Hi! This is Mel, the girl in that picture below. Thanks Jessica and Mariel for inviting me to be a guest. I LOVE weddings, but let’s face it. They are VERY stressful for almost everyone involved. I come from a family of 2 boys and 5 girls and lucky for my dad, 3 of us girls decided to tie the knot in the last year. You could imagine the stress of putting together 3 in less than one year. After planning my own, and helping with the other 2, I have learned a few things about wedding planning. Hopefully these wedding tips will be helpful for you—as the bride-to-be, mother of the bride, or anyone else.
Start compiling addresses as soon as you think a wedding might be coming. Make sure you include friends, old roommates, classmates, co-workers, relatives, neighbors, etc. Who says you need a ring on your finger to start this? This tedious and daunting task can be done now so you can focus on the fun things later on.
Some things are worth the money. I wanted to pull off a very classy, yet cost-conscious wedding. And I think I did. But I learned that some things are worth spending the money on. For example, if you are going to have a wedding dinner/luncheon, consider having it catered or at a reception center. I chose to have our wedding dinner the night before—which made for a very relaxing wedding day. The best part of having it at the
If you are going to scrimp on some things, don’t let it be the photography. You and your children will want to look at wedding photos over and over, so choose a photographer that matches your style. Tip: have the photographer take pictures of some of the details like table decorations, cake, refreshments, etc. that you might not get a chance to see.
When you get your bridals taken, take your fiancée along—tux and all. I know some brides are superstitious about the groom seeing the dress before the wedding day, but it is worth it! My 2 sisters and I did this and we loved it! This took off so much pressure to get the “perfect” pictures on the wedding day and we were able to display some of the pictures at our reception.
When looking for a guest book for my own wedding, I realized there weren’t many options besides the boring ones with pages of straight lines. I wanted my guest book to be something I looked at again and was fun for our guests. That’s when I decided to design my own and have since started a business out of it— check it out at Guest Books By Mel. I have come up with classy and custom guest books that allow guests to write wedding wishes—long or short. Photo-quality pictures of the couple are printed on each page. It’s simple, yet classy…
and there is a GIVEAWAY going on now!
If you are getting married or know someone that is, tell them to visit Guest Books By Mel and leave a comment with an email address and that you heard about this from ‘Or So She Says’ by midnight on Saturday, September 19th. I will be doing a Giveaway for a Classic Guest Book–a $40 value! The winner will be announced on Monday, September 21st. And for all you Or So She Says fans, you will receive a 10% discount on any order through the end of October. Remember, guest books aren’t just for weddings..you could use one for a baby shower or a good luck/farewell party.
Lastly, let your wedding be YOU! Decide what things are the most important and then let others do the rest. Be prepared that something might not turn out exactly how you want it, but try to relax and enjoy every moment because it will be over all too soon! Happy Wedding!!
Mariel
@orsoshesays
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Mel- Great post! I love the taking your fiancee with you for Bridals- I think that’s a great idea- too bad I didn’t know about it when slick and I got married! Thank you so much- sorry for all the hassle!
I totally agree with spending more on a photographer you love! I went cheap on lots of stuff and that is pretty much the only thing I regret being cheap on!
Thanks, Mel!
great post mel! great tips and i love that you were so realistic…weddings are stressful but a few little tidbits/advice can definitely help!
I’m going to second (or third) the suggestion to NOT skimp on the wedding pictures. We did. And I’m soooooooo sorry we did. A relative offered as a gift to us because they “love” photography and I thought, Great. One less expense. We barely had enough to put in a book. Go all out for the photos. You won’t regret it!
God I wish I read this before I got married. I skimped out on the Photography and now I am a photographer! I look at the photos of my wedding and want to cry. I am thinking about renting my hubby a tux and pulling out my wedding dress and getting some photos now. Who would know the difference?
Great post
Ashley ♥
http://ashleyclarkphotography.blogspot.com/
These are great tips, Mel… and your photos are beautiful… I could not agree more. My first wedding we went with a relative to do our pictures and they came out so bad – good thing it was only my first marriage. ;-\
I learned from that and went with a pro for my current hubby and I SO love my photos!
I REALLY adore your guest books, that is such a terrific idea! I hope you don’t mind that I’m gonna borrow that idea for my son’s going away party before he is deployed to Afghanistan in November. I know it won’t be nearly as gorgeous as yours, but it will do the trick, and I’ll have his baby pictures and his “growing-up” pictures there as well… Have a terrific week.
Great! Very helpful tips! Keep ‘em coming!