July '12 Brides Invasion: Our Advice to July '13 Brides!

BmoreBride311 · August 2012

Hi July 2013 girls! Congratulations to you all!

TK July 2012 brides are all happily married now and many of us are back from our weddings and honeymoons, so we wanted to stop by to offer our wedding planning and wedding day advice to all of you. The July 2011 brides did this for us and we found it so helpful, that we wanted to continue the tradition for you.

In this thread, the July '12 girls will swing by to offer their top advice for you. We'll also start another thread specifically for you to ask us questions. We hope you find the threads helpful!

KatieK501 · August 2012

Congrats on your engagements, ladies!

I’ll start with the best advice that I was given – and it was given to me by my husband (then fiancé). I was stressed out over how large our guest list had grown and not being able to find an affordable venue for that amount of people. I had my one and only crying breakdown, and the next day my fiancé e-mailed me this:

“On the front page of a book one of my professor's gave me when I graduated high school:

..."remember it is the journey that is life - we never arrive anywhere (in this life) really so enjoy it all - its happening to you right now.”

Just put things in perspective for me especially with the wedding and the house and the career. Rather than focus on the end (the wedding) enjoy the planning and hope that comes with it.”

There will be things that go wrong, and there will be times during planning that you are stressed. People will be quick to tell you their opinions about what you should do at your wedding, and they’ll say things to you that you don’t like. You’re going to worry about details that don’t matter to anyone but you, and your fiancé will probably do something that REALLY bugs you at some point during planning. Your FMIL will probably annoy you at least once, and there will probably be some sort of hiccup the day of the wedding. Keep things in perspective. Your wedding will be amazing because it is the start of your life together as husband and wife. Your wedding is one day; your marriage is the rest of your life.

With all that being said – the hardest part of planning, to me, was working out the guest list. Guest lists can get out-of-control fast. Our dream of an intimate wedding quickly turned in to inviting 300+ people after we realized we both have a lot of family…and people that our parents wanted to invite. Be sure you and your fiancé invite who you want to invite.

The most frustrating part of planning is the RSVPs. Even though it’s a little while before you have to worry about this, prepare yourself. Inevitably, you won’t get some back. Even if you think your family and friends are different, there will be people who don’t bother with them. Guests will add extra people that you weren’t inviting to their RSVPs. People will RSVP “no” and then tell you later that they changed their minds and are coming – or vice versa. You will have to track some people down – and even then, they may not give you an answer. There will be people who RSVP and then don’t show. From May to July next year, there will be a lot of posts ranting about RSVPs. Let it out – everybody else will understand what you’re going through.

Sorry for the lengthy advice. You all will be beautiful brides! Enjoy your engagement – it goes by so quickly!! Best wishes to you all!

honeybear072012 · August 2012

My advice! Everything will not be perfect so don't let it bother you when things don't go your way!

Me and my girls were not on time AT ALL all day! We were 15min later getting to the church than we were suppose to be and then we were 5 min late getting to the reception. I did not get a limo for all of us and that is one of my biggest regrets, I think it would have helped so much!

Also, there will come a point in the planning where you just give up! Enjoy that! It's such a blessing!

And to show you shouldn't let things bother you, I left my garter at the church! It was so itchy and gross I took it off and the person I asked to grab it didn't get it. It was 5 min before the bouquet and garter toss when we realized this! We ended up making one out of ribbons and our the tulle from our favors! I was so upset the day of but everyone thought it was the funniest thing! Now I can look back on it and laugh a bit but I'm still not happy about it.

Enjoy your days!

LADY324 · August 2012

Congrats on your engagement ladies. Enjoy every minute of it but don't let it consume your life. Make sure you take time to just enjoy being engaged and keep date nights with your FI when it gets closer to the wedding and try not to always talk their ear off about the wedding.

On our wedding day it rained. We were supposed to get married outside of our venue at a beautiful gazebo. We stalked the weather all week long and it kept changing on us. The morning of our wedding I woke up and it was pouring. So instead of crying about the weather which I had no control over I went to target at 8 am before my hair and make up and bought myself cute hot pink rain boots and hot pink umbrellas for my BM's I bought myself a lime green one those were our wedding colors. I figured if it rained I was going to at least get some cute rain shots!! At the end of the day we were married and that is all that mattered. We had an amazing romantic and intimate ceremony inside it was gorgeous. We all have posted recaps with our pictures on the July 2012 board if you want to stalk it.

Good luck with everything!!

penny12986 · August 2012

Congratulations to everyone!! I was married on July 1st and am loving every second.

Here are somethings that I can think of to offer:

I would say that the biggest thing is to stay organized. During those last few months, there will be a lot of payments, invitations, decorations, etc. flying around and if you stay ahead of your projects, you won't be stressing out 2 days before the wedding.

Bring baby powder with you for under your dress. July will be sweltering and this is the key to staying comfortable.

On the day of, keep only the people aroundy ou that you truly need. Everyone will want something from you so try to designate a friend/family member to be the messenger and lower your stress.

If a videographer is not in your budget (it wasn't in our's either) set up a tripod with a camera to film atleast the ceremony. It will fly by and it is so wonderful to be able to see all the little facial expressions and details that you might have forgotten.

Even if you are the biggest, sappiest person, be prepared for the fact that you may not cry. I cried while listening to our songs in the car months before the wedding and even now when looking at our pictures but on the actual day-of, I didn't have time to cry so you may not either.

Have fun! Get some time alone with your new husband and breathe. The whole day will be wonderful!

KatieK501 · August 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_july-2013-weddings_july-12-brides-invasion-our-advice-to-july-13-brides?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20Club%20BoardsForum:a322ad2c-25cd-4d52-b123-096e1e4ecda5Discussion:a215cf8b-e67d-45f6-b917-c0029818bde0Post:9c5febf3-8679-45fb-a5e6-c529c49edb2c">Re: July '12 Brides Invasion: Our Advice to July '13 Brides!</a>:
[QUOTE]Congrats on your engagement ladies. Enjoy every minute of it but don't let it consume your life. Make sure you take time to just enjoy being engaged and keep date nights with your FI when it gets closer to the wedding and try not to always talk their ear off about the wedding.
Posted by LADY324[/QUOTE]

That reminds me of something else that we all had to figure out - your wedding isn't as important to everyone else as it is to you (and maybe your FI). Don't get upset if your friends don't want to hear about every single detail you are planning or if they want to talk about something else. Sometimes you should talk about something else!

But you will find a support system on here of people that probably do want to hear every detail and they'll want to share you theirs!

LADY324 · August 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_july-2013-weddings_july-12-brides-invasion-our-advice-to-july-13-brides?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:a322ad2c-25cd-4d52-b123-096e1e4ecda5Discussion:a215cf8b-e67d-45f6-b917-c0029818bde0Post:cc86963d-c09c-476d-8cd5-115c9d8034d7">Re: July '12 Brides Invasion: Our Advice to July '13 Brides!</a>:
[QUOTE]Congratulations to everyone!! I was married on July 1st and am loving every second. Here are somethings that I can think of to offer: I would say that the biggest thing is to stay organized. During those last few months, there will be a lot of payments, invitations, decorations, etc. flying around and if you stay ahead of your projects, you won't be stressing out 2 days before the wedding. Bring baby powder with you for under your dress. July will be sweltering and this is the key to staying comfortable. On the day of, keep only the people aroundy ou that you truly need. Everyone will want something from you so try to designate a friend/family member to be the messenger and lower your stress.If a videographer is not in your budget (it wasn't in our's either) set up a tripod with a camera to film atleast the ceremony. It will fly by and it is so wonderful to be able to see all the little facial expressions and details that you might have forgotten. Even if you are the biggest, sappiest person, be prepared for the fact that you may not cry. I cried while listening to our songs in the car months before the wedding and even now when looking at our pictures but on the actual day-of, I didn't have time to cry so you may not either. Have fun! Get some time alone with your new husband and breathe. The whole day will be wonderful!
Posted by penny12986[/QUOTE]

This we booked our videographer this past February it was a splurge but it is so worth it!! Pictures can capture a memory but there is nothing like hearing and seeing your whole wedding on video! That was the best decision we ever made!

honeybear072012 · August 2012

I'll second that RSVPs suck and make sure you have a good emergency kit together! There are a ton of good lists on TK that you can follow!

http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_dear-ladies-who-got-married-in-the-summer

We found that one and it had a lot of great ideas!

BmoreBride311 · August 2012

Congrats again to you all!

Wedding Planning Advice:
-It's never too early to get a check done. I was engaged for 18 months and the first year of that I had so many friends commenting that they were surprised at "how early" I was getting certain things done (like buying my dress in May 2011). But believe me, I was glad I did so much stuff early when it got down to the last 3 or 4 months. Stuff starts getting HECTIC, so you will be so glad then that you did stuff you can now and won't have that to worry about.
-If you haven't already, figure out if you are going for a certain wedding style. Are you going for formal or casaul? Modern, classic, vintage, etc.? It makes it easier to narrow down things like invitation styles, favors, and decor if you have an idea on the overall style you want as early in the planning process as possible.

Wedding Day Advice:
-Get a DOC. I was very hands on with my wedding planning so I didn't want a full wedding planner, but I definitely needed a person to be the coordinator on the day. It doesn't have to be a professional wedding planner, either. I just hired a friend of my mom's to do this for a few hundred dollars and left her very specific instructions, and it worked perfectly. She coordinated with the different vendors and set up all of my DIY stuff (table numbers, bar signs, guest book, escort cards, bathroom baskets, etc.) so that I didn't have to worry about it or ask anyone in my family to worry about it.
-Everyone will say this, but make sure you stay in the moment on the wedding day and soak it in. Never again in your life will you have so many people that you love together in one place. It's an amazing thing, so make sure you let yourself enjoy it and make it a promise to yourself not to let anything that might go wrong ruin the day.
-Do photos alone with just your husband after the ceremony. At first, we didn't want to do Bride + Groom photos after we got to the reception venue b/c we just wanted to enjoy the party, but my photographer really suggested that we do them b/c it gives the couple a few minutes alone to take in the moment. It's also a nice to sneak away from the reception where you literally will not be able to sit down at all b/c you will be pulled in one MILLION different directions, sometimes by ppl you don't even know! Everyone wants to talk to you or get a picture with you, so sneaking away with your new husband and photographer is a perfect excuse for a break (plus you will get such special pictures during this time).

Hope this helps! Enjoy the next 11 months - it will fly by!

BmoreBride311 · August 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_july-2013-weddings_july-12-brides-invasion-our-advice-to-july-13-brides?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:a322ad2c-25cd-4d52-b123-096e1e4ecda5Discussion:a215cf8b-e67d-45f6-b917-c0029818bde0Post:cc86963d-c09c-476d-8cd5-115c9d8034d7">Re: July '12 Brides Invasion: Our Advice to July '13 Brides!</a>:
[QUOTE]Even if you are the biggest, sappiest person, be prepared for the fact that you may not cry. I cried while listening to our songs in the car months before the wedding and even now when looking at our pictures but on the actual day-of, I didn't have time to cry so you may not either. Have fun! Get some time alone with your new husband and breathe. The whole day will be wonderful!
Posted by penny12986[/QUOTE]

Same here! I teared up saying my vows at our rehearsal, but was stone cold on the actual day haha.

rachael7183 · August 2012

Hi ladies! I was married July 14th

...I agree with the other girls, little things MAY go wrong but do not let it ruin the day, and do not dwell on things you cannot control.

Secondly, it REALLY does go by in the blink of an eye. I know people will be telling you this for the next 11 months but its true...it flew by. Enjoy it. I kept saying that I was so over wedding planning, and could not wait for the day to just be done with. The second it was over I was a little sad.

Also, do not forget that at the end of the day, your wedding is about you and your husband. While, many people will have opinions, suggestions, and even not like the way you are doing things, if you do not do it your WAY you will regret it.

Best of luck to all of you

bridetobe71412 · August 2012

Hi ladies!

First of all, congratulations to all of you! As burnt out as I was with planning by the end of it, looking at my recap and the photos I posted makes me miss it SO MUCH. I wish I could do it all over again!

So, here's my advice (I will try not to repeat what others have said):

1) Make sure you do a hair and makeup trial (even if you're doing your own hair/makeup) and then PUT ON YOUR DRESS (or, the sample of the dress) so you can see the complete "bridal look" and see if it's works. I had my heart set on having my hair half-up and curly on the bottom, but when I tried that style with my dress, it looked so crazypants that I decided to switch it completely to all-up. You spend a lot of time thinking about how you'll look on the day of, so it's worth it to do a trial run of your entire, complete outfit. I am so glad I took the time to go try on the sample after my hair and makeup trial. I would have been devastated if I looked like that on our wedding day.

2) Speaking of "our wedding", it's your and your fiance's wedding, not just yours. If you shows ANY interest whatsoever in the planning or gives you an opinion on anything at all, be grateful and incorporate his wishes, if feasible/possible. As someone else mentioned, there's a 99% chance that your fiance will not care about the details. At all. Like, if you ask him about which flowers should go in the centerpieces, you will get 1) a blank stare, and then 2) a hysterical laughing fit. Two of my fiance's only requests were that we have a raw bar and he wanted to work with the band and choose music selections. I let him handle all of that. First, I was lucky to have something I didn't have to do myself, and second, I was ecstatic he was showing interest in something. Most importantly, I wanted him to feel like it was HIS DAY too.

3) You will fight with your fiance about random, stupid stuff. Keep it in perspective. Is this a relationship-ending-I-can't-marry-this-guy fight? Or is it something you should really let go? Chances are, you should just kiss and make up

4) You need to eat on your wedding day. Not just "oh, I'll have some food at the reception" eat. You need to eat something substantial/protein-packed that morning, you need to eat lunch (even if it's just something small) and then you need to try to eat some of your dinner. (Or, if you're having a brunch/lunch reception, omit the lunch and insert the reception part. You get what I mean.) If you don't, you will end of either feeling sick, fainting, or getting drunkity drunk. I was the latter. Our ceremony was at 3, our reception started at 6 and ended at midnight. (Yes, we had "the Catholic gap" and no, people didn't really have an issue with it. As someone else said, do what you need to do for your wedding.) I paced myself early, but by the end of the night, I was smashed and I'm actually really embarrassed to admit, I don't remember some of the last parts of the night. Not like blackout drunk, but drunk enough that I don't remember saying goodbye to some people and I don't remember which songs were played. The wedding day goes SO FAST - don't give yourself any reason not to remember parts of it! You want to remember everything!

5) Unless you're a DIY whiz, don't make yourself crazy with DIY projects. I had high hopes for myself but all it did was add to the stress level when I tried to accomplish DIY projects. I ended up basically paying double what I would have if I would have had someone do the stuff for me originally, because I bought supplies, tried to do it myself, sucked at it, then paid someone else to do it. If you're not crafty, it's not the end of the world.

I'm sure I'll have more advice, but that's what I wanted to say for now.

MrsAshleyP · August 2012

Hi ladies!!!

Congratulations on your engagements!!

My best advice... let go. I had so much fun planning the wedding. My DH and I knew what we wanted (we'd talked about it for a while before he even proposed) so that was the easy part. I am slightly OCD and I had a VERY hard time on the day of letting go of control. It all comes down to trusting your family and friends to carry out your ideas. They will pull through for you and they will help make it a magical day. Once I was able to let go and relax, I was finally able to enjoy everything that went on around us.

The best advice that I was given (and I am sure you'll hear this over and over) is to take a moment with your new husband and stand back to take it all in. You have been planning this day for a year (or more) and it is over in a blink of an eye. Take a few moment here and there to stand back, hug your husband and just look at everyone. See all those people that are there to love and support you, your husband and your new life and adventure together. It really is a magical day that will stay in your heart forever.

As far as planning goes, let us July 12 knotties know if you have questions on the other thread. It is so much fun as long as you remember it is for your future marriage. The wedding is 1 day, the marriage is a lifetime. It is the big party to kick off your new life together.

Enjoy every moment ladies. The next year will fly by for you!! Congrats!

paulandjen2012 · August 2012

Hey Ladies... congrats on the engagement!!

I got married on July 7th and it was a perfect day!!! It really does go by soo fast though.

Make sure you write down all the pictures you want and give them to your photographer. There were a few pictures we forgot to take.

When you are picking your menu for the day remember it takes along time to have lots of courses... we had Soup, Pasta, chicken, roast beef, roasted potatoes, and veggies then a desert! we didnt start dancing until like 9:45! That is the only thing I would change, maybe cut out of the of courses because it was alot of food!! I guess its better to have a lot then not enough though.

Best of luck to everyone!

bridetobe71412 · August 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_july-2013-weddings_july-12-brides-invasion-our-advice-to-july-13-brides?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:a322ad2c-25cd-4d52-b123-096e1e4ecda5Discussion:a215cf8b-e67d-45f6-b917-c0029818bde0Post:dad223f7-2388-4f7b-9254-c17bb12a258b">Re: July '12 Brides Invasion: Our Advice to July '13 Brides!</a>:
[QUOTE]Hey Ladies... congrats on the engagement!! I got married on July 7th and it was a perfect day!!! It really does go by soo fast though. Make sure you write down all the pictures you want and give them to your photographer. There were a few pictures we forgot to take. When you are picking your menu for the day remember it takes along time to have lots of courses... we had Soup, Pasta, chicken, roast beef, roasted potatoes, and veggies then a desert! we didnt start dancing until like 9:45! That is the only thing I would change, maybe cut out of the of courses because it was alot of food!! I guess its better to have a lot then not enough though. Best of luck to everyone!
Posted by paulandjen2012[/QUOTE]

I'd actually kind of disagree with this to a certain extent (sorry!). Chances are, you will not get all the photos you want, even if you write out a list, unless you spend the whole entire night staging photos (and believe me, you will not want to spend all your time taking staged photos).

Let your photographers do their thing - you picked them for a reason and you should trust their judgment! I wouldn't nitpick and be like "Picture of reflection of bride looking in mirror, putting on earrings, with bridesmaids watching from background" or "picture of MOB drying her tears with handkerchief made by bride" or something like that. That's just too much and your photographers will not be happy with those kind of rules. Aside from the fact that those things may not even happen! But yes, a general formal photo list is fine - i.e. list of bridal party photos you want to make sure you get (B&G, B&MOB, etc.).

butterflyjumper1 · August 2012

hi everyone!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

My wedding was July 28th and I actually just got back from my honeymoon early this morning. HUSBAND and I are munching on some brunch and lounging but I wanted to swing by and give some quick advice!!!

1. get a day of coordinator....WORTH IT. mine has become a true friend to me and we are having lunch next week. there is TOO MUCH going on the day of the wedding that you won't be able to handle yourself - and you don't want to assign too much responsibility to family members or friends that have other responsibilities or who should be enjoying your day

2. i agree with bridetobe about the picture thing. there is NO. WAY. you are going to get every shot you want. We had planned on going outside once it got dark/dusky to take some photos....but we got so busy and wrapped up with mingling with guests that we didn't get a chance to. it happens. Just have a list of the formal photos you want - we were VERY efficient with our formal photos in the sanctuary of our church because we knew exactly who we wanted formal pictures with.

3. the ONLY thing that really went wrong with my day was, my dress got some oil on the sides of it from getting on and off of our trolley. magically, I didn't freak out, and once I bustled my dress, you couldn't even see the stains (thank god). but, the two things I needed the day of the wedding and didn't have, were shout wipes/stain wipes/stain stick, and also, bridesmaids and I both needed bobby pins. these are necessary.

4. PEE SITTING FORWARDS. seriously. I had a massive, massive, massive train on my dress, and this was the only way I could go.

5. if you are a nervous pooper, take immodium the morning of the wedding. I literally pooped five times between 6am and 11am the morning of my wedding. not joking. I took 3 immodium pills a half hour before I put on my dress.....and I was poo-free the rest of the day.

6. make sure you allow enough time in your timeline to do your rounds at your reception. We only got around to 5 tables (out of 21 tables!) during the time we had budgeted to do our rounds. We ended up spending the first 1.5 hours of dancing going around and mingling and greeting guests. We ended up getting a chance to talk to everyone except for about 5 or 10 people who left right after dinner for various reasons.

7. there WILL be no-shows. it sucks and it hurts, but try not to notice it. Out of 219 guests, we had 11. it blows chunks. of those 11, only 6 called us in advance to tell us.

best wishes ladies - seriously, ask us anything!!!!! I totally am an oversharer on TK and I would love to answer any question you might have

xoxoxoxo

KatieK501 · August 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_july-2013-weddings_july-12-brides-invasion-our-advice-to-july-13-brides?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20Club%20BoardsForum:a322ad2c-25cd-4d52-b123-096e1e4ecda5Discussion:a215cf8b-e67d-45f6-b917-c0029818bde0Post:ee03191b-a455-485d-8bec-63e4fcab2500">Re: July '12 Brides Invasion: Our Advice to July '13 Brides!</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: July '12 Brides Invasion: Our Advice to July '13 Brides! : I'd actually kind of disagree with this to a certain extent (sorry!). Chances are, you will not get all the photos you want, even if you write out a list, unless you spend the whole entire night staging photos (and believe me, you will not want to spend all your time taking staged photos). Let your photographers do their thing - you picked them for a reason and you should trust their judgment! I wouldn't nitpick and be like "Picture of reflection of bride looking in mirror, putting on earrings, with bridesmaids watching from background" or "picture of MOB drying her tears with handkerchief made by bride" or something like that. That's just too much and your photographers will not be happy with those kind of rules. Aside from the fact that those things may not even happen! But yes, a general formal photo list is fine - i.e. list of bridal party photos you want to make sure you get (B&G, B&MOB, etc.).
Posted by bridetobe71412[/QUOTE]

I agree with this. Listing out every posed shot would be micromanaging, but forgetting to take pictures with soon-to-be-in-laws would be setting yourself up for a lifetime of trouble (this happened to one of the ladies on our board - MIL and FIL walked off b/c they were tired of wait to have their pictures taken and now are mad that they're not in any pictures). Give the photographer a general list and inlcude the names of the people that need to be in the pictures so he/she can corral them if necessary, but don't specify each shot they need to capture.

bridetobe71412 · August 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_july-2013-weddings_july-12-brides-invasion-our-advice-to-july-13-brides?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:a322ad2c-25cd-4d52-b123-096e1e4ecda5Discussion:a215cf8b-e67d-45f6-b917-c0029818bde0Post:9a5bd26a-2e38-4e87-a78f-cc2f4f8b1982">Re: July '12 Brides Invasion: Our Advice to July '13 Brides!</a>:
[QUOTE]

4. PEE SITTING BACKWARDS. seriously. I had a massive, massive, massive train on my dress, and this was the only way I could go.

7. there WILL be no-shows. it sucks and it hurts, but try not to notice it. Out of 219 guests, we had 11. it blows chunks. of those 11, only 6 called us in advance to tell us. best wishes ladies - seriously, ask us anything!!!!! I totally am an oversharer on TK and I would love to answer any question you might have :) xoxoxoxo
Posted by butterflyjumper1[/QUOTE]

1) Butterfly def means BACKWARDS! Same thing - my train was massive and even bustled, I had to sit backwards (i.e. facing the toilet) to pee. :)

2) We had 150ish guests, and 7 didn't show. I was one of those people who thought it was impossible for people to no-show, but sh*t happens. My friend's mom died, one of my friends nearly had a miscarriage and had to go to the hospital, a friend of mine's trial was extended, two of my husband's friends got food poisoning (and they traveled all the way from NY to Philly and couldn't leave their hotel room), and one of my great aunts was admitted to the hospital and her son had to stay with her. Sure, these are real excuses, but it doesn't make it suck less.

butterflyjumper1 · August 2012

bahahahahaha I am an idiot! I guess I am not sure how to describe the peeing advice well.....but face the toilet and act like you are a boy and plop down. I had to take off my underwear to do it successfully, but other than that, it was easy. my MOH just gathered my dress behind me while I went to town. apparently I was very dehydrated, because in 12 hours, I only peed once!

penny12986 · August 2012

This is depressing! None of the 2013'ers want to talk to us? Do we smell or something?

bridetobe71412 · August 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_july-2013-weddings_july-12-brides-invasion-our-advice-to-july-13-brides?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:a322ad2c-25cd-4d52-b123-096e1e4ecda5Discussion:a215cf8b-e67d-45f6-b917-c0029818bde0Post:4c28bc78-3f72-46e2-ae26-4c36efdc8d4c">Re: July '12 Brides Invasion: Our Advice to July '13 Brides!</a>:
[QUOTE]This is depressing! None of the 2013'ers want to talk to us? Do we smell or something?
Posted by penny12986[/QUOTE]

Obvi. hahahaha

And butterfly, hahaha, I made my husband help me pee. My MOH was dancing and I wanted to sneak away with my husband anyway, so I was like "Come with me . . . to the bathroom, k thx." So sexy. He's a good sport.

BmoreBride311 · August 2012

Butterfly - of your no shows, did the people call first? We had 6 ppl cancel the day before (two couples due to a death in their respective families, and one couple had a huge break up and neither felt they could attend a wedding the next day). We still had to pay for them, but at least we knew not to expect them at the wedding and could have their escort cards and place settings removed.

bridetobe71412 · August 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_july-2013-weddings_july-12-brides-invasion-our-advice-to-july-13-brides?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:a322ad2c-25cd-4d52-b123-096e1e4ecda5Discussion:a215cf8b-e67d-45f6-b917-c0029818bde0Post:b8353e71-6c2d-484a-a0b4-574e4067f471">Re: July '12 Brides Invasion: Our Advice to July '13 Brides!</a>:
[QUOTE]Butterfly - of your no shows, did the people call first? We had 6 ppl cancel the day before (two couples due to a death in their respective families, and one couple had a huge break up and neither felt they could attend a wedding the next day). We still had to pay for them, but at least we knew not to expect them at the wedding and could have their escort cards and place settings removed.
Posted by BmoreBride311[/QUOTE]

I'll answer re ours. :) Some people called/texted/emailed beforehand, but some waited until afterwards because they "didn't want to bother us before the wedding". Since we had to pay in full a week before the wedding, it was irrelevant. To be honest, I didn't even notice that some of them weren't there (sorry not sorry, was busy).

KatieK501 · August 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_july-2013-weddings_july-12-brides-invasion-our-advice-to-july-13-brides?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20Club%20BoardsForum:a322ad2c-25cd-4d52-b123-096e1e4ecda5Discussion:a215cf8b-e67d-45f6-b917-c0029818bde0Post:4c28bc78-3f72-46e2-ae26-4c36efdc8d4c">Re: July '12 Brides Invasion: Our Advice to July '13 Brides!</a>:
[QUOTE]This is depressing! None of the 2013'ers want to talk to us? Do we smell or something?
Posted by penny12986[/QUOTE]

Maybe we've overwhelmed them...

butterflyjumper1 · August 2012

hmmmmm. we had 6 that called in advance - two had a death in the family, two are my elderly aunt and uncle who ended up having health problems, and one of husband's family friends claimed to be sick but it seemed shady. we ended up filling 3 of those seats - people asked for dates and we gave them at the last minute. we had three that NEVER called or texted. RUDE. and then 2 that told us after the fact about a sudden illness.

like bridetobe we paid in full a week before so it didn't reallllly matter - but it was nice that we filled a few seats with guests. it's just frustrating when you look at the $$$$ per head that was wasted.

honeybear072012 · August 2012

We only had 1 no show and we knew she wasn't coming before. It was amazing! And the venue gave us their food to take home with us!

I was so proud of myself for being able to go to the bathroom by myself but getting my underwear off was really tough!!

I remembered something else too! Make sure you have your own camera for the day of! You won't use it much but there were some pictures of DH and I that I really wanted when we got back to the hotel (like us crashed on the couch there in all our finery) and we couldn't because other people had our cameras!

BeachLover2885 · August 2012

Everyone gave such great advice!!!! Here are a few things I'll add:

1. I took one Advil PM the night before the wedding so I got about 4 hours sleep. If I hadn't taken it, I would have been tossing and turning all night!!!!!!! I would recommend doing this if you can.

2. Do not drive yourself crazy about the weather, and don't have your heart set on something outdoors JUST IN CASE. Make sure you are just as happy with the indoor set up at your venue.

3. If you can, definitely try to hire a videographer. We found someone for under $1000 and we are SO happy we hired one. We received our teaser video on our HM and it was a great way to relive the day. We received our complete video a little over 2 weeks after the wedding, and it was great to see all the moments we missed.

4. The day will go SO fast... just make sure to stop and take a look around at everything.

5. Make sure to shop around for prices!! We saved a lot of $ by comparing different vendors.

dramaqueen91087 · August 2012

Congrats on your engagements! Now for some advice:

1. Remember that it is your wedding, Yours and FI's, and no one elses. I had a ton of arguments with my mom because she seemed to think it was her wedding. At the begining I let most of it go, after all she was paying, but then I realized she was making it her day. So I stood up for myself. It was hard but I won and had an amazing day.

2. Its never to early to plan. I got almost everything done by the September before the wedding. I was student teaching so I knew I wouldn't have time. It was actually great because I wasn't scrambling at the end.

3. EAT! I made sure that H and I actually got to eat our meal. I also had each of my BM's carry little baggies of peanut butter crackers. This way I was garunteed to eat. No one wants a passed out bride.

4. People will RSVP with extra guests. Within that, pick your battles. We let the guy traveling from Florida bring his extra guest. The local people, not so much. Oh and we had no kids but one MIL friends said her son wanted to see the wedding. Well I wasn't changing the rules for him so she brought him to the ceremony and then took him home and came back to party.

5. Shop around and ask for deals. You'd be surprised what people are willing to give you. I got a lot more than I paid for because I asked. Also my wedding was on a Sunday. If you are getting married on an off day make sure to ask about discounts, most vendors will take quite a bit off.

6. Most importantly, have fun! This is the most important day of your life so far, have fun planning and on the actual day. If things start to get to stressful take a break. The week before the wedding I got really stressed so I took a day, said I was running errands, and just went to the mall by my self to relax.

Good luck everyone!

Getting2Vowels · August 2012

Hi ladies! ! Figures the one day I dont check the board like a hawk theres oodles of posts. I work 11 to 11 tonight so I haven't gotten a chance to read any of these posts! I am sooooo excited for next July and even more excited to read all your tidly bits of advice and wisdom! Thank you all for stopping by!! Its so nice of all of you and I'll feel.free to speak for us all when I say we truly, madly appreciate it! :0)

butterflyjumper1 · August 2012

oh! a few more things i thought of!

do not be afraid to negotiate. (I am an attorney so it comes pretty naturally to me). I negotiated the crap out of our reception/catering contract. Even though vendors may not always be willing to come down in price, they will almost always throw in extras or give you incentives to book with them. I negotiated price + extras with our reception - saved us thousands of dollars and got us some awesome additions and extras. Our videographer contract didn't change prices, but I got them to add on soooo many things (highlight reels, extra hours, extra cameras at the ceremony, etc.etc.). do not be afraid to ask or to stand your ground - you are the customer and you should ask for what you want! I realized through our July 2012 board that some girls didn't realize they could even try to negotiate, so I wanted to make sure you all knew that it's totally expected!

expect to get no sleep. i can't take cold medicines/tylenol PM like another poster mentioned (my body is really sensitive to drugs, especially cold medicines). I tossed and turned all night and probably got 2 hours of sleep....but I made it through the day just fine!!

bridetobe71412 · August 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_july-2013-weddings_july-12-brides-invasion-our-advice-to-july-13-brides?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:a322ad2c-25cd-4d52-b123-096e1e4ecda5Discussion:a215cf8b-e67d-45f6-b917-c0029818bde0Post:f4a0b8f1-d189-46b3-8af4-9a927844b722">Re:July '12 Brides Invasion: Our Advice to July '13 Brides!</a>:
[QUOTE]Hi ladies! ! Figures the one day I dont check the board like a hawk theres oodles of posts. I work 1111 tonight so I haven't gotten a chance to read any of these posts! I am sooooo excited for next July and even more excited to read all your tidly bits of advice and wisdom! Thsnk you ladies for stopping by!! :
Posted by Getting2Vowels[/QUOTE]

Yay! So glad you stopped by! If you have any questions at all, feel free to ask us --we loooooooove to chat. :)

July '12 Brides Invasion: Our Advice to July '13 Brides!

Re: July '12 Brides Invasion: Our Advice to July '13 Brides!

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