Any tips/fun advice/lessons learned?

[Deleted User]

I am pretty sure most of the ladies on here are all married... so I thought it could be a fun place to ask this. @alisonmarie658 and I are getting married in just under & over a month (respectively), so, any of you ladies have any tips for the big day? (Or the days prior, days following, etc etc.)

I know the big one is to "enjoy the day because it will be over before you know it", but is there anything else we (or any other brides, I know there are others!) should keep in mind?

ochemjenn

Set a bedtime for yourself the night before.  You want to be well-rested.  I know that I woke up early the morning of the wedding, excited and unable to fall back asleep, so I was glad I'd gone to bed at a decent hour rather than stay up late with my friends. 

Stay hydrated!  I don't think I drank enough before the ceremony, and I kept downing sweet tea during the reception that I filled up on it and hardly had room for food!  If you'll be drinking alcohol at your RD or reception, alternate with water.  This is not the time to risk a hangover (no, this is not something I know from personal experience).

It's ok to cry during the ceremony.

fpaemp2011

DON'T pray for patience...pray for grace, peace, anything but patience.  Everything was going well with planning.  The Tuesday before the wedding, dad prayed before dinner and said, "Give us patience to get through this week before the wedding."  I'm not kidding...5 minutes later the phone rings--it's the hotel saying, "How many people are REALLY going to be at the wedding?"  
Mom: "250."  
Hotel: "No, ma'am--not how many did you invite--how many are actually going to come."  
Mom: "We invited 400, 250 are coming,"  
Hotel: "Well, the thing is, we only have tables and chairs for 120.  But, that's ok, you won't have more than 100 people show up."  
Mom: "When we signed the contracts, you had tables and chairs for 300, and cocktail space for 600 {we had several reception plans depending on how many RSVP'd].  On Saturday, you WILL have tables and chairs for 250."  
Hotel: "We can try, but I know you won't have more than 100." 

They ended up borrowing tables and chairs from another hotel, and let us know FRIDAY AFTERNOON that they had them...and wouldn't ya know it---we had 250 at the reception. 

If you're doing a lot of DIY, accept that some things just won't get done.  I can't even remember now what we didn't get to, but nothing fell apart because of it.  Look at your project list, make a list in order or priority, and do what you can.  

Funny note: We had a note in the program about a rose on the flower stand in memory of those who couldn't join us.  When we watched the wedding video on our anniversary, I realized that there was neither a rose nor a flower stand...oops.

Try to keep calm--two groomsmen and DH's sister got stuck in airports overnight due to storms.  There was absolutely nothing we could do about it--so we prayed, and just hoped things would work out.  They did, and everyone made it.  If they hadn't, we would have been so sad, of course, but we'd still be married.

Speaking of...the phrase, "Don't worry about it--you'll still be married, that's all that matters," drove me NUTS.  If I just wanted to "be married," we would have just eloped in the pastor's office.  We made all those plans, invited so many that we love, and did all of those projects because we wanted to CELEBRATE the covenant we were making.  

ochemjenn

fpaemp2011 said:

 

Speaking of...the phrase, "Don't worry about it--you'll still be married, that's all that matters," drove me NUTS.  If I just wanted to "be married," we would have just eloped in the pastor's office.  We made all those plans, invited so many that we love, and did all of those projects because we wanted to CELEBRATE the covenant we were making.  

Amen!  We considered eloping to the point that we briefly discussed it with DH's mom, who seemed supportive of the idea and even offered us some money for said elopement/honeymoon.  However, we wanted to be surrounded by those we loved as we made our commitment to each other and to God, and we wanted to celebrate with them afterwards.

Also, kind of along the lines of celebrating...marital activities can make muscles you didn't know you had sore.