ADVICE
1) DON'T DO IT ALONE!!! If I didn't have the bestest best friend ever, I would have done all of my DIY stuff alone. I also would probably have spend several months or weeks more in my reception venue search had we not been able to split up the list to call everyplace I was mildly interested in. I cannot thank her enough for being so willing to call here, drive there, or pick up such and such for me over the past few months.
2) HIRE A GOOD PHOTOGRAPHER!!! Call around, ask, look at websites, ask for physical photos. This is one thing I knew I wanted and we were blessed enough to have several friends who are photographers, so we got one at an AWESOME price. You only get this opportunity once, so good pictures are a MUST. We're so happy with our pictures.
3) TAKE VIDEO!!! We weren't going to, as we didn't think it was important. But after meeting with our pastor he made a good point. He told us that still photos were awesome. And memories are awesome. But in 50yrs, how clear will your memory be? So we bought more tapes for our camcorder, gave it to one of our teenagers, and have already watched the video 3 times.
4) CHOOSE FAVORS WISELY!!! I went over and over about what to do for favors, and even decided not to do them at all. I really didn't want to spend a bunch of money that people were going to either leave on the table, throw away, or take home and let get dusty. In the end I picked something that could actually be used (and eaten) and I'm glad I did. Our guests really loved them and several people have already asked for the recipe.
5) EAT!!! I'm not a breakfast eater. But I was pretty sure that if I didn't eat something, I was going to pass out - and I was calm. I ended up having milk and doughnuts, but it was enough to keep me level-headed and my stomach settled.
6) KEEP IT SMALL!!! If you can. I've never really been sure why people invite everyone they've ever known to their wedding, but to each his own. Our guest list was 50 people, and it was the perfect size that allowed us to mingle with everyone, chat, have fun and not feel like we were flying through the room trying to just say hello. Everything was very laid back.
7) DON'T FORGET YOUR KIDS!!! We weren't going to have kids at the reception. But once we went ahead with it, I decided they needed something to keep them occupied. I ended up making wedding coloring and activity books and giving them their own table. Our reception was buffet style so they didn't get their own meal, but they did get juice in their own cups and a deck of cards. Our kids table worked because all of them knew each other, however that may not work for you. But do give them something to do.
8) GET IT TO GO!!! Both Sean and I were STARVING by the end of the reception. We each only took the time to hide in a corner and shove down a small plate of food in a few minutes. The food was soooo good, but that's all we got. Had I been thinking, I would have asked the venue to box up some of the food so we could have eaten it when all the wedding day madness was over. Same for the cake. We each got the tiniest of bites of cake and the next time we turned around, it was all gone. Should have packed up a few slices! The top tier is frozen in a friends freezer, so it just won't be the same by the time we get to it.
9) GET AWAY!!! Even if you can't afford to honeymoon right away - DO NOT GO HOME after the wedding. The day before the wedding we decided to book a hotel room locally for the rest of the weekend. We were glad we did. More than glad. It's nice to go somewhere and not have to think about cooking or cleaning. And I think it made the whole thing more real. We will honeymoon next summer when the kids are out of school.
10) IT'S YOUR WEDDING!!! Don't let the ladies on The Knot scare you, and go with your gut. I read over and over again that people would leave early if there was no dancing. So much that it made me nervous. But they didn't. No one complained, no one left early, in fact the first people to leave, left at our scheduled end time.
2) HIRE A GOOD PHOTOGRAPHER!!! Call around, ask, look at websites, ask for physical photos. This is one thing I knew I wanted and we were blessed enough to have several friends who are photographers, so we got one at an AWESOME price. You only get this opportunity once, so good pictures are a MUST. We're so happy with our pictures.
3) TAKE VIDEO!!! We weren't going to, as we didn't think it was important. But after meeting with our pastor he made a good point. He told us that still photos were awesome. And memories are awesome. But in 50yrs, how clear will your memory be? So we bought more tapes for our camcorder, gave it to one of our teenagers, and have already watched the video 3 times.
4) CHOOSE FAVORS WISELY!!! I went over and over about what to do for favors, and even decided not to do them at all. I really didn't want to spend a bunch of money that people were going to either leave on the table, throw away, or take home and let get dusty. In the end I picked something that could actually be used (and eaten) and I'm glad I did. Our guests really loved them and several people have already asked for the recipe.
5) EAT!!! I'm not a breakfast eater. But I was pretty sure that if I didn't eat something, I was going to pass out - and I was calm. I ended up having milk and doughnuts, but it was enough to keep me level-headed and my stomach settled.
6) KEEP IT SMALL!!! If you can. I've never really been sure why people invite everyone they've ever known to their wedding, but to each his own. Our guest list was 50 people, and it was the perfect size that allowed us to mingle with everyone, chat, have fun and not feel like we were flying through the room trying to just say hello. Everything was very laid back.
7) DON'T FORGET YOUR KIDS!!! We weren't going to have kids at the reception. But once we went ahead with it, I decided they needed something to keep them occupied. I ended up making wedding coloring and activity books and giving them their own table. Our reception was buffet style so they didn't get their own meal, but they did get juice in their own cups and a deck of cards. Our kids table worked because all of them knew each other, however that may not work for you. But do give them something to do.
8) GET IT TO GO!!! Both Sean and I were STARVING by the end of the reception. We each only took the time to hide in a corner and shove down a small plate of food in a few minutes. The food was soooo good, but that's all we got. Had I been thinking, I would have asked the venue to box up some of the food so we could have eaten it when all the wedding day madness was over. Same for the cake. We each got the tiniest of bites of cake and the next time we turned around, it was all gone. Should have packed up a few slices! The top tier is frozen in a friends freezer, so it just won't be the same by the time we get to it.
9) GET AWAY!!! Even if you can't afford to honeymoon right away - DO NOT GO HOME after the wedding. The day before the wedding we decided to book a hotel room locally for the rest of the weekend. We were glad we did. More than glad. It's nice to go somewhere and not have to think about cooking or cleaning. And I think it made the whole thing more real. We will honeymoon next summer when the kids are out of school.
10) IT'S YOUR WEDDING!!! Don't let the ladies on The Knot scare you, and go with your gut. I read over and over again that people would leave early if there was no dancing. So much that it made me nervous. But they didn't. No one complained, no one left early, in fact the first people to leave, left at our scheduled end time.
