Congratulations!
I'm so excited for you and this new adventure! You're probably starting to plan how to best celebrate your love and commitment. Whether that be an elopement, a relaxed backyard party, a trip somewhere on your bucket list, or a "pull out all the stops" wedding, you should have one goal. To be preset. To be so fully in the moment that in 5, 10, 20 years, you are able to remember all of the important details. The little squeeze your love gave your hand. The line in their vows that made you tear up and laugh at the same time. How giddy you felt during your first dance. All of it.
PLAN WIGGLE ROOM
When it comes to planning the logistics, my biggest recommendation is to plan some wiggle room on the wedding day timeline. If you know me, you know I love a good schedule, but if every second is planned out just one small thing will throw off the timeline, and that only adds stress. You should be able to take 5 minutes to yourself, talk to your guests who flew across the country to support you, or heck, even go to the bathroom! It’s ok to get off track a bit, it’s almost a guarantee, as long as you’ve planned ahead.
CELEBRATE ALONG THE WAY
Just booked your dream venue? Pop the champagne! Finished writing your vows? Have a dance party! There is no need for the planning process to be a stressful nightmare. Take time to acknowledge each milestone, and just have fun with it!
UNPLUG
I know you’ll probably be tempted to take a bunch of iPhone photos with the crew, make a boomerang of the champagne pop, or even text people all morning to work out small details as they come up. But of all the days to leave your phone tucked away, this is it. I recommend designating a few contact people who are in charge of responding to calls or organizing the finer details. Ask a couple of friends or bridal party members to be in charge of taking behind the scenes photos (don’t worry, I’ll get a bunch of these too), and if you feel like texting your love, write them a little handwritten note instead. This will turn into an amazing keepsake, so bonus!
GO WITH THE FLOW
I’m sure you’ve been looking at a ton of wedding images for inspiration. Whether they are on Pinterest, this site, or even wedding blogs, don’t let the “perfect” weddings trick you into having unrealistic expectations. I guarantee that even those “magazine-worthy” weddings didn’t go as planned. And that’s ok. That’s life. By remembering to go with the flow you will experience your wedding day in the most real, authentic way. You will take in each moment rather than get caught up on “how it was supposed to be”. And I know from my own life experience that those happily unplanned moments make your day unique to you and you alone. They are the ones that make the best memories. The ones that you will remember for years to come.
And worst case we can do an After Session!
MORNING ROUTINE
There is a reason we have our morning routines, they help us start our day off on a positive note. Whether you like going for a run, drinking a coffee, reading a few pages from your book, or doing some meditation, keep these same habits on your wedding day. You may as well start off on the right foot!
ALMOST THERE...
DON’T POSE FOR THE CAMERA
Most of us don’t have a camera in our face all day, so it may feel a little weird to start. But I don’t want you to feel like you have to act or look a certain way, in fact, I encourage you to forget I’m there. Who cares if tears are running down your face, or you’re bent over laughing. That’s you! That’s the moment. I will guide you into the best light or position, but I want you to experience real moments, not staged ones. These are the images that will bring you right back to the moment every time you look at them anyway, so bonus!
REMEMBER WHY WE’RE HERE
After all is said and done, you’ll be married. That’s the most important thing. That’s why we are all here. So forget about all those small details and focus on your person. Your forever love. If you do that, nothing will stress you out or take your focus away from the moment. Promise.
That's all folks!
I hope these tips help you to feel like you can be fully present on your wedding day. If you wanna talk out any details to make sure you have enough wiggle room or have set good expectations let me know! My goal is to make this day (and the entire process) as fun and easy as possible.
I’ve got you!