What I learned from my wedding....

*Carry your everyday lip gloss with you.....I wore the lipstick put on by the make-up artist for the ceremony & for some pictures but by the time I got the milleridge I wiped it off and put on my everyday lip gloss and it was so much better!! (it was the mac colorstay...that stays on REALLY well but I felt like from kissing/talking & drinking it got a little chalky feeling) Go with something you love to wear everyday & hold it b/c you do a lot of kissing!!

*Take a moment, stand at your dais and just stare at your family & friends enjoying themselves. DH & I did that I got a little teary watching everyone. You put so much time & effort into planning and it's nice to see your guests loving all of it

*Of course....take a moment with just you and your DH....we made it down to our cocktail hour but towards the end of it...we ran upstairs and our maitre'D and Bridal attendant kept bringing us plates and plates of everything from our CH & it was SO NICE to sit there without someone pulling you here and pulling you there. We sat up there for a good 20 minutes.

* Do your table greetings before dinner....we made it to every single table before everyones meals came and it was golden!!

* We did our parents dances in the beginning and I loved that idea...(i stole it from my sister)....we had our first dance...then guests sat down and had there appetizers.....then salads (or whatever order that should be in)...then right before the intermezzo we did parent dances & I loved doing that b/c then it didn't stop the party later in the night. I thought that with the cake cutting...garter toss....BoK toss....viennesse hour...the end of the night dancing would've been cut off. So that's just a thought for some of you!

* Bring safety pins for your bustle...forget about the little strings and the tiny button holding it all night....at least it didn't work for me. Towards the end of the night, I was literally holding my dress in my hand b/c it was just easier then having people step on it (mostly guys!!!!!!) and the bustle coming off. It was so annoying lol

*During dinner when a slow song comes on and no one is looking....dance with your husband. We did that at ours and it was such a special moment b/c everyone was to busy eating that some didn't realize we were up dancing & it was so perfect.

* I kept my veil on all night & I love that for pictures. Surprisingly, I thought it would annoy me or make me hot but it didn't which is why I just kept it on.

* no matter what take 2 advils that morning.....I wish I had.....by the end of the night (when guests were leaving) I developed a killer migraine & I wish I had taken two that morning.

*Try to avoid guests making circles around you & DH everytime you two begin dancing with ecahother LOL I finally was like 'NO MORE CIRCLES!!' please!! lol

*OH and when someone requests a song on your 'do not ever' playlist...just play it....who cares. Someone on DH's side brought PROPS for the YMCA (I kid you not lol) & it turned out to be one of the funniest moments of the night. My DJ came up to me and asked for permission and at first I was like 'ummmmm seriously...the YMCA & props?? ohhhh what the hell!' My crazy brother, my brother in law and Matt were HILARIOUS up there. Seeing DH with a leather vest on almost made me pee my pants! (ok, not literally!!)

*Lastly....don't feel like you have to go down and party more after your wedding is over at the bar everyone went too. It's such a long, exhausting, overwhelming, happy, best day of your life day that everyone will understand if you don't show up. (we didn't! haha & everyone was like.....we totally figured you two wouldn't come down!)

HAVE FUN, DON'T STOP DANCING EVER!!!!

great advice!!!! thanks for sharing!!!!
Congrats!!!!

Thanks for all of the tips! Now you have to add it to the 'Already Married Brides Thread!!' Congrats again!

OMG I love this thread. Thanks for starting it Dev

I'll add a few of my own.

* I agree -- take that moment with your husband and go to a quiet corner of the room and just watch. It's amazing all the little details you'll notice and the memories you'll have from that short span of time. It helps reality set in = you're married!

* Go to your cocktail hour! We got there half way through and were able to enjoy the food and make our rounds. We were actually able to greet 90% of our guests during cocktail hour.

* Let things go. If it rains or the church starts late or the flowers arent perfect -- let it go. You cant fix everything and your day will be amazing no matter what.

*SMILE. Looking back on my video and pictures I noticed that many times I wasnt smiling. It wasnt that i wasnt happy -- I was. But I was so caught up in everything (and nervous at times) that I often looked dazed. Constantly remind yourself to smile.

*Dance constantly -- dont sit! If you're dancing, your guests will be dancing too. Its a chain reaction. Dance to every song, even if you dont like the song.

*BRING A TISSUE DOWN THE AISLE. I forgot to do this. I cried a little as I walked down the aisle and once I got to the altar I had a running nose and tears on my cheeks. I had no tissue and no way of getting one. SO I spent most of my ceremony whiping my nose and sniffling as inconspicuously as possible and I was worried about my makeup.

*Make time for pictures. We squeezed pictures in between the church and CH. It would have worked perfectly if we didnt start late. Since you cant predict some things, its better to give yourself plenty of time. Looking back, I dont really think we got enough posed pictures of family and DH and I. Pictures are all you have when its over -- so dont skimp on time!

* After the ceremony (if you're not having a receiving line) sneak off to a corner of the church or a downstairs room while guests exit the church. DH and I did this -- we exited to a basement room in the church while our guests left the church and we had about 3 minutes to hug, cry, laugh, and just enjoy what we had just done in private. I can honestly say it was the BEST 3 minutes of the entire day. The emotion we both felt during that time was something that we needed to share alone.

And the #1 peice of advice......
**ADD AN EXTRA HOUR TO YOUR RECEPTION**
Not necessarily a veinnese hour -- just another hour of dancing. It goes super fast. faster than anyone could imagine. Our 5 hour reception felt like 2 hours. With the garter toss, bo-k toss, cake cutting, and parent dances cutting into dancing time it feels like less partying and more eating and scheduled stuff. Add that extra hour -- it'll be worth it!

Awww, this is soo nice....it's really making me look forward to my day

thanks for the freat advice!! I plan to use all of it -- our day will be here before we know it -- and I want to enjoy every minute of it

Thanks for sharing! We plan on going to all the tables before dinner too! We wanna be able to dance with everyone

I liked your advice about standing back and watching everyone. Honestly with all that is going on, I probably wouldn't have thought to do that..but now I will!

I'm glad you had such a beautiful day

Thank you for the great advice!!! The Advil thing is a most definate!!! Congrats!

Devon that is great advice! Thank you so much

I totally agree !

Safety Pins saved my life !!! Within the first 10 minutes someone stepped on my dress & broke a string....so we fixed it & then an hour or so later...bam someone stepped on me and broke another string. (all big guys too ;) ) So I just told my MOH to take the safety pins & do whatever she had to so it was not on the floor....I didn't care what it looked like I just didn't want to waste anymore time worrying about my dress !

Definitely eat together - at least try everything ! !

Smiling is huge - I haven't seen a bad picture of me yet because I was so happy all I did was smile the whole day - no funny faces !

My biggest advice is don't stress it...everything will be great because it's your wedding day !! No matter what it's awesome and it's just not a big deal when it comes down to the actual day !

wow that is such GREAT advice THANK YOU!

great advice!
I FM'd you as well.