ends

3. have a note book that has all the venders numbers in so it is right at ur finger tips the week of the wedding it helps with when u need to make a phone call, and then u have something to keep notes in when you get calls. I used it and was great.

4. For your RSVP number them to hlep you mark them off as they come back and you can keep track better.

5. If something go wrongs on the wedding day their is nothing you can do about so just take a deep breath and count to 10 it helps. I had my flower girls dress break 2 min before we walked down and we just tied it and no one even knew about it.

6. If people ask if they can help with anything take the help it gets done faster and its a lot more fun.

7. Try not to stress out to much its not worth it.

8. a week before or a couple days before the wedding go and get a massage it helps relax you. I did it and it was great.
9. If you are taking pic. with your camera make sure it is charged.
10. enjoy ur day good Luck

 

From kyl33t:

Take a month off from doing much wedding stuff at some point. When you pick it back up, you'll have renewed interest in it.

Make a huge to do list from the knot's list, getting rid of anything that isn't applicable to you. It's easier to visualize.

Don't obsess over music. Let your DJ run the show. Just pick your first dance, parent dances, etc, any party songs you MUST have, and maybe 2-5 must plays, and let him do the rest. He knows what he's doing.

There are a lot of people who do appreciate creative touches. For example, our program was a comic book drawn by my friend. It cost a bit more to do, but we're still getting comments on it a month later. Try to put your personality in it.

Try not to visualize your wedding day over and over. It won't live up to your standards! Try to focus on you and your future husband.

Make sure to take the time to plan special thanks or gifts for your bridal party and parents. For example, the day before the wedding, I planned a group outing at our zoo for all of our family from out of town. It was great to see everyone bond again and appreciate your work.

Do edible favors! We had gourmet popcorn from a local shop. I printed up stickers from Vistaprint that said a thanks from us and where the popcorn was from. Several guests went to the shop the next day to hunt down a whole bag for themselves. So I brought some attention to a locally owned shop and everyone ate all the favors :D

Use Vistaprint as much as you can! This is especially helpful if you have any graphic design experience. I saved HUNDREDS of dollars by designing and printing my save the dates, invitations, programs, rsvp postcards, thank you cards, inserts, etc.



From .:Lucy:. :

Don't expect your family, your friends, or your wedding party to help plan your wedding. But when they offer, make sure to express how grateful you are for their help.

Also, huge wedding parties = major suckage

 

From vhcoleman09:

1. When you find the vendor you like, don't just sign without reading all the contract details and asking that some be included if they're missing. For example, make sure you know if you're getting the rights to your photos or a minimum number of photos you will get from your photographer. This gives you more leverage if someone messes something up. Make sure everything you request is detailed in the contract.
2. Make sure you give your camera to someone else the day of the wedding to take pictures, but also include an extra battery!
3. Take a month or two off from wedding stuff once the major details are decided upon. You can pick it up again 6 months out. You'll appreciate not having spent the whole year planning. Many things you just can't do anyway until closer to the date.
4. That being said, get as much done as possible before the last week of the wedding. That last week is CRAZY and it's best if you don't have wedding stuff still left to do.
5. One of the best decisions DH and I made was to take pictures before the wedding. I am a romantic and initially thought I wanted to see him for the first time when walking down the aisle. Having time to walk in and have him see me without all eyes being on us made me significantly more calm on the walk down the aisle and gave us a chance to talk to each other and say how great we both looked!
6. If you're inviting kids, have glow-in-the-dark bracelets or necklaces for them. I also did pinwheels with the kids names as placecards. Can't tell you how much their parents appreciated this.
7. STICK TO YOUR BUDGET!

 

From cruella013:

1. First thing is try and keep your eye on the prize. Basically, don't get so wrapped up in planning you forget about the fact you are marrying the man of your dreams. You should be happy to run to the JOP if need be.

2. Set your budget first, then decide what elements are most important to you. They can't be all important to you - put them in hierarchical order. Then stay within your budget, at all costs!!!

3. Don't pay too much attention to all the things that others on the knot are doing, it'll drive you crazy. People have widely varying budgets and time, and you'll find yourself thinking "I can find an extra $500 for a photobooth or a candy buffet" or whatever the "in" thing is at the time. Don't fall for the trap. Your wedding doesnt have to have to resemble an amusement park - people are happy to eat good food and dance. Most people (unless they are brides) don't notice the details of your wedding...

Guests will appreciate and remember: atmosphere (mainly the two of you and if you are happy; also if they are comfortable - are they being taken care of), food, and music. That is it. Period.

4. Keep your guests in mind. This is all you need to remember when you run into the millions of etiquette related questions you'll have (don't listen too much to all the "rules" people will throw at you - life isn't black and white). Do what makes sense and what will make your guests comfortable (it isn't ALL about you and your FI - you are throwing a party FOR your guests).

5. Spend time researching and picking ALL of your vendors. Goood vendors = smooth sailing on wedding day (or a higher chance of no big bumps on wedding day). This is sooooo important.

6. Don't be a bridezilla - pay attention to your family and bridal party's lives still. Talk about things other than wedding related things every once and awhile. These people are happy for you, but a year is long enough to annoy the crap out of them if you don't keep yourself in check. And remember, they arent your servants - accept help when its given, but its best to have small expectations of them.

7. If you aren't having fun doing something, stop doing it. This will be on average a year of your life - you want to be happy planning and remember it as a good time (and you want your FI and family to remember it as such as well). You only get one engagement, and it goes by fast - have fun with it.

8. Be organized!!! This is the second element that will make your wedding run smooth as silk - organization, you have to take charge of the wedding (and your vendors). Spread sheets for budget, including when payments are due. Spread sheet for guest list, addreses, and keeping track of things sent (SYD, invitations, Thank yous) and gifts recieved. Make day-of and week-of timlines when the wedding draws near - distribute to all involved people.

Make a timeline for the YEAR and when you want to accomplish everything - and stick to it (I suggest doing your own and not using the knots checklist, they have tons of extra things in there, so your real goals can gt lost). You'll have more lists than you've ever had iin your whole life :)

9. Make sure there is nothing on your timeline/checklist for you to accomplish the last week before you get married. Have everything finihed by then.

10. Love and adore your FI. All these people will come to see you in love. As long as you stick together (throughout the planning, and on the day of the wedding), and smile at each other, dance with each other, and seem ridiculously happy with each other, you will have thrown a memorable wedding. This is the favorite compliment I get from my guests: "You two just looked so happy all night." You'll hear it from guests, and see it in your pictures (which are the only things that last forever). Night of the wedding, you forget about all the year's planning and small stuff - all focus goes on the love of your life!



From mlhopper:

Don't freak out about the things that go wrong on your wedding day. Things will happen we had no AC in one of our limos (on a 98 degree day)...bouquets had lillies in them when we told them and re-confirmed that they shouldn't because a BM was highly allergic. If you stay calm and carefree about those things, everyone else will too.

Assign someone else to deal with issues that go wrong on the day of. Everyone wants to see the bride smiling...no one wants to see a bridezilla freaking out over little things.

Wait until about 6 months out to pick your bridal party. Relationships change and you may have very different feelings about people 6 months out than you do a year out.

Limit your number of bridal/wedding party members. We had 8 BM, 1 Junior BM, and 8 GM (in addition to a FG and RB). We had 3 hours between the ceremony and reception for photos. I was looking forward to getting some amazing photos during that time, but it was so hard to organize that many people. As soon as we got to a location, someone had to go to the bathroom...then when they got back, someone else wanted to go fix their makeup. It was neverending and I didn't get half the photos that I wanted. If we had a smaller number (say 10 people total including us) things would have been much more manageable.

Definitely give your camera to someone and put them in charge of taking some photos (especially of you and your new husband). I'm still waiting for my photog's pro photos and we hardly have any from the day. I even set up a photoshare website and the photos people ended up taking on their own cameras were photos of them and their friends. We have like 2 photos of us together from the reception...and I wish we had more so that I wouldn't be so impatient about the pro photos.

Everyone will say this...but slow down and try to take it all in. The day goes by so fast. Everyone told us to do that, but it was so hard to on the day of...we got pulled in so many directions it was insane. The day went by so fast and it's all a fog now. I felt like we were constantly doing something. I always dreamed of being out on the dance floor the entire time, but as soon as we'd get out there to dance, someone else would come ask us to take a photo with them, or start talking to us. It was crazy!

Try to talk to everyone at some point during the receiving line or by stopping by the tables...if you get to see everyone at that point, I think it would limit the amount of people pulling you away from what you want to be doing. We never did get to speak to everyone there and we really wish we had.

Have fun! It only happens once! Enjoy yourselves and cherish every minute with your new husband! Best of luck to all of you!!

Oh, and another thing...get as much done as you can before the week of the wedding. I pushed some things up until the last minute (including programs because our pastor couldn't meet with us till the last minute) and we ended up scrambling trying to get the programs done and ended up having to have a GM go get them printed for us and fold them. The night before the wedding was insane (DH was running around trying to get bins for the beer, and so many last minute things). I ended up waiting till that night to get everything together to carry with me to the church and hotel and I only got about 5 hours of sleep. I was so exhausted by the end of our wedding night! If you can get everything done beforehand, you can actually focus on getting a good nights sleep!

 

From RedZee:

The best thing about our wedding is that it taught us how to be our own unit, separate from each of our families. I didn't realize this would happen until we got pretty far into the planning.

EVERYONE has an opinion when you plan a wedding. To avoid major confrontations, be the decision maker. If you want your families to feel involved, show them your final 2 or 3 choices and let them help make the decision. Unless people do it themselves, they'll never feel included enough anyway.

Don't worry about being called a Bridezilla. People throw that word around without understanding it. That doesn't mean you should only talk about your wedding or treat people like crap. It just means that you should make decisions with your fiance and just get through the process without involving the whole world in every tiny decision.

Try on your dress a couple of days before your wedding. Ask your mom, sister, bridesmaids, etc to try theirs on too WITH all their underwear.

Put every detail into your contracts. Vendors will tell you that you're being nuts and overdoing it. To avoid being ridiculed we didn't specify things and ended up having to battle a few points.

You will be amazed at the things your family will suddenly care about and how worked up people get about insane details.

If either you or your fiance has an older sister, regardless of how happily married she is, she will cause problems for you. If any of you has one who doesn't, please call me.

Bring brush strips or mouthwash with you. You'll want to freshen up with something more significant than a mint.

Don't blow your budget. It is only one day. There are expenses that pop up at the last minute. In the end, a lot of it will feel like a blur and you'll be surprised that you spent so long and so much money on one day. If you can at least comfort yourself by knowing you're not going to be paying it off for a while, you'll feel better.



From Junebug060609:

~Remember that the ultimate goal is that at the end of the day you be married. The rest, as important as it seems at the time, is just icing on the cake.

~Stay true to yourselves and your budget.

For stuff in the weeks before and day of:

~Get as much as humanly possible done BEFORE the guests start arriving for the festivities. Once they start showing up, things get super busy.

~Delegate or just forget about it for the stuff that you don't get done early.

~If you have an outdoor ceremony, have water available. We didn't, and we were dehydrated by the end of our post-ceremony pics.

~The day will absolutely FLY by. Just take a few mins here and there to just absorb it.

 

From jmwilson1982:

1. The day is not just about you and your husband - it's also about sharing the day with all of your family and friends. If it was just about the two of you, then you would elope.

2. At some point, you will most likely think that eloping would be the best idea - don't do it! I remember in the final weeks leading up to the wedding, I was so stressed out and worried about things all falling into place that I kept thinking "it would have been so much easier if we just eloped." But in the end, on our wedding day, everything fell into place and I wouldn't change anything.

3. You have no control over the weather. It poured all day on our wedding day - just make sure if you have outdoor events planned, you are ok with whatever your plan b is. All of our events were indoors, so it didn't really matter.

4. There are some things that we have no control over (see number 3). Let it go - it's not worth getting upset over something you have no control over.

5. Pick one or two things that are the most important to you about the day - whether that be flowers, dress, location, etc. and don't settle for less than what you want. The rest will fall into place.

6. Go on a honeymoon - even if all you can afford is a weekend getaway at a location close by, it doesn't matter - you will definitely want a few days to spend alone with your new husband before getting back to reality. I know of too many couples who say that they're going to wait to take a honeymoon when they can afford it, and they never do. And truly, you only have one chance to take a honeymoon and that's right after your wedding.

7. And last but not least, enjoy this time with your fiance! This is the only time you will be engaged and the only time you will have to call eachother "fiance." Your engagement will fly by and before you know it, you'll be Mr. and Mrs.

Best of luck ladies!