Here are a few wedding tips we've found can really enhance your special day.
1. Hire a Coordinator
From décor ideas to making sure everything runs smoothly on the day of your wedding, having a coordinator can be the difference between you running around like crazy trying to get things done and just being able to relax and enjoy the day you’ve created with your partner. Another bonus is you don’t have to ask your family friend, brother, or soon to be mother-in-law for constant help, you can trust trained professionals who have done this before. They’ve got the knowledge and resources to make the day that much easier for you. There’s also nothing better than having a tie-breaker to call up when you and your honey can't decide on things like vest colors and table linen choices!
(We used A Touch of Lavender for our wedding and highly recommend Cindy Wu and her services.)
2. Shop Around
Venue. Flowers. Bridesmaid dresses. Media coverage. Décor. Things we traditionally think of when we hear “Wedding Planning.” All things we also think of when we look in our bank accounts and realize “this wedding might cost more than we originally budgeted.” While it’s true that weddings can be expensive, they don’t have to leave you completely broke! For things like flowers, flower boutiques can charge a quite a bit of money for something simple like wedding bouquets, let alone the rest of the flowers for the event. If you’re trying to save every cent you can, wholesale flowers are a great option. Maybe your Aunt makes great flower arrangements - let her help (it can even be her gift to you!) This is just one example but there really are a lot of things that you can put together yourself. One thing you want to keep in mind when shopping around for vendors is what’s really important to you and your partner for the day. Prioritizing is key. If you really want amazing food and a scintillating dessert table, don’t skimp and just go for it! If a DJ that rocks all night long is at the top of your list, hire the one you like most! If you’ve got a certain vision for your media coverage (video and photo), and you find vendors that offer what you’re looking for, book them! There will always be a first best, second and third, so interview all of your vendors and see which fit your vision (and pocket book).
3. Personalize Your Vows and Traditions
This is a day celebrating your love, why not write a little something personal to your sweetheart for your vows? It doesn’t have to be a brilliant, romantic sonnet - no pressure, just speak from your heart. There’s also something pretty great about finding rituals that are significant for you both for your ceremony – whether it be traditional to your faith or a wedding ritual from elsewhere that you’ve found resonates with you. If you’ve got a particular poem or piece of writing that really means something to you both, having someone special perform a reading can be really memorable. Most of all, remember that you have a hand in creating this experience for yourselves and your guests will have a rare opportunity to share in the intimate atmosphere of your ceremony, and that can be really special for everyone.
4. Go a Little Further
One thing we love seeing at weddings (as guests and also videographers) are personalizations – not just with vows and traditions during the ceremony but with décor too. Favors that represent you as a couple can be really memorable and special: if you love tea, why not tea bags and honey? If you sail together, why not cute little anchor tea-tags? Your décor has the chance to tell your story. Using table names that are significant to you can add a nice little touch too. I’ve seen a couple that can’t get enough Disney in their lives use rollercoaster ride names as their table names (and wouldn’t you want to be seated at Space Mountain?) Signs with your initials, anything hand-made and upcycled, an interesting card box, all of these little details help! With personalizations like, it’s possible to incorporate a little bit of yourselves into your décor while keeping it classy and stylized. Your guests will remember these sweet little details and I’m sure you will, too.
5. Work Together
It's rare to find couples planning their wedding who are 100% equal in their involvement with plans and decision-making, this is normal! Usually, one of you has more time on hand or one of you is naturally more excited about the process. Of course you don’t need to do everything side-by side - you can also divide and conquer. If you’re both involved in planning the wedding, you’ve done your best to work together and you've compromised with each other on the things you disagree on, you’re most likely to really appreciate what you’ve made, together. Your marriage is a celebration of your love and commitment to each other, why shouldn’t the party be dressed to match? Don’t be shy about having an opinion! Respect and listen to one another, and your wedding day will be all the more satisfying.
6. Dance!
Your guests are there to have a good time and I’m betting they want to have a good time with you! Some of you love to dance but some of you may be more reserved or anxious about dancing in public. Here’s a secret: Your guests don’t care if you are flaunting the hottest moves in the clubs or if you can legitimately swing dance - they’re going to be more focused on what they look like while they’re dancing than whether or not you’re doing the YMCA right, so let go and have FUN. You are the VIPs of this party!
7. Preserve the Day
After your wedding day has passed, the event will quickly become sweet nostalgia. You’ll never forget what your dad said to you during your Father-Daughter dance, or how hard you laughed during your Best Man’s speech, and those memories will stay with you for the long-haul. There are some other things you can do to hold onto the day: Preserve pieces of your attire, or personalized cufflinks honoring your wedding. You can even press some of the flowers into a book to frame. You can have your guest book be more traditional as something to keep on your coffee table or a beautiful piece of art to hang on your wall with hand-written love notes from your family and friends. There’s one thing that will help you remember the day more than anything else and that’s media coverage. Photography is a classic no-brainer, but it’s got a new bosom buddy, and that’s videography. Videography gives you the chance to re-live the day over and over, whether you choose to watch it every week or save it to watch on your wedding anniversaries, there is something very magical about experiencing the event from beginning to end, especially when edited artistically.
We hope these tips help you with planning your wedding! Thanks for reading and stay tuned.
