July '11- ASK US ANYTHING!

Nati05

Immodium scares the hell out of me though. I've only taken it twice on extreme ocassions, because seriously I don't go for like a week aftwerwards. Not good. I might just got with Pepto haha

Poppy715

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_july-2012-weddings_july-11-ask-us-anything?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:066005ef-215f-48b1-8655-328b41e07c52Discussion:3fd38e9b-4531-498d-bb39-14db531ecb79Post:06d257fb-57c2-4041-8b1a-7f4f680e66fc">Re: July '11- ASK US ANYTHING!</a>:
[QUOTE]This should be great, thanks! I'm sure I'll have some planning questions later but in the meantime.. What was your favorite moment of the day? Anything you would have done differently? Also what has been the greatest part/moment of being married so far?
Posted by Nati05[/QUOTE]

My favorite moment was when FI called me as I drove up to the wedding sight. He was sitting on a bench freaking out and he said just talking to me calmed him down a ton. I'll never forget the sound of him saying "everything looks so good! You are going to love it." He knew I had been stressed out and it helped me to realize everything was going to be fin. 
 He also cried when he saw me for the first time which makes my heart melt!

I thought I had told my photographer all the things that were important to me to get pictures of. I was wrong. 6 months later (when I finally got them back) I realized my 2 photogs didn't get a single picture of the handpainted direction signs I made. They were adorable and I was heartbroken I didn't have a single picture of them at the wedding.
Also out slideshow didn't work right. We didn't have good speakers and no one could see. It was a hot mess.

They are not huge things but still bum me out when I think about them.

LaceyH13

I am also another July '11 kid that took immodium. And really, it wasn't an issue. I also have digestive issues on a regular basis, so I made sure I gave myself plenty of time to linger in a private bathroom before the ceremony if needed.

Also, I could get in and out of my big dress all by myself, so I took it off several times throughout the day to cool off and to use the bathroom. It was helpful. (Though I did do the peeing backwards thing once just to say that I did it.)

I spent too much time worrying about seating arrangements. In the end everybody was grown up and found a place to sit on their own. No need for me to stress about that.

I'm glad I waited 9-10 months to make our wedding album. It took that long for some people to share their candid photos with me. I got a Groupon for Mixbook and made my own. It turned out 90 pages, but so worth it.

The first year of marriage has been tougher than I originally expected. I figured since we dated for 5 years and lived together for 1 it wouldn't be a big adjustment, but it still is. Money is definitely the biggest issue we fight over, so I guess I'm part of that statistic.

I guess my biggest advice for the day of is to enjoy the moment? That's so lame, i know. But, like, I've had friends so worried about having a romantic wedding night with their H that they forget to enjoy everyone else around them. You will be married for the rest of your lives and have tons of romantic nights together - enjoy the day to the fullest with the people that came to celebrate with you, because it's likely the only time it will happen like that.

Poppy715

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_july-2012-weddings_july-11-ask-us-anything?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:066005ef-215f-48b1-8655-328b41e07c52Discussion:3fd38e9b-4531-498d-bb39-14db531ecb79Post:84ba4824-e3ce-4338-8548-150c41843662">Re: July '11- ASK US ANYTHING!</a>:
[QUOTE]Is there anything you wish you didn't focus too much on during the planning or even during the day? Any details you thought would matter ending up not mattering at all?
Posted by mekiakoo[/QUOTE]

This is a really good question. I'm sure we are all probably going to say a variation on the same thing. Everything you think is the most important detail doesn't matter. YOU ARE GETTING MARRIED!!!!!!! Not getting progarms, not getting tableclothed, not first danced-MARRIED. That is the important part. I really can't stress it enough.
Things are going to go wrong, not look exactly as you pictured and be just fine. Your day will still be perfect, beautiful and everything you hoped for!

Don't loose sight of what your day is for. We got pulled around a lot and didn't even get to eat a piece of our cake. I didn't have one drink of the delicious booze we had. If you want to do something- do it! If you need time along with your brand new H take it. H and I had like 5 mins immediatly after the ceremony to talk. I'll never forget that time we had together.

Poppy715

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_july-2012-weddings_july-11-ask-us-anything?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:066005ef-215f-48b1-8655-328b41e07c52Discussion:3fd38e9b-4531-498d-bb39-14db531ecb79Post:b8399e7a-2dee-4ac2-9e2d-73659046ffb4">Re: July '11- ASK US ANYTHING!</a>:
[QUOTE]This is really awesome of you guys! I've had several people start telling me that "the first year of marraige is the hardest".  Even our pastor said this to us last night in pre-marital counseling.  I know you ladies don't have other years to compare it to, but would you be willing to share if there <em>was something surprisingly difficult that you had to work out</em>?
Posted by KatieK501[/QUOTE]

Honestly no. I'm not saying everything has been perfect. But if it gets easier from here on out I'll be a happy woman. The hardest thing we have dealt with is financial issues. We are young and don't have great jobs. It's getting better now that I'm working full time but I highly suggest squashing any debt you've got early on. It's tough to get out of once you go into a marriage with it.

butterflyjumper1

my fiance wants to have 5 minutes alone with me after the ceremony to bang instead of talk

MeaganR12

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_july-2012-weddings_july-11-ask-us-anything?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20Club%20BoardsForum:066005ef-215f-48b1-8655-328b41e07c52Discussion:3fd38e9b-4531-498d-bb39-14db531ecb79Post:76d39101-7a20-4bca-b581-eb751ab1cb80">Re: July '11- ASK US ANYTHING!</a>:
[QUOTE]my fiance wants to have 5 minutes alone with me after the ceremony to bang instead of talk
Posted by butterflyjumper1[/QUOTE]

<div>HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA</div>

Poppy715

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_july-2012-weddings_july-11-ask-us-anything?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:066005ef-215f-48b1-8655-328b41e07c52Discussion:3fd38e9b-4531-498d-bb39-14db531ecb79Post:76d39101-7a20-4bca-b581-eb751ab1cb80">Re: July '11- ASK US ANYTHING!</a>:
[QUOTE]my fiance wants to have 5 minutes alone with me after the ceremony to bang instead of talk
Posted by butterflyjumper1[/QUOTE]

DO IT! That would be awesome. No one would ever need to know. Except us! Who would want to hear all about it!

greenkitty23

What was your favorite moment of the day? It's so hard to choose! Walking down the aisle to H (first time we saw each other)... dancing the last dance together to our backup song... standing alone together and watching the sunset... 1,000 moments where I looked around at everyone who was there having fun and was just so overwhelmed with happiness at all the love that was being shared around us... lastly, falling asleep in the tub at the end of the night, and H falling asleep on the bathroom floor just to chat and be in the same room as one another!

Anything you would have done differently? Planned more photos/given a better list to my photog. We did forget to do some with smaller groups... like we did whole family shots with us, but not just me w/ my parents or H w/ his, etc. because we were a little rushed at the church afterwards. I wish we had a few of those. And, this is a BIG one for me: if you don't have a videographer for the reception (I don't think this is necessary, FYI) then please, please ask someone (or 2...) that you trust to bring their video camera, or their Flip cam, or phone or something to capture the few special moments you might really want to see again later. For me this was the toasts (thank goodness we had a few people get all of these!) and the entrances... cause funny enough, until you're in it, you don't realize that you and H are the last ones to enter and you don't get to see everyone else! (We were separated by a whole room, and I couldn't even hear the song playing for our WP and people commented later it was so perfect. Sad : )

DPDnMe

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_july-2012-weddings_july-11-ask-us-anything?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:066005ef-215f-48b1-8655-328b41e07c52Discussion:3fd38e9b-4531-498d-bb39-14db531ecb79Post:76d39101-7a20-4bca-b581-eb751ab1cb80">Re: July '11- ASK US ANYTHING!</a>:
[QUOTE]my fiance wants to have 5 minutes alone with me after the ceremony to bang instead of talk
Posted by butterflyjumper1[/QUOTE]

OMG If either one of us had thought of this, we probably would have!  Go for it!  :)

dawnleanna1

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_july-2012-weddings_july-11-ask-us-anything?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20Club%20BoardsForum:066005ef-215f-48b1-8655-328b41e07c52Discussion:3fd38e9b-4531-498d-bb39-14db531ecb79Post:76d39101-7a20-4bca-b581-eb751ab1cb80">Re: July '11- ASK US ANYTHING!</a>:
[QUOTE]my fiance wants to have 5 minutes alone with me after the ceremony to bang instead of talk
Posted by butterflyjumper1[/QUOTE]

<div>Hahaha I was thinking about that too. But where would we do it? lol</div>

LaceyH13

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_july-2012-weddings_july-11-ask-us-anything?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:066005ef-215f-48b1-8655-328b41e07c52Discussion:3fd38e9b-4531-498d-bb39-14db531ecb79Post:76d39101-7a20-4bca-b581-eb751ab1cb80">Re: July '11- ASK US ANYTHING!</a>:
[QUOTE]my fiance wants to have 5 minutes alone with me after the ceremony to bang instead of talk
Posted by butterflyjumper1[/QUOTE]

This is what my H said to me during our first dance. I wish he woulda told me before, in between the ceremony & reception. I probably would have taken him up on it.

DO IT!!!!

greenkitty23

Also what has been the greatest part/moment of being married so far? Like some other girls have said, it has mostly been the intangible feeling of just knowing that this is it- that you are in it together and it is forever and there is nothing more certain in life! We were together for a very long time before getting married, and we pretty much always knew we would... but the level of certainty and security I feel now that we are officially a team for always is just something I couldn't even imagine before.

What have you replaced the time that you used to spend wedding planning with? Everything- life! It's incredible how much time you spend on wedding planning, and how much free time I thought I would have after... there is definitely a sigh of relief period there. You do (probably) have the general name change process, possibly house decorating and reorganizing depending on if you move or just have a bunch of new stuff! H got really busy with some community organizations he was taking some time away from closer to the wedding, and with work. We've had other exciting family events to focus on like a new niece, and we got a puppy... so that's time consuming! I think life just tends to let other things sort of expand to fill the time. But, I am getting to watch more tv ; )

bridetobe71412

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_july-2012-weddings_july-11-ask-us-anything?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:066005ef-215f-48b1-8655-328b41e07c52Discussion:3fd38e9b-4531-498d-bb39-14db531ecb79Post:76d39101-7a20-4bca-b581-eb751ab1cb80">Re: July '11- ASK US ANYTHING!</a>:
[QUOTE]my fiance wants to have 5 minutes alone with me after the ceremony to bang instead of talk
Posted by butterflyjumper1[/QUOTE]

After 3 months without, I think we're probably going to do the same thing. I'm not even joking. It may even be behind the church or something because we need photos right afterwards.

soprano71

Regarding the "first year of marriage" question: This has definitely been the hardest year of our entire relationship. It also happened to be my first year of grad school AND my first year of teaching, and that proved to be a bad combination. I neglected my relationship with H to the breaking point, and luckily we were able to work things out and get back on the right road. My advice is to make sure to spend as much quality time together as possible. Block out one or more times weekly if you have to. If you're religious, pray together often. I wish I had taken this advice to heart earlier, but I'm glad I figured it out eventually. If you have a hard first year, remember that it's better to get the hardest year out of the way first, because that means it can only get better.

butterflyjumper1

I wish we had a combined all-years July Brides board because I would love to talk to you guys ALL the time :-D

Nati05

Well that makes me feel better about life after planning haha. Even FI is concerned, he always says "Poor you! What are you going to do with yourself after so much planning?" and I never know how to answer lol. But everything you've all said sounds really nice. I'm looking forwards to relaxing, traveling and moving on with other activities together!

Nati05

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_july-2012-weddings_july-11-ask-us-anything?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:066005ef-215f-48b1-8655-328b41e07c52Discussion:3fd38e9b-4531-498d-bb39-14db531ecb79Post:7925f930-bfb9-4ee6-84e5-567de425af6c">Re: July '11- ASK US ANYTHING!</a>:
[QUOTE]I wish we had a combined all-years July Brides board because I would love to talk to you guys ALL the time :-D
Posted by butterflyjumper1[/QUOTE]

I was thinking the same thing! Seems our boards have a similar dynamic. Maybe?

Poppy715

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_july-2012-weddings_july-11-ask-us-anything?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:066005ef-215f-48b1-8655-328b41e07c52Discussion:3fd38e9b-4531-498d-bb39-14db531ecb79Post:7925f930-bfb9-4ee6-84e5-567de425af6c">Re: July '11- ASK US ANYTHING!</a>:
[QUOTE]I wish we had a combined all-years July Brides board because I would love to talk to you guys ALL the time :-D
Posted by butterflyjumper1[/QUOTE]

I was just thinking about how much I like you guys too! We do need a just July board. Feel free to drop by anytime with questions, concerns, fears or freakouts! We are here to help.

Leah&JP

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_july-2012-weddings_july-11-ask-us-anything?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:066005ef-215f-48b1-8655-328b41e07c52Discussion:3fd38e9b-4531-498d-bb39-14db531ecb79Post:5717d461-3584-4273-9af7-2a4edc2609c7">Re: July '11- ASK US ANYTHING!</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: July '11- ASK US ANYTHING! : I was thinking the same thing! Seems our boards have a similar dynamic. Maybe?
Posted by Nati05[/QUOTE]

Feel free to come and stalk/invade us anytime!! :)  As long as you're cool, we're cool!!

Summer2011Bride

What was your favorite moment of the day?
Sitting at our reception just taking it all in, realizing this is a very rare chance to get all our loved ones under one roof. Dancing with all our friends all night was awesome too.

Anything you would have done differently?
Eaten more of our cake, had our ceremoy earlier so we didn't feel so rushed

Also what has been the greatest part/moment of being married so far?
Well we lived together beforehand, so we pretty much just went back to married life. I think the best part in our first year of marriage is currently happening--buying our first house together.

What have you replaced the time that you used to spend wedding planning with?
House hunting, I finished up Grad school and that took time, and trying desperately to get back into a workout routine

Is there anything you wish you didn't focus too much on during the planning or even during the day?
I don't think I spent too much time on anything. The seating chart was stressful but I was really happy with how it turned out and no one biiiitched about it.

Any details you thought would matter ending up not mattering at all?
I noticed all the details haha! I'm sure some of our guests didn't know how much time I spent tracking down damask fabric to make our table overlays or the amount of time I put into making the programs just so, etc., but it all turned out how I wanted

I've had several people start telling me that "the first year of marraige is the hardest".  Even our pastor said this to us last night in pre-marital counseling.  I know you ladies don't have other years to compare it to, but would you be willing to share if there was something surprisingly difficult that you had to work out?
After we got back from our HM, we were in kind of a slump, Just married and had the vacation of a lifetime and now we have to clean, go back to work, go back to school for me, and we went through a kind of downer phase for about a month.

H has also been searching for a better job but hasn't found one, and that has been frustrating. Plus buying a house has been a very stressful (yet exciting) process.

How many times did we do it on the HM?
Too tired on the wedding night, but we did it the next day and I would say 5/9 days on our HM. Because Hawaii was such a huge time change, many days I was in bed and passed out by 830 after a day full of activity.

soprano71

In Response to Re:July '11 ASK US ANYTHING!:[QUOTE]In Response to Re: July '11 ASK US ANYTHING!:In Response to Re: July '11 ASK US ANYTHING! : I was thinking the same thing! Seems our boards have a similar dynamic. Maybe?Posted by Nati05Feel free to come and stalk/invade us anytime!! :nbsp; As long as you're cool, we're cool!! Posted by LeahJP[/QUOTE]

Absolutely seconded! We love friends. :

MrsGandthebeag

About the first year being the hardest, I wouldn't agree with that for us personally.  Maybe it's because we're older (both 31 when married), or that we lived together first, but it's been a piece of cake.  I don't really feel as though anything has changed.  We had already bought a house, we both have good stable jobs, and there are no baby plans in the future.  So, we enjoy each other's company and like to travel.  Communication is key and also not sweating the small stuff.

cmalchow

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_july-2012-weddings_july-11-ask-us-anything?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:066005ef-215f-48b1-8655-328b41e07c52Discussion:3fd38e9b-4531-498d-bb39-14db531ecb79Post:360687bb-fe41-44d9-8e24-51e99ad520db">Re: July '11- ASK US ANYTHING!</a>:
[QUOTE]How many times did you do it on your honeymoon? You said anything... hahahahahaha just kidding! You really don't have to answer that. I'm highly inappropriate.
Posted by MeaganR12[/QUOTE]

HAHaHAH...you clearly don't know us...this is tame.

me?  only 3 or 4 times in the 15 days we were gone.  our HM was BUSY and we were exhausted a lot of the time!

cmalchow

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_july-2012-weddings_july-11-ask-us-anything?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:066005ef-215f-48b1-8655-328b41e07c52Discussion:3fd38e9b-4531-498d-bb39-14db531ecb79Post:7bbef357-221b-44ab-91ac-7f50a3cc4d39">Re: July '11- ASK US ANYTHING!</a>:
[QUOTE]what do you do if you have to do #2 in your wedding gown....................I know it's super TMI but we had a discussion about this last week and a bunch of us were feeling super nervous about that happening!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by butterflyjumper1[/QUOTE]

tacos teh night before my wedding WERE NOT a good idea!  LOL.

i went right before putting on my dress...and all my BM's were not happy with the stinky bathroom.  oopsies!

Eliz77

As I was reading this thread, all i kept thinking is,"Wow, July brides are really the best!" 

My only question is those that got married in the morning and receptions were over by 5, any after parties? FI thinks we'll be too wiped out (plus we leave the next day for 12 hour flight to Maui!!!) but all our friends keep asking about planning something. I'm thinking we should stay at the guest hotel which also has a restaurant/bar.

Leah&JP

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_july-2012-weddings_july-11-ask-us-anything?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:066005ef-215f-48b1-8655-328b41e07c52Discussion:3fd38e9b-4531-498d-bb39-14db531ecb79Post:8769bd45-3763-478f-9356-41bff0083b3d">Re: July '11- ASK US ANYTHING!</a>:
[QUOTE]As I was reading this thread, all i kept thinking is,"Wow, July brides are really the best!"  My only question is those that got married in the morning and receptions were over by 5, any after parties? FI thinks we'll be too wiped out (plus we leave the next day for 12 hour flight to Maui!!!) but all our friends keep asking about planning something. I'm thinking we should stay at the guest hotel which also has a restaurant/bar.
Posted by Eliz77[/QUOTE]

Our reception got over later (9:30) but we knew that we would have lots of friends and family that are party all night-owls, so we just prompted them to all go to a certain bar downtown.  There were like 15 people there maybe and they all got their own transportation there (jumped in other people's cars) and back home (taxi).  The bar was right across the street from the hotel H and I were staying at (though we didn't tell a SOUL where we would be!).  So we walked across the street (still in our tux and gown!) and had a drink with them before going back to the hotel for the night.

cmalchow

my H wanted an after party IN OUR HOTEL ROOM.  we argued about that a LOT prior to our wedding.  no thank you.

our reception ended about midnight (about an hour later than it was supposed to...we're kinda partiers...).

then we went to the bar at our venue (uh, we got married in a brewery...).

when that closed at 2, to the hotel bar until 3:30.  then time for bed!  we had a long journey to europe the next day.  by THEN i was exhausted and had ENOUGH

Poppy715

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_july-2012-weddings_july-11-ask-us-anything?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:066005ef-215f-48b1-8655-328b41e07c52Discussion:3fd38e9b-4531-498d-bb39-14db531ecb79Post:8769bd45-3763-478f-9356-41bff0083b3d">Re: July '11- ASK US ANYTHING!</a>:
[QUOTE]As I was reading this thread, all i kept thinking is,"Wow, July brides are really the best!"  My only question is those that got married in the morning and receptions were over by 5, any after parties? FI thinks we'll be too wiped out (plus we leave the next day for 12 hour flight to Maui!!!) but all our friends keep asking about planning something. I'm thinking we should stay at the guest hotel which also has a restaurant/bar.
Posted by Eliz77[/QUOTE]

Where is Britt?! She had the best afterparty! If I remeber right her and her awesome friends palyed baseball or something after the wedding. She shared pics of her in her weddding dress out there with the best of them. She is hilarious!

ehenry010

It's common in our circle for the bride and groom to go to the bar after the reception. Our repcetion ended at midnight and we were all set to go and then I sat down and decided that I was totally exhausted and didn't want to move. I just wanted to sleep.