So we asked brides whose weddings we photographed over the last couple years to tell us what they were happy with and, probably more importantly, what they would do differently based on their experiences. We've gotten a lot of responses so we thought we'd post some. Here's the first!
"I was/am incredibly happy with the church that we chose for our wedding. It was a little more costly than some other options that we had, but it was exactly what I pictured when I thought of our wedding. Because we chose a more expensive ceremony venue, we had to be a little more conservative with the choice of our reception site. There were other places that we liked more, but it just wasn't in our budget to have the church we wanted and an expensive reception site. Although we were worried about how the reception would look, we were very happy about it that night. It all fit together very nicely.
"I think brides get so wrapped up in everything being 'perfect,' which I did A LOT. Although I was pretty level headed about the ceremony and reception venue cost, there were many things that when I look back on, I just have to ask, "Why?". Why did I spend almost $90 on red chargers for the centerpieces of the tables that have not been touched since the morning after the wedding? Why did I spend so much on my veil and tiara? The bridal boutiques reel you in. You find the dress you can not live with out, then they put the veil and matching tiara on you while you are standing in front of the mirror... and you can't leave the store without them.
"I am very happy about some things we cut costs on. The only real flowers we had were the roses sitting at each side of the altar (a last minute purchase the morning of the wedding). I am so glad I had artificial flowers. All of the bouquets were done two months before the wedding. I knew exactly what they looked like, so I didn't have to worry about wilting flowers or a bouquet that I did not like.
"As I said, brides get so obsessed with having the "perfect day". Well, I am sorry, it's not going to be perfect. You have to plan on that. You have to have a plan b and a plan c. Our soloist canceled on us just hours before the wedding. My fiance was so scared to call me and tell me; I was at the church getting ready and he tells me she isn't coming. I was totally cool with it, because I had already planned with the pianist in case that happened. My marriage did not depend on one person singing a song at the wedding.
"I'm not going to lie, there were plenty of days that I could strangle someone or totally call the whole thing off and elope. I just remembered to have fun with it. My sister (my matron of honor) thought it was hilarious that I woke up early that morning very nervous. She thought I was scared to get married or worried that something would go wrong. Truly the one thing I was worried about was forgetting the steps to our dance. At that point I had done all the planning I was going to do; if something went wrong then it would be wrong or we would just go without. No one will know what 'should' have happened. We just totally let go and enjoyed the day and I think everyone had an awesome time because of it. We wanted a big party and that's what we had."
"I think brides get so wrapped up in everything being 'perfect,' which I did A LOT. Although I was pretty level headed about the ceremony and reception venue cost, there were many things that when I look back on, I just have to ask, "Why?". Why did I spend almost $90 on red chargers for the centerpieces of the tables that have not been touched since the morning after the wedding? Why did I spend so much on my veil and tiara? The bridal boutiques reel you in. You find the dress you can not live with out, then they put the veil and matching tiara on you while you are standing in front of the mirror... and you can't leave the store without them.
"I am very happy about some things we cut costs on. The only real flowers we had were the roses sitting at each side of the altar (a last minute purchase the morning of the wedding). I am so glad I had artificial flowers. All of the bouquets were done two months before the wedding. I knew exactly what they looked like, so I didn't have to worry about wilting flowers or a bouquet that I did not like.
"As I said, brides get so obsessed with having the "perfect day". Well, I am sorry, it's not going to be perfect. You have to plan on that. You have to have a plan b and a plan c. Our soloist canceled on us just hours before the wedding. My fiance was so scared to call me and tell me; I was at the church getting ready and he tells me she isn't coming. I was totally cool with it, because I had already planned with the pianist in case that happened. My marriage did not depend on one person singing a song at the wedding.
"I'm not going to lie, there were plenty of days that I could strangle someone or totally call the whole thing off and elope. I just remembered to have fun with it. My sister (my matron of honor) thought it was hilarious that I woke up early that morning very nervous. She thought I was scared to get married or worried that something would go wrong. Truly the one thing I was worried about was forgetting the steps to our dance. At that point I had done all the planning I was going to do; if something went wrong then it would be wrong or we would just go without. No one will know what 'should' have happened. We just totally let go and enjoyed the day and I think everyone had an awesome time because of it. We wanted a big party and that's what we had."
