by: The best advice always comes from those who've experienced all the wonderful, crazy, fun, and rough times in life. And it goest to say that the best wedding advice must come from people who are already married, right?
Here we've compiled wedding advice rom real brides who've learned a thing or two about getting married, planning the day and—enjoying the day. Take their advice and avoid the "I wish I would have..." Sometimes, the simplest and wisest advice is the easiest to overlook. Check out some wedding day advice from real brides, and we with you the best as you head toward your big day!
Take in every moment!
Everyone I know that has gotten married told me the day would fly by and I believed it. They told me to take in every moment and not to stress! I wish I had stopped more often on my wedding day to take it all in. I was so occupied with making sure everything was perfect that sometimes I forgot to breathe. It’s about the two of you … On your wedding day … kiss each other, hold each other, and say sweet things to each other. This day is all about the two of you and nobody else. Everyone else is there to enjoy and share in your happiness but at the end of the day it is all about you. Go on a honeymoon! No matter how expensive your wedding is, go on a honeymoon! Even if it is two towns over in a motel, make sure you get away! Our honeymoon was the best week ever and we had no worries about anything until we got back. It was the best!
- Rochelly
How to include your guests …
Choose what you want your wedding to feel like, not to look like. The best thing we did in our wedding was to include our guests in special ways: having friends and family share quotes during the ceremony, having them all give their blessing before our vows (with a big “We Will!”) and turning our first dance from a slow romantic one to a crazy one with all our favorite people on the dance floor. If you’re having a wonderful time and show it, everyone else is going to follow suit.
- Robin
Eat ... and ignore opinions!
Eat! Many married couples told me to make sure I eat on my wedding day because they never got to taste their dinner! I am glad Aaron and I got to enjoy most of our Italian feast, because we both love food so much, so we kind of made it a priority to get to take more than just one bite of each of our courses. Other people’s opinions … Often my MOH and co-workers would tell me to not worry about the opinions people would present, and many times, it was hard for me to ignore the opinions of others, despite the decisions I knew I wanted to make. In the end, I usually went with what I wanted to do, but if I had taken more stock in the “this is your wedding, you do it how you want” way of thinking, I would have eliminated a lot of back-and-forth conversations and stressful thinking.
- Christina
Don't sweat the small stuff
Stressing about the little things: Don’t stress about the little things because in the end they don’t matter and people won’t notice” I was also told that I would be the only one looking at everything really closely. Do what’s right for you! Remember that it’s your day–stay true to what you and your fiancé want. Many people will give you advice on everything … listen and smile but in the end, do what’s right for you (but at the same time, be open to what others say, as you might actually like their ideas/perspective.)
- Marta
It's okay to ask for help ... and break in those shoes
Accepting help from family & friends. We felt especially blessed by how much our families and friends wanted to help. We got the advice to let people help, because even though it may not be “picture perfect” what they do will be full of love, and that makes it perfect. We cannot agree more. If you let control go of things, the people who love you will take and run with it, and you will be so surprised with what they do! Break in those shoes! I wish that I had broken in my shoes like I was told! I had a different pair, but the glitter shoes called my name—two days before we got married! But in the grand scheme of things, we wish that we would have enjoyed our engagement more, instead of stressing about the wedding.
- Ellie
Photography and soaking it all in
I am glad I took the advice to take pictures before the ceremony. I love that we were able to take pictures with the bridal party before the ceremony. That saved time after the ceremony to get to our guests at the reception.I wish I would have slowed down and taken in the day more. It goes by so fast, like the blink of an eye, that there were many details that I do not remember. We had a large wedding of 200 people so I was not able to talk to everyone, dance to every song I wanted to, take in all the decorations, do our photo booth, or just take in the day. I wish I would have paused, slowed down, and took in everything.
- Stephanie
The day will fly by
Take in every second of the wedding from beginning to end and not to let small things bother you i.e. the curling iron caught on fire … the limo didn’t start … my dress wasn’t clipped right inside … There were a few more things but they are things we can laugh at now! Never sweat the small stuff! Eat! I wish I had gotten to eat the good food and the cake! I was bummed I was not able to eat more. Enjoy each second, even if something goes wrong–it’s still the greatest day of your life. Take everything and live it. It only happens once!
- Stephanie
Stay calm and true
Focus on staying calm. Let go and let everyone do their job! It was really tempting for me to constantly check in with everyone to make sure they were doing what they needed to and on schedule. But I tried to just let go and focus on making sure I was calm and ready. Stay true to who you are! A lot of people are going to tell you what you should and shouldn’t do or have. If you want to do it, do it. If you don’t, don’t. Stay true to who you and your fiancé are, then shape the wedding around that–not what other people have done. Also, choose your shoes for comfort rather than style!
- Kristin
