I just got married last month. Yesterday, a really nice woman I work with emailed me, telling me her daughter is getting married and asked me if I had any tips. Everyone's weddings are so different and personal that I didn't think I would have any she would be interested in hearing, but then I started typing. I don't know if anyone here will have any use for them, but I wanted to share just in case:
1. Ask for help.
When someone says, “If there is anything I can do…” they mean it. Give them
a job and be specific as to what you want.
2. Pinterest. Everyone
probably already knows about this. It’s great for ideas. Once you commits to a
style for the wedding though, stop looking at it. It sometimes makes you want
to change your mind about things and at some point you just have stop and
commit to the centerpieces. 
3. If you can,
let the bridesmaids pick out their dress, in the color or length you choose,
with your approval. Give them deadlines to have it purchased in case they need
to alter or ship the dress. Also, double check with the tux rental place to make
sure they have the right color vests and things ordered. I almost had yellow
vests instead of the nice champagne color I picked out because the lady entered
it incorrectly.
4. Sometimes it’s
just easier to let the parents or grandparents have something their way because
it just means more to them My grandmother made me CRAZY about flowers and
centerpieces (she used to be a florist). I personally didn’t want to spend a
lot of our budget on flowers. She basically told me she was paying for them, and
I had no choice in the matter. It clearly meant more to her than it did to me,
so we did flowers she picked and paid for. And she had the best day of her life
getting a lots of compliments.
5. Something will
go wrong. Please see tip 10. We had 4 small cakes. All of the icing started to
melt off the sides of the cakes All we could do was laugh it off and cut
it sooner than expected. People lined up for it anyway.
6. When it comes
to the budget, you will go over. Plan on spending more money than you expect.
Postage, thank you gifts, all the little fun stuff like straws and cocktail
napkins add up.
7. It’s one day.
Months and months of planning for 1 day. It’s over before you know it. Take
moments. Take a moment to looks around and see all the people who love you and
want to see you and your husband on your special day. Take a moment to actually
eat dinner.
8. Take a moment
to be with your husband. I don’t know if I actually talked to mine on our
wedding day. So many people want to talk to the bride and groom, so you
really have to make a point to reconnect.
9. Have fun, have
fun, have fun. My wedding day was literally the happiest day of my life. I
think a lot of it was because we didn’t sweat the small stuff. Our reception venue could have caught on fire, and we would have partied in the parking lot. Have fun no matter what.
10. Always remember the real reason for
this day: to marry the person you want to spend forever with. All the rest is
the circus. The food, the drinks, the flowers, the musicians, the bridesmaids,
the centerpieces are all the circus that surrounds the wedding. When the day is
over, none of it matters. Don’t get so consumed with the craziness that
surrounds the day that it doesn’t let you enjoy the day.
Congrats on your recent engagements, and HAVE FUN!