Wedding day dos and don’ts - Hindsight 20:20

I’ll always view my wedding as the best day of my life…at least so far. And, while there were so many aspects to our wedding that I absolutely adored, that doesn’t mean I don’t look back and wish some things had gone differently. 

As we’re coming up on our first anniversary, what better time to reflect on that beautiful day? I'll break it into three sections to make it easier for you to consume.

1) What I wish I had paid more for

2) What I wish we had done or included in our special day 

3) Stuff that didn’t end up mattering as much as I thought it would 

1 . What I wish I had paid more for

The primary item that my husband and I wish we had splurged more on is the photography and videography of our most important day. We chose a company that bundled photos and videos into a package at a decent price… I’m sure you’ve seen the ads on Facebook or Instagram. 

This company has an inventory of professionals at the ready, and you can choose from any that are available on your specified day and in your general location (although the videographer was assigned without any portfolio sent for preview). 

We are generally happy with our wedding photos and the video we received but wish they were more professional looking and with more variety. Even if you have the photographer or videographer of your dreams, make sure you have a list of the “must-have shots” and stick to that list! 

Even though we sent a list to our photographer, he didn’t stick to the list; I missed getting a photo of just me and my mom. Something I’ll wish I had forever. 

2. What I wish we had done or included in our special day 

Here are the things that I wish I had included or had done for our special day.

• Printed Thank you notes at each of the table settings, letting our guests know just how appreciative we were of them to join us in the celebration. 
• New trend of photos at every table during one song during dinner
• End of night outdoor goodbye lineup so that my groom and I could walk through a tunnel of our support system into our new lives.
• Having the DJ call out any special items you have, like a photo booth, any special desserts, etc. 
• Included our dog a bit more, even something as little as having some photos placed around the venue to make it feel as though our dog was part of the day.

3. Stuff that didn’t end up mattering as much as I thought it would 

Looking back, here are the things that didn’t end up being as important to us in the moment and could have saved us some money if we had skipped them, or it could have saved us some stress. 

• We still have customized bar napkins in the basement. We should have saved our pennies and used plain old, free black ones.
• Worrying about tips and taking tons of cash out the week of the wedding - most vendors have Venmo and/or Paypal, so you can skip the cash altogether and send money to them a few days after the wedding! 
• Worrying about who can or can’t come. You’ll likely have the core of who you love most in your lives present, and that is what matters most! The ones who love you most will take the time to be there; that is all that matters. 
• Thinking or caring too much about others' opinions of what we should or shouldn't do for OUR day.  

Your wedding day belongs to you and your spouse, no one else! Don’t try to please anyone but the two of you. I hope you can take something away from the lessons I learned to incorporate them into the planning of your wedding day.