A Guy's Tips for Brides
by Marco Rodriguez
Picture this! There you are, in your beautiful wedding dress, looking forward to the moment you say “I do” to the most wonderful man in your life. All of a sudden, you and your entire wedding party are stuck in traffic, half an hour late for the ceremony and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it.
Scheduling your entire wedding day is intended to make sure everything goes as planned, from the moment you wake up until you leave the wedding reception as a married couple. In a perfect world, everything will proceed on time, the skies will be clear and the only thing you worry about is whether you will have an extra piece of cake. Unfortunately, life sometimes gets in the way of our well-intentioned plans. Family members could receive pages and pages of your flawless schedule only to be sidetracked by unforeseen events that happen on your day.
Here are some tips to consider as you plan your wedding day.
Hire a wedding coordinator. So many things are happening on your wedding day, so do you really want the daunting task of making sure everything goes as planned? A good wedding coordinator can alleviate all of your worries during the day. It’s the coordinator’s job to make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible, and troubleshoot any and all problems that can occur unexpectedly.
Keep your pre-ceremony events small and stress free. Try not to accomplish too many things before the ceremony, like having a huge family get-together in your hotel room, or taking pictures of yourself and the wedding party around town. Your photographer can coordinate the photo shoots after the wedding to take the pressure off.
Keep your wedding party close by. Try to keep your wedding party in close proximity to keep them moving in a timely fashion. Give yourself plenty of time to arrive at the ceremony. If possible, try to get there a little early. Remember that the most important part of your wedding day is the ceremony itself.
Plan out your photo sessions. Decide which family and friends you’d like to include in your photo sessions and where you want the sessions to take place. So much time can be wasted trying to decide at the last minute where to take the pictures and who to bring with you to the locations.
When planning your wedding day with your photographer, make a list of all the people that you want in your pictures. Be sure to get that list to him or her in advance. Taking photos in and around the ceremony location can be a sea of mass confusion and indecision without coming up with a good list ahead of time.
It’s also a good idea to plan your photo locations with your limousine or carriage company in advance. Don’t hesitate to ask your limo service for suggestions of picturesque locations near your ceremony and reception sites. Making a last minute decision to grab a picture or two at a remote location away from your wedding route can be disastrous.
Plan your travel routes carefully and always have an alternative route. It would be a good idea for someone to travel the designated route on the same day and time you’ll be hitting the road on your wedding day. Be aware of special seasonal events that are scheduled at the same time as your wedding. Have a friend or family member keep an eye and ear on the news during the wedding, just in case something unexpectedly happens, such as traffic accidents or inclement weather conditions.
Give your vendors emergency phone numbers. Make sure that your vendors have an emergency phone number of a close friend just in case they cannot reach you directly. If you give only your phone number to your vendors, there’s a chance they might not get through to you due to a bad signal on your end. This way they have a better chance of contacting someone in an emergency.
It’s always a good idea to list the phone numbers of the wedding locations just in case someone gets lost.
Map out the directions to the wedding sites. Make sure you provide specific addresses and directions to all the wedding locations for your guests and vendors. It’s always a good idea to list the phone numbers of the wedding locations just in case someone gets lost.
Keep a concise schedule. Try to complete all of your special events within the first two hours of the reception. Remember that your vendors are on the clock, so the sooner that you can get all of things that you want accomplished at the reception the better. If you can get your introductions, the first dances, speeches and cake cutting within that first couple of hours, then you can relax and dance the night away without missing a beat.
Avoid doing things at the spur of the moment. Staying on schedule will help keep everyone on the same page in case something goes wrong.
Remember to relax and have fun on your wedding day!!!
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