Wedding Planning
You may think you’ve heard it all when it comes to wedding planning. But while everyone from your mother to your hairstylist is busy babbling on and on and on about what to expect on your big day, they’re unintentionally leaving out a few crucial details. So from the reality of post-wedding blues to the dangers of being too nice a bride, I spoke to eight of my friends and ask them to share what they wish they had been told about their big days!
1. There’s such as thing as being too nice a bride. “Everyone hears about BRIDEZILLA, but what you don’t hear about are the brides who get everything taken away from them because they’re too nice. I was way too nice about my bridesmaids getting things done—and boy did it cause a lot of stress. My advice? Be firm with dates and express your concern if someone is slacking.”
2. You’ll be pressured by others’ expectations. “Nobody told me how many ‘rules’ there are in the wedding industry. They tell you to create something that matches exactly what you want as a couple, but once you start to do the research, you learn how many expectations there are. For example, I can’t tell you how many people think it’s outrageous that we may not register, or that we’re not interested in a bouquet throw.”
3. Someone will cancel last minute. “Someone will have a conflict and have to cancel a week—or less—before the big day. Yes, it sucks and is super annoying because your seating arrangements are finalized, but no one will notice if their table is missing two people. There’s no point giving yourself a bigger headache of rearranging seating at this point—just let it go!”
4. It’s all worth it in the end. “The one thing that no one told me was how much the stress, time, and money would all be worth it in the end. All I heard were negative points—and while those feelings of stress and pressure can’t be escaped, there were so many good things that far overshadowed the bad.”
5. You won’t regret having a wedding video. “No one ever told me that one of the best purchases we could make was hiring a videographer. Of all the things we ‘splurged’ on, our videographer was my absolute favorite. There are a lot of things—in hindsight—that we could’ve gone without, but our videographer was the best investment because we have those memories to keep for a lifetime.”
6. Post-wedding blues are real. “You’ve probably heard about post-wedding blues and completely brushed them off. I wish someone would have told me to take them seriously—because trust me, post-wedding blues are real. After all that excitement, the weeks after your wedding can feel like a let-down.”
7. Your groom will care about something you’ll least expect. “Everyone sets your expectations really low when it comes to your groom and how much he’ll participate in wedding planning. But what they don’t tell you is that he will care about something—and it’ll probably be the last thing you expect.
8. Don’t expect to actually eat at your wedding. “You won’t eat much of the food you painstakingly picked out. Between your guests—who will constantly want to gab—posing for pictures, and slicing into your cake, you’ll be lucky to get a few measly bites. I wish someone would have told me to eat well through the day—or to ask our caterer to serve us a little sooner.”