1. Don't give out breakable favors. We did ornaments ( we are a sentimental bunch) and later in the day my husband goes "um.... Didn't know those were glass.... Cousin broke his."
2. Bring food EVERYWHERE. We did all of our first look/wedding party photos about a mile from the venue. My family had been forcing food down me all morning but DH had breakfast and then nerves churning on an empty stomach. Not good.
3. Repeat "they can't start without me" to yourself often. I'm very big on punctuality, and we had a timeline for the day. Make up ended up going long and about halfway through I tossed my phone away and decided I didn't care what time it was. BEST DECISION EVER. It worked through the rest of the day too, and made me much more chill about the rain, having a sick groom (well chill in that I wasn't worried about the wedding being held up until he felt better, I was just worried about him), etc.
4. On that same note, don't let people pressure you. My two aunts got a bit lost on the way to the middle of nowhere and were about 5 minutes "late." Some people were trying to get us started and hurry everything along, but seriously? My family drove 4 hours for a 5 minute ceremony. So this is one time where you get to be the boss. Remember? They can't start without you and I wasn't walking down that aisle until my aunts got there.
5. It is going to go by so fast. You aren't going to get to do all the things you want. That's okay.