To the 07'ers from the 06'ers........with love

It's almost your year girls! The months leading up to your wedding might be stressful for some but try really hard to enjoy it. It is such a wonderful time in your life that you will forever remember. All of your hard work and time put in to making your dream wedding come true..make sure you stop to take it all in when you are standing in your reception looking at all of the eyes on YOU!
One great thing for me was waching my wedding video and at the point when the DJ asked all of the guests to join us on the dance floor....DH and I just looked around at what we had done and saw all of the people that we love, sharing in our special day that was all ours!!!
Cheers to 2007! May your year be filled with joy and excitement! To the 06'ers: Here is to a year filled with new additions to your families and house hunting and the begining of a long and full life together.

ETA: Cheers to a year filled with good heath

My two cents:

This year will be full of so many wonderful things for you. RIght now you can only imagine what your wedding day will be like, I know I did. You know what? It will be better than you can even imagine it! Never in a milllion years could I have dreamt how wonderful one day could be.

Always keep in mind that in the end all the little details mean nothing. Whether the napkins match the flowers or there is a wrinkle in your dress, it doesn't matter! All these things will be forgotten the moment you wake up on your wedding day because you know you will be marrying your best friend that day.

If you can, take some time to yourself on your wedding day. I got up at 5 am and took a walk outside before everything got started so that I could savor a moment by myeself.

Make sure you eat breakfast! Once everything gets going, your adrenaline will be pumping and you will get too excited to eat!

Whatever you do, make sure you spend the day with your husband, don't get separated! When you go to greet your guests, do it together. Spend as much time on the dance floor that you possibly can - this is YOUR party, make damned sure you have a good time!

If something that you didn't expect happens, just let it go. There is nothing you can do about it, and its not woth ruining your day over!! It will make for a great story after the wedding.

Just relax. Don't get stressed out. The best day of your life is coming, enjoy every moment of it!!

Thanks:

AWWW!!!! Thank you! Truly wonderful words of wisdom!!!

my advice:

keep focus on the fact that your wedding day is only one day - but your marriage is for your lifetime. dont let people distance your from your FH - and trust me obligations and stress will really try. keep each other in perspective and treat each other well during all points of your engagment.

BP - do not pick too quickly and do not expect too much. some people in our BP didnt belong and we picked them because we were close when we were first engaged. 2 yrs later - it was like having a stranger stand up for you. your BP will step up when necessary - but their lives are not revolving around your wedding. dont expect too much and you will not be disapointed.

make sure you LOVE everything that will be a part of your wedding. if it doesnt feel PERFECT than it is probably not - and you should keep looking. i used this intuition on everything from vendors to invites. i consider my wedding day perfect - it was everything i wanted and more.

best of luck and love! congrats!

Here is my advice - and I apologize in advance if I'm repeating!

1. There's no reason to put yourself in debt to have the wedding of your dreams. All that is required is patience, research, and negotiation! Please do not put any of your wedding expenses (excluding the HM) on plastic - you will regret it.

2. Details do matter, and they do get noticed. This is your wedding, and including personal touches that are special to you and your FI is important. Guests will know how much time and effort you put into it, and it will leave a mark in their minds. Details and personalization gives a feeling of welcome, warmth, comfort, and intimacy to your wedding.

3. If there are any issues in your relationship (monetary, family, etc.) please resolve them BEFORE the big day. Things do not 'get better' with the marriage certificate, they multiply in great magnitude. You WILL be marrying into his family, and he into yours. Resolve, resolve, resolve!

4. Don't book your vendors based of the 'hype' - do your own research, and be honest to yourself about what your needs and wants are. Do not book a vendor based solely on their 'reviews' - just keep in mind that there may be 'negatives' (as with ALL vendors) that past brides have not posted about. Meet with your vendors (even email) and make sure you're 100% comfortable with them. Also, if you're not happy with services/products you are or are not receiving - SPEAK UP! This is not the time for you to be humble about what your vision is, what your expectations are, etc. Be honest to yourself, to those providing services/products to you - and you will not be disappointed.

5. You're marrying the person you're entrusting your life to and for. That's the most important thing to remember. At the end of the night, 8 hours would fly by as if they were 10 minutes. You're left with an amazing relationship and a life journey - there is LIFE after the 'party.'

And FINALLY - stick to the LIW rules!!!! Okay, okay, they're not rules...'OFFICIALLY'....but it's fun!

a. please do not use ALL CAPS when posting - it will not 'bring' more attention to your post...it will annoy people! LOL

b. please do not use the word tacky - everyone has a unique taste - if it's not yours, it doesn't automatically mean it's 'bad' or 'tacky' or 'ugly.'

c. there are specific boards for specific topics:
BHB = Brides Helping Brides - WEDDING topics
VHB = Vendors Helping Brides - VENDOR information
The Bride's Review - when all is said and done - there is where a bride will post her review of her day - NOT where a bride to be would try to get information (Please see BHB.)
NWR - NOT WEDDING RELATED - putting 'NWR' in your subject title and still posting on BHB will get your thread moved to the appropriate board...so there should be no 'surprise.'

That's all for now!

As a 2006 bride, I've built a great relationship with many of the ladies on this site. I only wish the same for the 2007 brides and beyond! This is one of the most exciting and HAPPIEST time of your life - enjoy it!

I think Cindy gave some wonderful advice!!

Ceremony - WRITE YOUR VOWS!! Make it personal! If you're going to worry about a detail, that should be the one you worry about - that's your actual WEDDING, it's so much more emotional and meaningful when you write them yourself.

The weather - It poured rain for my outdoor ceremony & outdoor coctail hour... I had a tent, it was fine. I didn't even care.

Photography - on your wedding day you'll forget so many things you want pictures of, so if there's a few you want make sure you write them down and have a copy with someone close to you so you can check it - many brides HAVE must take lists but don't check them to make sure those pictures actually happened. If you miss some, don't stress, I wasn't happy with my original proofs so my husband & I got dressed up and did 'day after pictures' (a month later ) We had so much fun and were totally relaxed and were able to enjoy it.

ETS: I did just about every DIY thing in the book, I got table covers, I made 'extras', I personalized EVERYTHING - PEOPLE NOTICED. It was SO WORTH the effort to get so many compliments and to hear how DIFFERENT everything was.

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Posted by ChrissynRicky

If there are any issues in your relationship (monetary, family, etc.) please resolve them BEFORE the big day. Things do not 'get better' with the marriage certificate, they multiply in great magnitude. You WILL be marrying into his family, and he into yours. Resolve, resolve, resolve!

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OMG, Christine, this is SOOOOOOO IMPORTANT!!!!!!!

I think a lot of brides get caught up in the WEDDING and forget that you're now with this person FOREVER and if there's any behavior that's a problem now, remember - IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE. You can not CHANGE him, so love him JUST THE WAY he is. If he's not affectionate enough or doesn't communicate enough or doesn't clean up after himself... whatever it is, don't think it's going to suddenly get better!

Congratulations! Your weddings will be here before you know it.

It's the happiest day of your life, people tell you that but, you don't realize how happy you will actually be with all of your family and friends around you. Definitely eat and look around you to take it all in!

During the next few months, things will get stressful, no matter how far in advance you plan, there are things that can't be done until the last minute! Take advantage of those who offer to help!

I just want to tell you that things will go wrong! It's funny though, a lot of the things you don't find out about until after the fact if you have great guests like mine


Good luck and have great days!

Something that I thought of that day was.... Give someone your camera to take pictures with so you have some pictures to look at before you go on your honeymoon.


Congrats to the all of the 2007 couples!

Beautiful advice ladies

You girls have me tearing up over here! Thank you for the wonderful advice!
2007 here we come!!

I would have to agree with all the other 06ers in the advice they gave.

Here are a few things I will always cherish:

*I gave a close friend who was not in the bridal party my digital camera and she took over 100 pictures that I was able to look atin the hotel after the wedding. It was THE BEST thing I could have done as I was able to see some of my hard work right there.

*Reapply your lipstick often. Put someone in charge of keeping an eye on this.

*Go into your ball room BEFORE they let the guests in... It was such a great moment when I did this. Moments later it was filled with all my loved ones and it was a great comparison I was able to make.

*The morning of.. spend some time by yourself. My wedding day was amazingly beautiful and I took my dog for a walk around the block a few times just to get away from it all and take in the fact that it was MY wedding day.

*LOOK AT YOURSELF before you leave your house. I was rushed the morning of my wedding and had to get dressed and do pictures so fast that I truly never looked in the mirror. The first time I saw myself all dressed up was when we arrived at the hall and I walked passed a wall of mirrors... it was such a funny moment....I was like WOW I am a BRIDE!

*If at all possible leave some time in between ceremony and CH.. We had a few hours and it was SO SO SO NICE to be able to take pictures and spend time with my new husband and the bridal party. I was so relaxed and calm when it was time to go to the hall and I just had so much fun.

*Don't get separated from your new husband. It is very easy be pulled apart at cocktail hour or during the dancing.. but try to be together that night as much as possible.

*GET A VIDEOGRAPHER.. even if it is just raw footage. You miss SO much the day of your wedding no matter what you do and I just LOVE seeing the things I did not that day.

*Remember that not every single picture that is taken that day is going to be perfect. The girls on this site post the BEST out of hundreds of proofs.....Dont set yourself up for dissapointment.

Ok. I have said my little piece about all of this and I wish you all an AMAZING year. I remember this time last year like it was yesterday and still get the butterflies in my stomach and all....

Thank you so much. I got chills while reading that. It's so sweet

Here is my advice...though I feel like I already gave it once before....

1. Sweat the small stuff --- some people say that you shouldn't worry about the details but its those little things that make your wedding stand out. Whether its reverse directions in the programs (big hit with my crowd) or a Frank Sinatra singer (another big hit) or even a signature drink (ok, another big hit)...these are all details that make your wedding stand out.

2. Trust your gut with vendors. I had great experiences but remember that everyone has had amazing and really negative reviews. Make sure you know your photographer and your DJ/MC --- those are two biggies.

3. Make a must take photo list and stick to it.

4. Kiss your moms, dads, parent figures, family, friends etc. etc. because they are going through just as much of an emotional time as you are. They are watching their little girl or best friend getting ready to head down the altar. If you are moving far away from them, remember to spend quality time with them and cherish the memories.

5. Make it YOUR day...but not just the 'bride' day -- honor your relatives by putting photos on a special table. I did this behind my cake and it was a huge hit and made people really excited to see our grandparents wedding photos. Do something for your fiance, whether its a special gift or letting him have the cake he wants -- don't worry about it, let him have something that was 'his baby.'

6. When you are sitting in your reception, do what I did. Stop, Look Around, Turn to your man and say...'Let's soak this in...' It'll be amazing to see all the people standing around so excited for you. Remember that feeling.

7. Eat 3 lobster tails and tons of cake like I did.

8. And, last but not least...write down all your memories from the day and your first year of marriage. I did and continue to do so and I love reading my remembrances of the celebration.

Have a wonderful, love filled and drama free year ladies!!! Congrats!

Well ladies YOUR year is almost here...first of all I'd like to say that you're a unique '07 bunch just like we '06ers were, and well still are, and second, you're all going to make beautiful brides and I cant wait to see your pics.

My BIGGEST advice to you is please do your research before booking your vendors. Don't book them based on the hype that you get from some of the previous brides. Look at the positive AND the negative things that have been said about them. Make sure that you know what you want from a vendor, and feel comfortable with them when booking.

Dont spend a lot of money on the small things, trust me, there's a lot of resources out there with which you can get the $$$ things for a lot less.

Get a DOC. Whether you're having a small wedding or a big wedding, a good DOC will make your day run a lot smoother and you'll have a peace of mind throughout the entire day...trust me.

Dont leave things until the last minute. Have all of your small things taken care of a week before the wedding, and spend the last week pampering and relaxing while anticipating your day (that includes your church rehearsal and/or RH dinner). You'll feel a lot more relaxed and will get the ultimate feeling of being a bride the day of.

Smile, reapply your lipstick and powder (you dont want your face to shine in pics) and of course bask in the bliss of your wedding day. Enjoy your spouse to the fullest, because thats what day is all about... YOU and YOUR HUSBAND...

Good luck ladies, have an amazing year, enjoy this moment to the fullest and I wish you all a beautiful wedding and a beautiful marriage with your spouse!

Peace!!!!!