First of all I loved my wedding it was awesome! Out of everyting I have a couple of things that I never knew would be so memorable.
One: Our officiant was the best! My youth pastor from my teenagerhood got ordained as a pastor serveral years ago and is the only pastor I have ever been close to (DH was not close to any officiants either) but he lives in NE. We paid for him to come out and marry us and it was one of the best decisions we made. He made the ceremony very personal and very us.
Two: The photographer was worth the money. I just got our picture proofs and they bring back so many wonderful memories. I love looking at them, it makes me feel so happy.
Three: Our wedding party looked gorgeous! My DH did a wonderful job of picking out his tux and the groomsmen's tuxes, and the bridesmaids looked so fabulous, from their hair to their shoes. It was so much fun to see them all so pretty.
Besideds the fun parts, I really don't remember much. People always say that but it is funny how much I didn't notice. Our venue did not hand out the hors d'oeurves like they were supposed to, and we didn't know until the next day. I don't know if we had no shows, even though we went around to all the tables at dinner to talk and be a good bride and groom.
Another thing is being a bride is hard. I am so used to being a bridesmaid, and so you can go out and see people and do things and be helpful. Being a bride you just hide (if you chose to like I did anyhow) I was ready way ahead of time, and was impatient for the ceremony to start.
But overall, my best advice to the planning brides out there is have a timeline, a good day of host, and have a good group of people around you.