To the ladies of 2009....With love the 08'ers!!!!

my advice:

1) Be prepared to make last minute changes....but dont waste time stressing over it!
The day of my wedding it was COLD. Since my guests were sitting outside on a deck I ordered heaters that morning to be shipped. Then i forgot about them. when i got to the reception they were there and pumping heat. everything will work out...even if it isnt 100% the way you planned.

2) Roll with the punches. Things will go wrong. But you will be too excited to care. Don't let it ruin your day. People won't notice that your roses are red instead of white....but they WILL notice if you make a scene about it. On my day our ice-cream wedding cake was still a FROZEN BLOCK when it was time to cut the cake, we couldnt get the knife even an inch into it. So, we just scraped off the icing and fed eachother that. We got hilarious pictures of us laughing while trying to slice through a brick of ice

3) This may sound silly but spend time with your DH. Make a pact to always be next to eachother, whether its on the dance floor, mingling with guests or eating. Something will happen during the wedding--something funny or heartwarming and the best feeling is turning your head and seeing DH standing there experiencing it with you.

4) Don't try to hide everything with a girdle or spanx or a bra that's too tight. My bra was WAY too tight, I tried to s u c k everything in as much as possible. On the way to the ceremony I was having stomach pains I realized at the end of the night it was because my long-line bra was too tight!

5) Find your parents and thank them and hug and kiss them. Even if you did everything yourself. They are just as excited as you are.

6) Make the rounds. It is time consuming yes, but you will feel better knowing that you said a quick hi to everyone who took the time to come to your wedding. Believe me, it's easy....everyone just tells you how great the wedding is and how beautiful you look. That's not too bad to hear all day!

7) Take a moment to look around the room and take it all in. Every little detail you stressed over is in effect. You'll see people unwrapping your favors, eating the food you picked out, trying to steal the centerpieces (lol), signing the guestbook, picking up their placecards, dropping cards in your cardbox. Notice every detail. You'll feel so proud of yourself for putting together such an amazing party!

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Posted by RisiLeigh

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Posted by Costabeba

One Piece of advice I can give, is dont assume anything.

If there are certain pics you want from your photographer, dont assume he/she will take them because they are the 'norm' pics. Tell them every single one you want.......

My only regret......

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Oh yeah, this is a good one! I even gave my photographer my 'must-take' list and he still missed a lot of pics!! Of course, I didn't realize it until days after the wedding...

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oh yeah--great one!!!!! ASSUME NOTHING!!!!

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Posted by Browneyesncute

I also suggest

* Even if you exhausted make Do the dead the wedding night, there something soo special about it!

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i agree!!!! we were SO TIRED and i was a little sick but we got back to the hotel room and soaked in the tub together....those precious minutes of relaxation and quiet together revamped us for rest of the night

Thank all of you - you lovely 08 brides...

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Posted by KK Holiday

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Posted by Browneyesncute

I also suggest

* Even if you exhausted make Do the dead the wedding night, there something soo special about it!

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i agree!!!! we were SO TIRED and i was a little sick but we got back to the hotel room and soaked in the tub together....those precious minutes of relaxation and quiet together revamped us for rest of the night

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OMG I didn't even think to post this!! Yes, I absolutely agree!!! When DH and I were on our way to The Swan Club from the church, he was already commenting about the activities later that night It made the anticipation even better and I'll just say it was a great night!

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Posted by KK Holiday

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Posted by Browneyesncute

I also suggest

* Even if you exhausted make Do the dead the wedding night, there something soo special about it!

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i agree!!!! we were SO TIRED and i was a little sick but we got back to the hotel room and soaked in the tub together....those precious minutes of relaxation and quiet together revamped us for rest of the night

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I cant wait for this!!!!

know your heart you will have a great day and you will have a great day......

oh and dont forget to have some of all the wonderful food thats there....
i totally missed out on all our desserts and had to hear from everyone else how great they all were

My biggest piece of advice is to remember what the day is really all about. Once you remember that, then you will learn to let the small stuff go.

Don't freak out about every little detail and stress yourself out. Yes little touches are great but if you dont get to it dont worry, it wont make or break your day. The truth is, you will barely notice all these things you spent months, or years stressing about. We all want our weddings a certain way, and to make it beautiful but that doesn't mean that you should get into fights bc of these things, or make yourself sick over it. Don't feel your wedding wont be good enough bc of menu's, or your placecard setting. Sometimes you feel as if OMG i have to have this or my wedding wont be the same, it will still be. The day of the greatest thing happens. You simply dont care about any of that, you are so excited to marry your best friend and at that point whatever happens happens. Whether rain or shine, whether one thing goes wrong, i guarantee it will still be the best day of your life and everything you ever dreamed of. No amount of extras, small touches will compare to that feeling when you walk down that aisle and see your FH and exchanging your vows. I remember being annoyed that there were some things i never got around to doing. The day of i didnt even notice these things at all or had any chance to see them. So remember to enjoy this time, this happens only once in your life, so enjoy your engagement and all that comes with it. You dont want to look back and remember just all the fighting, stress and aggrevation.

Remember its your day but that day will come and go. So don't cause problems with your friendships and loved ones, bc after its all over you still have to deal with these people. Its not the end of the world if a BM does her hair a certain way, or if your mom or FMIL wants to wear a certain something, some things are not worth fighting over. The day of your wedding will not be about your bm's hair, shoes, make up, or what other guests are wearing. If you feel your day is about this or will take away from the true moment then sit down and remember what its all about. The day of my wedding i dont even know what shoes my bm's wore, and they didnt even come out in pics and im sure the last thing guests were looking at were my bm's shoes, and why add more stress about something so small and unimportant on your wedding day. Some ppl will show more of an interest in your wedding than others, yes its nice if everyone you cared about was just as excited but no need to dwell on it.
Just appreciate those who are there and dont let it bring you down.

Most importantly, the day of just enjoy every single second. This whole time while you are engaged you will feel as if your wedding is so far away, and hard to even imagine it happening. You feel its so surreal, but guess what, the day of you will still feel that way. While youre up on that aisle you still will feel its all so surreal and cant believe its happening. The day goes by so fast, and it all becomes a blur. Any second wasted stressed out or aggrevated about anything are seconds you cant get back and moments you took away from your day enjoying it. Take in everything, and truly enjoy it.

Also remember its your day, not your moms day or your friends day. Do what you want to do, wear what you want to wear, get the flowers YOU like. You will have people in your life that will tell you what THEY think is best even if its not what you want at all. People will give advice about what YOU should do and how you should handle things. At the end of the night you want to say 'it was everything I wanted' you dont want to say it was everything they wanted. I see girls who are talked out of things they like and they sometimes do what others say bc they feel maybe those ppl are right. Every wedding is different, if they were all the same it would be pretty boring after a while. Let your personalities show, look back at pics and see things you wanted and represented you. Who cares how someone else thinks a brides hair should look like, if youre not happy with it or not what you envisioned then whats the point. You dont want to be the bride someone else visions for themselves. Have confidence in your decisions and do what you like best. When it comes to decor and your look, there are no rules so dont be afraid to be yourself and stop worrying about what everyone else thinks. Once that day is over its over for them too but the memories live on for you and you will be the one always looking back at your pics, and its you who should be happy with everything. And remember its the grooms day too, so lets not forget to represent him too lol.

Good luck 09 brides, your year is quickly approaching. Wish you all the best of luck with the happiest days of your life marrying your best friend, there is no greater feeling. When things get hard and you are down, just picture that one moment of walking down the aisle and seeing eachother and that will bring you back to the frame of my mind you should be in.

Thank you ladies for your nice messages, I'll keep them in mind. Reading this is making very emotional and excited! I've met some really great people on this site and we have been planning and sharing ideas together for alomost a year and it has gone by sooo fast! This is our year! and I'm so excited for everyone! ...

Make sure you thank your bridal party and close family the day of ...they have spent a lot of time and money in preparation of you big day as well.
Sometimes you tend to forget about all the help you have recieved over the past couple months (well in my case years!)

Stay on the dance floor! Have a much fun as you can...there is no way to talk to everyone so just try to have as much fun as possible .The more you are on the dance floor the more guests will be there as well!

I agree with the weather comments above ....It wasnt supposed to rain the day of my wedding, but it didnt stop all day! I had everything planned outside, but we had to move it inside and it was still absolutely amazing .

oh please please please DONT LISTEN TO WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT ANYTHING! that was a big mistake I made. I had almost 30 people in my bridal party i had so many comments from everyone ...In the end I did things how I wanted but it mademe crazy trying to make everyone happy ...It's impossible so do what you and FH like!

finally just enjoy your day ...it seriously goes by so fast it's crazy!

(im sure I will have more advice)

Thank you ladies for all the advice....it has been fun hearing about your planning and then actually seeing all your hard work through your pics!!!

TO all the 08 brides HAPPY HOLIDAYS, as this will be a very special one since its your first holiday as a MRS!


Thanks again

Bianca

OMG! Thank you soooo much Ladies!
I'm tearing up from reading all the posts!
I truly enjoyed reading your reviews and looking at your beautiful pictures.

Best Wishes to all you 09ers, may you all have a blessed wedding, your day will be so amazing, take it all in, that is the one day that goes by sooo fast. congrats to you all.

1. TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF: One of the most important things to me(other than marrying my best friend) was to look my absolute BEST on my wedding day. For some, this means getting enough sleep, drinking water, eating enough. For me it was a year of eating healthy and working out nearly every day. In the end, I lost 25 lbs (with the help of a bridal bootcamp and a trainer) and I can't tell you how proud and happy i felt because of it. You are spending THOUSANDS of dollars on pictures that cannot be replicated. You don't want to hate anything about yourself when you get your proofs. It doesnt matter if you have 2 months or 10 months, you can do whatever you put your mind to! And trust me, it will be SO WORTH IT!!!! It's even become a lifestyle for me and has given me a new hobby.

2. Don't sweat the small stuff: My cake was supposed to be red velvet and tasted like some tropical fruit instead, lol. One of my bridesmaids cried hysterically because she thought her make-up made her eyes too 'almond shaped' and my florist didnt set up my ceremony flowers himself, so DH had to fix them right beforehand. And you know what, NONE of these things ruined my day. Not even close!!! Nothing can take away from the best day of your life and not everything will be perfect. No matter how much you plan, there will always be something little you can harp on if you let yourself. Don't!

The other girls said the rest, so I will keep mine pretty short, but I wish you all of the luck in the world!! Enjoy this special year! As stressful as it is, you will miss it a bit when it's over.

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Posted by BarbieGrl10

OMG! Thank you soooo much Ladies!
I'm tearing up from reading all the posts!
I truly enjoyed reading your reviews and looking at your beautiful pictures.

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Your wedding will be my 1 year anniversary

I knew I had another one ...

If you didn't do so already ...do not spend a lot of money on shoes ! I listened to someone when they told me this and got mind onsale for 20 buck s( the store was going out of business)and they were very pretty ...but I didnt have them on for even an hour! I put my slippers on before I even walked down the aisle ! Make sure you buy a pair of ballet slippers ....I thanked god i bought them ..You are on your feet all day you need to be comfortable