Things I would have done differently

OK, so we all do a review & they are very helpful, but I gotta share the things I really should have done differently (I am a Monday Morning quarterback through & through!)

First of all..... I would have looked around for better prices on my dress. Not only did I have a plethora of problems with my dress shop, but I saw my dress for $500 cheaper at another shop about 3 months before my wedding. This made me really mad, especially considering I was not paying for better service.

Also, I would have made my bustle come off the floor. I had only 2' of it as a mini-ail after thebustle & everyone was stepping on it! It is a Maggie Sotero with Swarsky (sp?) crystal detail at the hem & in the train, and people actually crushed them with their feet & they all fell off. If you get a french or inverted bustle, try to make it a double or 2-layer.

I would have had DH leave his house later. We almost saw eachother 3 times before the cermony, just b/c his limo kept catching up to mine. Thank goodness for Nextel, b/c the two-way was our saviour from that major mishap.

I would have made certain that the wish bowl & Signing frame were in a visible & trafficked area. Unfortunately, we did not join the cocktail hour & did not notice that these things were hidden in a corner, so no one signed our frame.

I would have told the hall 3 less people than we actually got yes responses. Essentially, we had to pay for dinners of those who did not show, & it is eaier to add a guest or two the day before.

I would have made sure my DJ had the photos for the video montage. There was a huge miscommunication bbetween me & the DJ & the videographer....each one of us thought the other had the pics....needless tosay we had no dinner photo montage. Not a major disaster, but the families would have liked it.

I would have had the jewlery appraised WAY before the wedding, so that way I would have been able to fight a bit harder for a proper price for our rings.

THE BIGGEST THING: I would not have expected to maek even 1/2 my $$ back to pay for the wedding. People, no matter how wealthy or not-wealthy they are, have a pre-determined number in their head of how much to give. Thank god I did not get married at Oheka or Flowerfields, we would have lost our shirts DH almost puked whn he totaled the gifts!!!! (We are generally very generous with such gifts, so he expected everyone else to be equally generous)

I definitely would have brought a list of pioctures that I wanted to have taken. We missed a lot of shots.

I would have had less people in the BP. DH family tradition is to have the youngest of each sets of sibling-cousins be in the BP. This made it huge and a little uncomfortable for us all since we did not all get along. Plus for me I would have loved to have more friends with me.

Be honest with the BP regarding what your expectations are for them. Tell them what you are paying for and what they will need to pay for. Tell them how you want or do not want their hair, make-up etc. Having a BM show up at the hotel the mornign of my wedding with MY wedding hair was not a pleasant scene.

Have 2 photographers, if available. I cannot tell you how many shots would have been missed if there was only one photographer.

I hope this helps!!!

ETA: It has been a couple of years since our wedding, but someone else posted this type of thread. Since the wedding, I do want to also say Do not sweat the small stupid things that happened on your day. Many of the 'FRIENDS' that caused issues that day ended up being flat-leavers down the road anyway. The day & all the days after are about you & your new family