YOU’RE ENGAGED! YAY! Now, get to planning.
The best day of my life thus far was the day that the love of my life got down on one knee and asked me to be his bride. A day filled with smiles, laughs, and tears. All my life I had been planning my wedding, but once that ring was on my finger, I did not even know where to begin! I wanted to enjoy being engaged and take my time, but I also wanted to get on top of planning. Luckily, I had almost everything picked out – thanks to the years of planning my wedding via Pinterest.
The venue we chose was the one and only venue we looked at. It was perfect and everything we wanted. Our caterer took care of the food, flowers, tableware, and literally everything I could think of-which I highly recommend. Our photographer is sent from Heaven. Our videographer is absolutely incredible. My wedding dress experience with One Fine Day is something I will forever cherish. My mom has been my absolutely lifesaver and has done more for me that I can even explain. There were so many people who blessed us along the way and that is something I will forever be thankful for.
All of this to say, my wedding planning looks like an absolute breeze- but it has not felt that way all of the time. I know that this might not be true to every bride, but in my opinion, there is this weird stress that hovers over you as a bride. Whether it is budget or expectations, you always feel like you are missing something. You feel this undeniable pressure to be perfect and to have the perfect wedding.
Although my wedding planning is not yet over, I have learned so incredibly much. I have learned that the entire reason you are getting married is to spend your life with someone and your marriage has nothing to do with the colors you chose or the centerpieces that you had. One of the quotes that we always say at One Fine Day is, “You can either put the focus on the wedding or the marriage and we highly suggest putting it on the marriage”. Wedding planning has this wonderful way of opening your eyes to just how much certain people care about and love you. It is so freeing to let go of the pressures and expectations and choose joy in this season of life that goes by way too quickly.
Another piece of advice that I would always give is to appreciate the people who have come along side you in the wedding planning process. It is so easy to get so focused that you are blind to the support and love that you are being shown. Enjoy the good moments. Enjoy the trying moments. It is absolutely incredible to stop and look around at who all has blessed you in the process of marriage. This season of life will be over in the blink of an eye!
Being that we are all in the same boat here, I decided to bring together the One Fine Day Community and ask for advice along the way! I asked our current brides, past brides, and anyone at all what their best, worst, favorite, and hardest part of wedding planning was and I want to share that with you!
I rounded up some of the most commented ones and here is what they had to say:
Hardest parts of wedding planning:
- Choosing the music
-Google and family/friends is your best friend when it comes to picking the music. I really struggled with choosing the music, but once I decided to have fun with this part, it came easily! I really wanted to choose songs that meant something to me and that is when I started getting stressed. I finally realized that whatever songs we chose, would end up meaning more to us than any song before because it is representation and memory of our most special day. Have fun with this part! If you are super stuck, ask your DJ! They have way more experience in this aspect than any of us!
- Making your vision come true
-My best advice would be to trust your vendors and to ask questions. This is your wedding day and I think it is totally fine to ask your vendors questions if you have concerns or just want to check up! One of our #onefinedaybride’s said, “Have faith in the vision of your reception that everything will come together”.
- The expectations of others – pressure to be perfect
-Yep, this is a hard one! Like I said earlier, you can either put the focus on the wedding or the marriage and we highly suggest putting it on the marriage. Now don’t get me wrong, your wedding is IMPORTANT! I will never deny that. However, you will spend your day being surrounded by people who absolutely love you and are there to celebrate you. Hold onto that!
- All of the little details! More to organize/pay for than you think of.
-One of our #onefinedaybride’s suggested, “Having a wedding binder/organizer to keep track of everything was so helpful”. I absolutely love that! I have my papers and contracts thrown everywhere and I know it would have been so much easier if I was organized. Along with that, another bride mentioned that she wished she would have been paying more attention to her budget in the very beginning. I think it’s easy to get so excited and want to book everything right away, but your budget can easily get away from you if you aren’t keeping track.
- Everyone else! (Coordinating schedules, opinions, family members, etc.)
-Our #onefinedaybride said, “Literally do what you want. Don’t care about others opinions. Sounds harsh, but true.” I will always be the first one to tell my brides, this is YOUR day, YOUR dress, YOUR choices. Family can be so helpful and so amazing, but girl, you are the one walking down the aisle in that dress- so it better be the one you love.
My fiancé and I went through pre-marital counseling together and one of the many take a ways that I got from it was this: Our leader said to us, “You two are a family now and you have to do what is best for your family”. The content of that conversation was based off of planning schedules around the holidays with our families, but I think the same applies to every decision being made between you two! This is your wedding day and your family- do what is absolutely best for you.
- Guest List
-The guest list is so hard. You don’t want to hurt feelings, but you also can’t invite everyone you’ve ever met! My advice on this one is to have people at your wedding who you genuinely want there. Sounds obvious, I know. At my cousins wedding during the ceremony, their pastor had them stand and face their guests for a few minutes so they could take in everyone who was there for them. So amazing, right? When planning our guest list, I thought about that multiple times. Who would I want to look out and see?
-My mom has kept all of our guest list and addresses on an excel sheet so we can keep track. That way, I will have the addresses ready for the thank you and Christmas cards afterwards! One of our #onefinedaybrides said, “Family and Friends will help. Don’t be afraid to need/use them! You can’t do it all yourself!” I could not agree more! Let people help you!
Here are just a few of the BEST parts that our brides mentioned:
– The best thing about wedding planning was picking out my dress! I still cry thinking about it.
-Choosing the colors/decor and cake tasting
– Seeing my husband look at me from down the aisle in my dress for the first time!
– Picking out my dress.
– Seeing your designs come to life at the wedding!
– Dress shopping and accessories!
– The best part was having my mom and sister help me decide on a dress rather than a whole crew.
– Saying “I Do”- made the hard times worth it.
– The best was finding my dress at One Fine Day and seeing my mom cry tears of joy.
– Picking out the flowers!
-Feeling so much love from family and friends and feeling so supported
Here are a few more pieces of advice from our wonderful brides:
-The day goes by so fast. Try to take it all in!
– Longer engagement = less stress and more fun planning!
-Make sure to plan out transitions during the reception.
-Have a day of timeline planned!
-Go to a venue that’s a one-stop shop that comes with a coordinator!
-Remember to slow down and enjoy even the stressful moments as they are.