Do's
Hire a professional wedding consultant
Remember to eat the day of the ceremony
Maintain a sense of humor
Maintain open lines of communication with your fiancé and with both sets of parents, especially if they are financing the wedding
Be receptive to your parents’ ideas, but remember this is YOUR wedding
Be flexible and keep your overall budget in mind
Maintain a regular routine of exercise and eat a well-balanced diet
Register for gifts, and consider a price range that your guests can afford
Break-in your shoes well before the wedding day
Practice with make-up and various hairstyles before your wedding day
Check recent references for all your service providers
Get everything in writing with your service providers
Assign your guests to tables and group them together by age, interests, acquaintances, etc.
Send thank-you notes as soon as you receive gifts
Schedule de-stressors for yourself along the way, whether it’s a massage, facial, manicure, etc.
Try to spend some time with each of your guests and personally thank them for coming to your wedding
Encourage bride’s parents to introduce their family and friends to the family and friends of the groom’s family and vice-versa
Toast both sets of parents (and any other special person) at the rehearsal dinner and/or the reception. Thank them for everything that they have done for you and for giving you a beautiful wedding
Eat well at the reception, especially if you’ll be drinking alcohol
Keep a smile on your face; there will be many pictures taken of the both of you
Expect things to go wrong on your wedding day. Most likely something will go wrong, but no one will notice it but you. Relax and don’t let it bother you.
Preserve the top tier of your wedding cake for your first anniversary
Send a personal gift to both sets of parents, such as a small engraved album containing the best photos of the wedding
Don'ts
Don’t stress
Don’t get involved in other activities. You will be very busy in planning your wedding
Don’t make any major decisions without discussing it openly with your fiancé
Don’t be controlling. Be open to other people’s ideas
Don’t overspend your budget. This can be extremely stressful.
Don’t wait until the last minute to hire your service providers. The good ones get booked months in advance
Don’t try to make everyone happy. It is IMPOSSIBLE and will only make your wedding planning more difficult
Don’t try to impress your friends
Don’t invite old boyfriends or girlfriends to your wedding. You don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable
Don’t try to do “everything” yourself. Delegate responsibilities to your fiancé, your parents and to members of your wedding party
Don’t rely on friends or family members to photograph or videotape your wedding. Hire professionals!
Don’t assume the members of your wedding party know what to do. Give them a copy of your timeline and a copy of our “Wedding Party Responsibilities” list.
Don’t assume your service providers know what to do. Give them each a detailed copy of your Service Provider Timeline.
Don’t schedule your bachelor/bachelorette party the night before the wedding. You don’t want hangover on your wedding day.
Don’t arrive late at the ceremony.
Don’t get drunk at the reception. You don’t want to do or say anything that you may regret.
Don’t flirt with members of the opposite sex
Don’t allow your guests to drive drunk after the reception.
Don’t leave your reception without saying good-bye to your family and friends
Don’t drive if you’ve had too much to drink!
