Here's a few things I picked up on my wedding day.
Do's:
* If you are a nervous person do consider taking something like Rescue Remedy in the run up to the wedding day. I was fine until the Friday morning and then felt queasy all day, when we went out to dinner that night I managed 3 spoonfuls of rice and a few prawn crackers before spewing 3 times in the hotel toilet. I found it difficult to eat and relax from that point until after the ceremony and I wasn't able to stomach a drink until about 9pm!
* If you are wearing heels and having pictures taken on the grass do consider buying some penny heels. I decided not to and regret it as I was constantly off balance in pictures where my shoe heels sunk into the ground, which made some poses difficult.
* Give out timelines to the wedding party the day before detailing the mornings events, or even better all go for a meal and talk them through it together as well as using handouts. Make sure people know where to be and when, it also helps if they know where other people are supposed to be too.
* Personalise your ceremony! I cannot stress this one enough! We were the third wedding at our RO that day (and would you believe I was the third Suzanne too???) yet the Registrars were truly delighted with our music & readings and also did a separate little bit for us where we lit an absence candle (it's to remember loved ones no longer with us), introduced by them, and had a minutes silence whilst standing right at the start. If your feeling brave do write your own vows, you want your guests to remember the day for being yours!
* When you first start down the aisle take time not just to look at H2B but also at your guests, it goes by in such a blur and has a real dreamlike quality to it, try to remember the looks on their faces...you'll never experience anything like it again. Take moments like this throughout the day just to step back and drink in the details, you'll need these images in your memory bank to get you through the post-wedding downer.
* Make sure your photographer captures the little details you put so much thought into but won't notice on the day....the centerpieces, the favours, the table set-up, the flowers...honestly you'll barely recall them. Also ask him to take candid pictures of your guests, it gives you a great buzz to see them all enjoying themselves at a later date, in moments you won't have seen for yourselves.
* Designate someone to send your guest book round because people just forget about it totally. Our BMs took ours round and managed to get about half the guests to write inside it, I am going to turn it into a scrap book and stick the pictures from the disposable camera's and words from cards in to fill out the blank pages. I have also stuck in the song request cards and a poem from my Aunt. Also keep things to put into a memory box, you'll treasure it over the years.
* Finally do grab your new hubby and take off on your own for at least twenty minutes. We went off over the golf course to a bench on the hill and sat and talked as the sunset over the Surrey Hills, then walked back in the dusk. It was very emotional to talk through the events and hubby had a little sob because he was so happy. We also shared a private dance out there as we could still hear the music.
Don'ts:
* Don't wear a watch if you think you can cope without it, I didn't and it helped me relax because I wasn't looking at it every 5 minutes to check the schedule. The ceremony started 10 minutes late and I was blissfully unaware until much later in the day, whereas I was seated opposite a clock during the speeches and kept watching it as we were over-running!
* Don't allow your house or hotel room to fill with people who don't need to be there whilst you get ready, you need calm and order around you and the more people you have the more flustered you will feel. Everyone commented on how calm and organised my Dad's house was in the morning...that was because we had minimal visitors!
* Don't worry about your dress getting damaged, it's unavoidable and trying to protect it will only leave you frustrated. We were lucky to have a beautiful day so mud and rain wasn't an issue and the only obvious damage to my dress is under the train. You may need to be more aware of people around you though as they will tend to step on it.
* Don't panic if things start to go wrong, if timings fall off schedule or if things are not as you expected...take things at face value and don't expect perfection. People are a law unto themselves and you cannot be responsible for the actions of all your guests or control events surrounding them. We had to have the paramedics out (diabetic guest) which put the meal back by nearly an hour and in that time a couple of the guests got a bit too drunk due to not having eaten. However, looking back, I don't feel the day was tarnished by events....it just formed part of the fabric of the day (and the main thing was the guest was OK). Remember, once the evening guests start to arrive all sense of schedule can go out the window....let your hair down and have fun and your guests will too!
feel free to add more!!!
